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Overrunning the Player Rule - Baserunning


Guest Coach A
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Question

Guest Coach A

Fastpitch Softball - 12u

Runners on 2nd and 3rd

No outs

 

Batter hit a popup that was caught.

Runner on 3rd base did not tag up and ran home.

Runner on 2nd, tagged up and ran home as well. 

Defense threw the ball to 3rd base, and umpire called both runners out.

 

Umpire ruled a triple play due to the 1) popup catch  2) Runner on 3rd did not tag up and 3) stated that the runner on 2nd base was out due to over running the other baserunner rule. 

 

Was that the right call or should have the runner who tagged up on 2nd base been safe at home. Ultimately resulting in only a Double play?

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No.  The coach should have protested this incorrect application of the rules.  Softball or baseball this is the same.

You can only overrun a runner by physically passing them (or have them pass you running backwards), not as a result of an appeal, and not for passing a base a preceding runner missed.   The two humans have to actually physically be past each other....not theoretically.

Overrunning the base runner is also something that is to be called as soon as it occurs.

 

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Coach A, you told us that your game was a fastpitch softball game but not which rule set was governing. So I am going to use the high school softball rule book (NFHS) to answer your question. There is an actual rule that tells us that a following runner is not affected by a preceding runner’s baserunning mistake--

2020 NFHS Softball rule 8-3 ART. 8 . . . Failure of a preceding runner to touch a base or to legally tag up on a caught fly ball, and who is declared out, does not affect the status of a succeeding runner who touches bases in proper order. If the failure to touch a base in regular order or to legally tag up on a caught fly ball is the third out of the inning, no succeeding runner may score a run.

And here is the rule that uses the word physically to describe one runner passing another on the basepaths (just as Mr. beerguy55 posted earlier)--

NFHS rule 8 SECTION 6 THE RUNNER IS OUT

ART. 4 . . . The runner physically passes a preceding runner before that runner has been put out. If this was the third out of the inning, any runs scoring prior to the out for passing a preceding runner would count. A runner(s) passing a preceding obstructed runner is not out. (8-4-3b PENALTY c)

PENALTY: (Arts. 1 through 5) The ball is in play and the runner is out.

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The USSSA FP wording is:

Sec 18.   Any runner is out when the runner (O.) Is detected passing an unobstructed preceding runner before such runner is out (including awarded bases).

So once the appeal is made, and the runner was out, you can pass them all you want without penalty.  

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40 minutes ago, Guest LouB said:

Where was the pop-up that a runner scored from second base?

I'll wager the answer is in first line of the OP:

On 12/13/2021 at 10:30 AM, Guest Coach A said:

Fastpitch Softball - 12u

😂

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Sorry, plying around too much.
 

To answer your question directly: given the age, I would speculate there was an errant throw or misplay (defender froze under the pressure or thought there were 2 outs for example) following the ‘pop up’ (which, in addition, may have in fact been a high fly ball - semantics).

At that age / skill level, anything can happen and OP likely left it out for brevity.

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10 hours ago, Guest LouB said:

The Post said the runner on 2nd tagged-up, so my question is, where was the pop-up where a runner standing on 2nd can score before a throw to the plate can get there?

Lots of possibilities...deep cF...diving catch, or f8 trips after catching the ball...speedy F2 scores.   For younger kids, f8 dances around cheers and celebrates making the catch, high fives with F7 and F9, then realizes there's a play going on....or the most simple, after the catch F8 makes a bad throw to third allowing F2 to advance to home...I've seen it all.

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21 hours ago, Guest LouB said:

Maybe it's the semantics, to me a pop-up is in the infield or short outfield!  As such, I asked how a runner scored from second base.

Whether or not it's the "according to Hoyle" definition of a pop-up, it's not really relevant. Even if it was short outfield...if it's deep enough for the runner on third to score (or to try to score), it could be deep enough for the runner on second to try to advance to third (especially if to right field...but even then, knowing the throw is going home R2 may be told to go to third)...even if R2 stays put (eg. fly ball to shallow left), if R3 is advancing then the fielder who made the catch is throwing the ball...at any age, but more especially at the younger ages, that throw can go anywhere, which could allow the runner on second to advance to home.   If R2 does try to advance to third, the outfielder could also throw to third, and make a bad throw, allowing the runner to score.  Outfielder hits cutoff and cutoff makes bad throw to third.  And so on.  Like I said before...many possibilities, and I've seen them all play out.    Including the kid celebrating the first fly ball he's ever caught and everyone's giving him high fives while the runners are still running.

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