Loose Equipment In-Play

[SH0102]

Hi All,

I tend to be long-winded, so will try to make this short and sweet, but myself and a couple umpire friends were taking a rules quiz I made for Rule #1 of the NCAA book.  My question pertains only to NCAA but feel free to chime in if NFHS or OBR are different.  This scenario caused a big discussion and I said I would ask here:

Situation:

Defensive team has loose equipment laying in play (gloves on top of dugout railing, bucket of ball at entrance to dugout, whatever).  Batter hits a gapper and is trying for a triple.  Ball is overthrown to third and would go out of play if not for the loose equipment laying in play.  Batter is unable to advance home as defense quickly retrieves the ball deflected back towards field.

Is this out of play?  Nothing?

 

Discussion:

My friend said "if the transgression (loose equip in play) benefits the team that is in violation (in this case helped the defense whose own equipment stopped it), then call it dead and award bases.  If it hurts the team who was in the wrong (for example, the batting team prevented the throw from going out with their own equipment), then it's nothing.

 

I distinctly remember being told the same thing during Summer ball, but on page 20 of the NCAA rule book, Rule 1, Section 16, part d, it reads "all loose equipment must be kept in the dugout or in a dead-ball area.  If a pitched, batted, or thrown ball touches equipment that is in live-ball territory, the ball remains live"

 

If I am reading this properly, there is no distinction about "who it benefits or doesn't"....it reads to me as a "try to avoid this with preventative officiating and have them remove equipment, but if you miss it and it hits the stuff, oh well, play on".

Thoughts?

 

FOLLOW UP:  Quick follow up...what if you explicitly told a player/coach before the pitch to move the equipment, they do not, and this happens.  Will you award penalty now since there may be "Intent", or purposeful neglect of an instruction by you?

 

Thanks brothers

[Senor Azul]

Just to back up the relevant rule (1-16d)--George Demetriou says in his 2019-2020 NCAA Study Guide (Chapter 7, p. 201):

“No equipment shall be left lying on the field. Gloves, bats, and other equipment must be kept in the dugout or other dead-ball area. Any ball that strikes equipment left on the field remains in play.”

He reiterates the point in Chapter 4 in a section of items listed as Not Interference on page 124.

And the 2016 BRD references rule 1-16d as the way the NCAA handles it with no qualifiers.