So you're telling me one of, if not THE, best defensive outfielders in college softball, who has not made an error since her true freshman season (according to soonerports.com), drops a routine lazy flyball hit directly to her. AND she controls the drop to bounce right in front of her. AND she calmly & immediately throws to 2nd to start the 2x play. AND it just happens to occur in a situation where a drop would create a relatively easy double play & get the team out of an inning??? That's NOT intentional?
And count me amongst those questioning the need to "protect" Jayda. Don't get it at all. It was an incredibly heads up play & the entire team was aware & prepared to be where they needed to be to force the 2x play.
AllSooner, I am probably the most confused of all. Is there some rule covering what Jayda did?? I have absolutely no idea. There are a lot of folks that are very well versed on the rules and regulations of D1 Softball---but I ain't one of 'em. My reply to VNSooner was maybe an overreach....but I decided to err on the side of caution. Then after thinking about it a third time.....I realized it's probably much ado about nothing. After all, nobody reads these message boards except just us...right?
I thought Jayda's reply to Plank grilling JT over whether it was intentional with her laughing emoji was cute....but didn't really offer any more than we know now. Was she laughing because she's thinking "Yes, of course I dropped it by mistake" ? Or was she laughing because she's thinking "Yes, of course I dropped intentionally-and see what happened!" ?
We'll probably never know.
Sorry for all the confusion.
TropicalSooner wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:46 am
AllSooner, I am probably the most confused of all. Is there some rule covering what Jayda did?? I have absolutely no idea. There are a lot of folks that are very well versed on the rules and regulations of D1 Softball---but I ain't one of 'em. My reply to VNSooner was maybe an overreach....but I decided to err on the side of caution. Then after thinking about it a third time.....I realized it's probably much ado about nothing. After all, nobody reads these message boards except just us...right?
I thought Jayda's reply to Plank grilling JT over whether it was intentional with her laughing emoji was cute....but didn't really offer any more than we know now. Was she laughing because she's thinking "Yes, of course I dropped it by mistake" ? Or was she laughing because she's thinking "Yes, of course I dropped intentionally-and see what happened!" ?
We'll probably never know.
Sorry for all the confusion.
There is no other rule that might apply to this situation other than the infield fly rule. That is called at the umpire's discretion (his/her opinion that an infielder may catch the fly ball with ordinary effort).
In this instance, the umpire must have determined that the ball would not be caught by an infielder using ordinary effort and therefore did not invoke the infield fly rule. After looking at the videos, I would agree that this was the appropriate call. As to whether the drop was intentional or not, we may never know for sure (or at least until after the season at the earliest). Personally, I think it was intentional. Only one person knows and she isn't talking.
A commitment is NOT a reservation - Brent Venables 3/21/22
There is no other rule that might apply to this situation other than the infield fly rule. That is called at the umpire's discretion (his/her opinion that an infielder may catch the fly ball with ordinary effort).
In this instance, the umpire must have determined that the ball would not be caught by an infielder using ordinary effort and therefore did not invoke the infield fly rule. After looking at the videos, I would agree that this was the appropriate call. As to whether the drop was intentional or not, we may never know for sure (or at least until after the season at the earliest). Personally, I think it was intentional. Only one person knows and she isn't talking.
Infield Fly
The infield fly rule is in effect only when there are fewer than two outs with either runners on 1b and 2b, or bases loaded. The intent of this rule is to disallow the defense to get multiple outs by forcing out the runners on base, who were pinned near their bases while the ball was in the air.
By rule, an infield fly:
• Cannot be called on a line drive or attempted bunt
• Can be called on a high fly that is hit into the outfield but near enough to the infield to satisfy the intent of this rule.
• Can be called whether it is an infielder or outfielder who eventually makes the catch.
So Bixby, I think you are on the right track. The umpire does have the right to invoke the "Infield Fly Rule" if they see fit, even by an outfielder. I thought it had to be a fly ball located in the infield.....if this article is accurate, the call would be left up to the umpire. The article covers a lot of history behind an "Intentional Drop" that I had not been aware of.
But as the saying goes from Tweeter and the Monkey Man....."In Jersey anything's legal as long as you don't get caught" Intentional or Not....What a heads up play Jada pulled off!
There is no other rule that might apply to this situation other than the infield fly rule. That is called at the umpire's discretion (his/her opinion that an infielder may catch the fly ball with ordinary effort).
In this instance, the umpire must have determined that the ball would not be caught by an infielder using ordinary effort and therefore did not invoke the infield fly rule. After looking at the videos, I would agree that this was the appropriate call. As to whether the drop was intentional or not, we may never know for sure (or at least until after the season at the earliest). Personally, I think it was intentional. Only one person knows and she isn't talking.
Infield Fly
The infield fly rule is in effect only when there are fewer than two outs with either runners on 1b and 2b, or bases loaded. The intent of this rule is to disallow the defense to get multiple outs by forcing out the runners on base, who were pinned near their bases while the ball was in the air.
By rule, an infield fly:
• Cannot be called on a line drive or attempted bunt
• Can be called on a high fly that is hit into the outfield but near enough to the infield to satisfy the intent of this rule.
• Can be called whether it is an infielder or outfielder who eventually makes the catch.
So Bixby, I think you are on the right track. The umpire does have the right to invoke the "Infield Fly Rule" if they see fit, even by an outfielder. I thought it had to be a fly ball located in the infield.....if this article is accurate, the call would be left up to the umpire. The article covers a lot of history behind an "Intentional Drop" that I had not been aware of.
But as the saying goes from Tweeter and the Monkey Man....."In Jersey anything's legal as long as you don't get caught" Intentional or Not....What a heads up play Jada pulled off!
I would add that the only time that I've ever heard (I've never seen) of an outfielder being invovled in an infield fly is when they have been moved into an infield position. I've read this as confirmation: https://collegesoftballumpires.org/infi ... rop-rules/
A commitment is NOT a reservation - Brent Venables 3/21/22
There is a rule concerning intentionally dropped balls with at least a runner on 1st, but it only applies to infielders. The interpretation of that rule is that you can only intentionally drop a ball that you catch first. You can knock it to the ground or let it drop in front of you, but if you catch it and then drop it to try and confuse the runners, it is a dead ball out and runners go back to their bases. Wouldn't apply in this case however.
