Only run in Amherst Regional state softball title loss now called into question
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A scoring error apparently cost the Amherst Regional softball team a chance at the state Division 1 championship last month.
An umpire from the Midwest saw the Daily Hampshire Gazette's coverage of the June 18 game, which ended with King Philip of Wrentham winning the title 1-0. The umpire, who asked that his name be withheld from this story, read the description of the run-scoring play and emailed the Gazette asking for clarification because he said "it just doesn't make sense."
The Hurricanes walked off Rockwood Field at Worcester State University that evening with the state runner-up trophy, but the game's lone run apparently was incorrectly allowed due to an appeal that resulted in a force out.
MIAA media spokesman Paul Wetzel was contacted Tuesday and said that he had not heard about the situation, but that such an error could not be appealed now by the Hurricanes.
"Once the game is over, even if the umpires made a provable mistake, the game is over," Wetzel said. "Even with the premise being that the umpires in the end made a mistake, that mistake dies with the game. There's just nothing you can do about it.
"We don't have any do-overs," he added. "Some people might think we'll bring the teams back in the same situation; we've had those suggestions. Even more than it not being practical, it's just not done. The umps and officials try their best and they make mistakes."
When she was informed of the situation, Amherst senior cocaptain Simone Frank, who will play at Williams College next year, joked that she's ready for a rematch.
"Let's play them again right now," she said. "Let's do it again. I'm ready. Let's pick up in the seventh inning. I'm all for that."
She added, "I guess, realistically, as much as I'd like there to be something we could do about it, there really isn't. As upsetting as it is to hear, it puts me to ease a little bit knowing that we could have won that game. It's frustrating to hear about it, though, too. I have mixed feelings hearing about this."
In the title game, the Warriors, who had not put a runner on base against Amherst ace Emma Mendoker until there were two outs in the sixth inning, then loaded the bases with two outs and score tied.
Hailey Mullen was the runner on third, Jenn Robillard was at second and Alyssa Siegmann was on first when Meg Carnase stepped to the plate. Carnase hit a two-strike pitch to center field and the ball was dropped, as all three runners circled the bases and appeared to give King Philip a 3-0 lead.
But Amherst coach Kacey Schmitt appealed that a runner had missed third base and the base umpire agreed. He called the King Philip runner out for missing the base, which ended the inning.
At first, the scorekeeper took one run off the scoreboard, making it 2-0, which would have been correct if Siegmann missed the bag. Had that been the case, both runs scored by Mullen and Robillard would have been allowed as they scored before Siegmann rounded third.
However, Amherst coaches and the home plate umpire conferred with the third-base umpire who made the call and it was determined that it was, in fact, Robillard who missed the bag.
Another run was taken off the scoreboard, making it a 1-0 King Philip heading into the top of the seventh inning.
That's where the mistake happened.
The game should have remained scoreless according to National Federation of State High School Associations softball rule 9.1.1 exception D, which states "a run is not scored if the runner advances to home plate during action in which the third out is declared on an appeal play resulting in a force out (This play takes precedence if enforcing it would negate a score)."
Schmitt confirmed Tuesday that she had appealed the runner that began the play at second base.
The umpire "asked me which runner (I was appealing) and I said, 'the second runner, the one from second base,'" she recounted. "He immediately said 'out.'"
Therefore, the inning should have ended via a force out of Robillard at third base and no runs should have scored.
"We knew going into it that it was going to be something like a 1-0 game, so it was huge" when King Philip scored first, Frank said.
When informed of the apparent mistake, Schmitt said "That's really too bad that it came out that way because obviously if I had been aware of that, I would have fought tooth and nail then to change it. I wasn't the only one who didn't know, including the umpires and official scorekeeper, apparently."
She added that finding out about the mistake "now, it just really stinks. (King Philip) was a very good team and I don't want them to feel that we are trying to take anything away from their season because of this little-known rule that has come up. I've done this for 14 years and it's never come up."
In fact, it is impossible for the final score to have been 1-0 in the situation as it occurred. If it had been the runner on first, Siegmann, who missed third base, both runs which scored before her would have counted, making the score 2-0. But based on Schmitt's account, because it was the runner on second, Robillard, who missed third, the force was in effect, no runs should have counted and the score should have remained 0-0.
But Wetzel said, "Once they leave the field, it's over. If the officials made a mistake, that's unfortunate. We've got to live with it."
Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.
