Base running Blunder

Question
This is a game situation that took place tonight in my son's game.

1 out runner on 3rd, batter bunt's, catcher fields the ball, checks the runner back to 3rd and throws to 1st for the aparent out. Umpire calls him out then safe because the first baseman bobbled the ball. The runner leaves his base and was on his way back to the dougout (crossing the infield) when he relizes the umpire had called him safe. The first baseman still had the ball and walked over to tag him out at the same time the runner on 3rd went home and scored. What should the ruling have been?.......The umpire called the batter out again and left the run score. I feel that the batter should have been called out for abandoning his base and the runner that scored should have been sent back to 3rd.....We are dealing with the 9 and 10 year old age group where there is no delayed steals(the runner had originally returned back to 3rd after the bunt) and no stealing of home. The umpire really had no clue as to how it should have been called and frankly non of the coaches involved did either. Any light you can share with me on this will help.

Regards,
Mike Johnston

Answer
Obviously, this situation was caused by an umpire, likely very young, very new to officiating, or both, rushing to make a call on a close play while neglecting to see the entire play.  That happens to everyone a time or two coming through the ranks, so try not to be too hard on him.  As for the call, we'll tackle what to do with the runner on third first.  The main thing to be aware of here is that base abandonment does not constitue a dead ball.  Consequently, until the ball gets back to the pitcher, whether abandonment is called or not, the runner would have to oppurtunity to advance at his own risk, meaning that as long as the runner left third again before the pitcher got to the pitching surface, his run would count if he made it safely.  As for why the batter would be out, the abandonment rule states:  Any runner, after reaching first base, who leaves the baseline heading for the dugout or his defensive position believing that there is no further play shall be declared out IF the umpire judges the act of the runner to be considered abandoning his efforts to run the bases.  The key there is the "if the umpire judges" part.  If the runner came off the base towards the dugout just a couple of steps, then realized what was going on, most umpires would not deem that abandonment, especially if it were their fault the kid was confused to start with.  On the other hand, if the kid goes 7 or 8 steps towards the dugout, you would have to deem that abandonment and call him out for it.  I hope this answers your question.  Feel free to leave feedback :)