infield pop fly

Question
There was a infield pop fly(little league) the pitcher was the closest and tried to catch the infield pop fly but he drop it while attempting to catch the baseball... now my question Mr.Hoover is that the umpire still called the batter who hit the pop fly as an "OUT" even though the ball wasn't caught by the pitcher (the count was 3 balls 2 strikes) This didn't make any sense to me to call an "out" when the baseball wasn't caught in someones glove. Is there an automatic "out" if there is an in field pop up in little league baseball?  Nathan

Answer
Nathan,

If there are runners on first and second, or first, second and third with less than two outs, and a pop fly is hit in the infield and an infielder can catch it with reasonable effort, then it is an out.  This is called an 'Infield Fly'.  This rule was created to protect the offense, as back before the rule infielders would drop the ball on purpose and easily double up runners.

So yes, the out can be called regardless if the ball is caught in this situation.

I hope this has helped.

-Martin Hoover