little league softball girls 7-8

Question
Hi Dr Ambrose,
  I'm hoping you can tell if this is correct or not, I have my doubts but not the knowledge of the sport to argue my side.  If bases are loaded and the batter flies out and R1 doesn't return to 1st before the ball is thrown to 1st, is R1 out or does R1 have to be tagged out?  It if there isn't any place for R1 to go and she has to occupy 1st then shouldn't the defense only have to tag the base to out R1?
Thank you, April

Answer
Hi April,
We # runners on base starting with the most advanced runner.  In this case R1 is on 3rd, R2 is on 2nd and R3 would be on 1st.

The situation you describe is called a "live ball appeal" of a base left too early.   This is not a force out but is considered a timing play.  A defensive player with the ball can either make contact with the base or tag R3 before they are able to return to the base for the out.

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