Sacrifice terms

Question
I currently keep the stats for our team. My question is if a player is on base and the batter hits(not bunts) and gets thrown out at first but the runner advances is that a sacrifice hit or a ground out.  

Answer
Hello Andrew,

There are two types of recognized sacrifices, the bunt and the fly.  Anytime you credit a batter with either one, she is not charged with a time at bat.

The sacrifice bunt is scored anytime a batter with less than two outs advances a runner without any other runner being out.  The exception would be if in the scorers opinion the batter had the intent of bunting for a base hit.  In the case, you would charge her with an at-bat.  The other sacrifice is the sacrifice fly.  This is credited anytime a batter hits a foul or fair ball with less than two outs which scores a runner.

In the situation you described, the batter's intention was to try and get a base hit, which obviously resulted in a fielder's choice groundout.  In the situation, you would charge the batter with an at-bat.

I hope this was helpful, and please let me know if you need anything else.

Coach Mike