softball dead ball rule

Question
On the softball field they have the foul line and an out of play line where this are no fences.  what are the rules regarding this line.  can a player cross the out of play line and catch a fly ball and be considered an out?  can a player catch the ball in foul territory and then carry the ball across the out of play line?  in a game today it seemed the fielder caught the ball on the line and clearly carried it out of play. The umpire called the batter out.

Answer
Hi Matt,

That area would be called dead ball territory(dbt)  

No a player cannot have a foot completely on the ground in dbt and make a legal catch They can be in the air or on the line, make a legal catch and THEN land in dbt. See below...

Yes they can catch the ball in live ball territory (lbt) for the out and then go into dbt.  This is called a "catch and carry" and we have a dead ball and any runners are awarded 1 base from the last base touched at that time unless the defensive player does it intentionally then it's 2 bases.

The call sounds good, but it is a catch and carry and any runners advance, no runners no penalty.

Mark