Baseline obstruction

Question
My daughter is in a 10 and under softball league playing ASA rules.  In the last game, the opposing team had a runner on 2nd.  At the next bat, the ball was fielded by someone in the right field and was thrown to 3rd base, where the runner from 2nd was tagged out.  The Umpire called an obstruction as he says our shortstop backed up into the baseline, bumping into the runner, interfering in the runner抯 path to 3rd.  From the scorekeepers perspective I can抰 say whether or not that is true, but for the sake of argument, lets say that it is.  I assume this would have delayed her enough that she was tagged out at 3rd.  He advised that this interference occurred more than 1/2 way to 3rd base and awarded the runner an advance to home.  Was this a correct call?  We don't allow the players to steal home, so why can the ump give it away when the obstruction did not even occur between 3rd and home?

The ump also called the game at about an hour and 5 minutes (our rules say no inning can start after 1:15) while we were in the middle of the 5th inning and tied.  The opposing team had just finished batting, which would have put us up to bat).  Should we have been allowed to continue playing, effectively to finish the inning because we had not exceeded the 1:15 limit?

Thanks

Answer
Good morning Todd,

If a runner is obstructed we (the umpire) protect them to the base they would have reached in our opinion.  

From your question it appears the runner going from 2nd to 3rd was obstructed,  (defensive players obstruct, offensive players interfere) and then tagged out at 3rd.  It does not sound like she would have made home had she not been obstructed so we are not going to award home in this case.  The fact that she was 1/2 way somewhere does not matter, it is our opinion as to what base she would have reached had she not been obstructed.

I didn't see the play but if the umpire felt she would have reached home if she had not been obstructed it is the right call.  If he was awarding 1+1 it is the wrong call.

In JO 10u a player can score on an awarded base.


"Should we have been allowed to continue playing, effectively to finish the inning because we had not exceeded the 1:15 limit?"

Gosh I would think so, I have no answer.  Maybe they had a hot date?

Mark