Sacrifice fly or fly out

Situation

Fewer than two outs. A fly ball is caught. A runner tags up, almost always from third, and tries to score.

What happens on the field

• If the runner tags legally and scores, and there were fewer than two outs, the batter has a sacrifice fly.
• If the runner does not score, it is an ordinary fly out.
• With two outs, the catch is the third out. It is not a sacrifice. Count the run only if the umpire says the runner scored before the catch.

How the book should look

• Sacrifice fly: no at-bat, plus an RBI.
• Ordinary out: an at-bat, and no RBI.

A common miss is calling a sac fly when the runner never scored, or when there were already two outs.

In DugoutDesk

1. On the pitch pad, tap In play. Choose Fly ball or Pop fly, then Sac fly if a run scored and there were fewer than two outs.
2. Sac fly scores the runner from third. Adjust any other runner before you save.
3. If it is only an out, choose Out on those same chips and set the runner's base.

Pitch-by-pitch scoring is free. Hit spray is coach premium and is optional on this ball in play. The sac fly or the out still records without it.

Ruleset notes

USA Softball, USSSA, NFHS, Little League, PONY, and Babe Ruth treat a sacrifice as fewer than two outs with a run scoring on the catch. A runner scoring from second is a local question in some books.

On a two-out tag, confirm with the umpire that the run scored before the catch before you count it. This is not a rules certification.