In the end an HSBBWEB Old Timer sums it up best.
It's a very unfortunate fact that many times you must beat both a team and an umpire crew. Thanks FO for your wisdom.
UE, From my angle the catcher had neither but that is why they pay a guy to be standing almost directly over the play and in this case the plate. The umpire didn't hesitate in calling the runner safe. He also want back after a few seconds and looked where the plate was just to make sure the player had gotten to the plate. He was sure about the call and didn't ask for help but he let the other umpire talk him into over ruling a call that was already made. From were I was standing the actually touched the plate before the catcher had the ball, no force. I was 10 feet up the line and three feet behind the fence, I had a real good look at the play.
John G, the plate ump might have given the Keller pitcher the 3 inches but on a very rare occasion did any Coppell pitcher get a call that wasn't perfect. And you can't discount the up and downs in the strike zone especial the downs. The ball had to be above the knee in the catchers mitt to be a strike.
Small strikes zones are a fact of life for pitchers and batters as well. My son actually adjust well to the situation in game two, he made his curveball work because he had to, he changed speeds and he throw a lot of pitches in 4 1/3 innings.
I think De Le Chappelle as a smart senior pitcher made the adjustment quickly and was the difference in the series.
But again I say this post wasn't about the strike zone but about a crew being way to much a part of the game and trying very hard to influence the outcome....balls, strikes, balks etc...
In the end our boys grew a little bit yesterday and learned that in baseball as in life sometimes you have to overcome the circumstances to advance.