A 12:U game this weekend, our batter had a called third strike for the 3rd out of the inning. The ball hit the catcher's mit and bounced out onto the ground beside him. The catcher quickly picked it up and roll to the pitcher's mound as the defensive players left the field. The batter was walking back to the dugout (but never entered) when we starting screaming for him to run to first. Our dugout (the batter's) was on the 3rd base side so when he ran to first, he essentially cut across the infield in front of the pitcher's mound and went to first (He ended up running all the way to third when the dust had settled).
1) During the ensuing argument, I heard the umpires state that the batter is not out on a dropped 3rd strike as long as he doesn't go into the dugout. Is this accurate? I thought once he left the home plate area or base path, he was called out.
2) What about cutting across the field when running to first? Does the batter have to run by homeplate or stay in the basepath in this situation?
As always, thanks for your input.
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