Tonight my son's team tried the hidden ball trick. The umpire called a balk because of the position of the pitcher. The game was in time out, the catcher asked the pitcher for the ball. During the time out he gave the ball to the third baseman where there was a runner. The catcher then asked the umpire to tell him when the ball was in play. After sweeping off the plate, the umpire said "Play ball". The pitcher was at the edge of the mound but not near the rubber. The catcher told the 3rd baseman "now" and the 3rd baseman tagged the runner out(who had taken a lead). The plate umpire immediatley called the runner out. The field umpire comes running in and calls a conference. While everyone is waiting they discuss the matter, then change the call to safe and declare a balk. My questions are; How close to the rubber can the pitcher be? and Can the field umpire call a conference to change a ruling? I don't have a HS rule book, but in MLB the rules state that the pitcher just can't be on or straddliing the rubber, but can be on the mound and that a field umpire only enters a confernce if asked by the plate umpire. What are HS rules on this.
Thanks for your help.
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