7. May the base runners advance on an overthrow?

An overthrow is when a fielder makes a good or bad throw to a base player and the base player misses the catch. When the ball is missed, the ball either stays in-play or goes out-of-play depending on where the out-of-play areas are located. Before the game, the team managers and umpire will agree to the out-of-play areas. During the game, the umpire will make the call when the ball goes out-of-play.

The out-of-play areas are generally areas where the ball can not be easily reached. For example, on Field 5 at Canyonside, the out-of-play areas might be defined as behind the fence line. Therefore, all fields have foul ball territories that are also part of the in-play areas.

Base runners may advance on an overthrow depending on the division and whether the ball stays in-play or goes out-of-play as shown by the following table:

Note (1): While the ball is still in-play, the base runners may advance at their own risk as many bases as they want with the possibility of being put out.

Note (2): When the ball goes out-of-play, the play ends and the base runners are awarded the base they are running towards plus one extra base. For purposes of this extra base award, the umpire shall award the runners the base depending on where the runners were located at the time the fielder makes the throw which goes out-of-play and not at the time the ball goes out-of-play.