Details: Parent Category: Umpires

ABUA Umpires Go International

The following ABUA umpires will be representing the ABUA and USA BASEBALL this Summer and Fall in International Competition.

Umpires working these events are selected by Dick Runchey, Director of Umpires IBAF and Exec. Dir. of ABUA. If interested in working International Competition please contact Dick Runchey This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details.

Jason Rogers - World Baseball Challenge - Canada
Kevin Daugherty - IBAF Championship - Taiwan
Scott Higgins - IBAF World Cup - Europe
Jeff Hendrichs - IBAF World Cup - Europe
Cord Coslor - COPAPE Qualifier - Venezuela

ABUA & USA Baseball

ABUA membership continues to be a benefit for USA BASEBALL assignments in Cary this year. ABUA Umpires who want to work those events must contact Ron Sebastian, ABUA Vice President for details at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Disputed umpire's call ends with arrest for Grand Forks father

A Grand Forks father who was arrested at a Babe Ruth League tournament in Wahpeton, N.D., said Wednesday he regrets his behavior, but that the incident has been overblown.

“It was just a bad call, and I blew up,” 44-year-old Michael Lizotte said. “Was I wrong? Yup, I agree with that.”

Wahpeton Police Chief Scott Thorsteinson said Lizotte was ejected from the stands for yelling obscenities at the umpires during a Sunday evening game. Lizotte said he was not ejected, but left on his own.

An off-duty deputy who was volunteering at the tournament told Lizotte to leave the area or risk being arrested, Thorsteinson said.

Thorsteinson said that after the game, as the umpires were walking to the changing room, Lizotte got in the face of one umpire and began yelling. The two were separated, and the deputy escorted Lizotte to the parking lot, the chief said. Lizotte said he did not have to be separated from the ump.

“All I said to them was, ‘That was the worst f-ing call I’ve ever seen. That was horrible.’ ”

Lizotte said the deputy, who was wearing plainclothes, identified himself as an officer, but did not show Lizotte law enforcement identification until after the deputy called the police.

“He was arguing with me, and I was arguing back,” Lizotte said. “I thought he was a parent.”

Lizotte said he would have acted differently if he had earlier seen proof that the man was a deputy.

When police responded, Lizotte said, he asked the officers to arrest him discretely so not to embarrass his son. Instead, he said, he was placed in a police vehicle where others could easily see him as they left the game.

“That’s when my son seen me and started crying,” Lizotte said.

Lizotte posted $500 bond on a disorderly conduct charge and was released from the Richland County jail the same day.

Lizotte said he tried to apologize to the officers the next day and that he plans to write a letter of apology to the umpires.

Thorsteinson said it was an isolated incident and that the other supporters of the Grand Forks team were well-behaved.

The Grand Forks team made up of 14-year-olds came in second in the tournament, losing to the Fargo Americans, said Bill Palmiscno, a board member of the Forks Area Youth Baseball Association.

Palmiscno, who’s also the superintendent of recreation for the Grand Forks Parks District, said unruly parents are occasionally ejected from youth sporting events in Grand Forks, but he hasn’t heard of any being arrested here.

Disorderly conduct is a Class B misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail.

Umpires confiscating softball bats due to safety issues

Umpires took more than 50 bats from players at last year's USA/ASA 18-under National Fastpitch Championships in the Quad Cities.

The same thing happened in Normal at last month's Firecracker Tournament.

With some bats costing more than $300, having one taken out of play is no small matter. "It's all a safety issue," said Donna Shurtz, the umpire coordinator for this week's USA/ASA 12-under National Fastpitch Championship at Champion Fields.

Shurtz, standing over a barrel of 10 confiscated bats in the press box Wednesday, said bats are taken out of play if any chips or cracks are visible no matter how small.

"Every now and then you will see a bat actually shatter," said Tim McKeown, coach of the BNGSA Angels 12-under team, co-host of the tournament with the Angels 11s. "There are a lot that are fracturing."

Some bats are made of exotic materials including aluminum lined with graphite and titanium. Others are made of composite materials such as carbon fiber, fiber glass and Kevlar.

Bat makers seek to create lighter bats with bigger "sweet spots" so batters can generate more power in their swing.

Shurtz remembers Californians bringing bats to the Quad Cities last year only to learn they couldn't be used.

"They're upset and I'm sorry about that," she said. "As umpires, it is our responsibility that all equipment is safe and legal for the safety of the kids."

Kim Nelson-Brown, coach of the Angels 11s, said her daughter, Tyler, is on her fourth bat of the year.

"It's just kind of frustrating with the amount you pay for a bat," said Nelson-Brown, who has spent $500 on bats the past seven months and it would have been more if some hadn't been under warranty. "One lasted two practices and one lasted one."

The end caps on Worth brand bats kept breaking for Nelson-Brown, who was forced to call a local sporting goods store Sunday morning to see if she could buy a bat.

"I know there were like four other people doing the same thing," she said. "Bat manufacturers need to step up to the plate." Wallets aren't the only things getting hurt. Olympia Fire coach Doug Haesele said his team had a bat declared illegal at the Firecracker Tournament. "I wasn't upset that they did it," he said. "We had a girl, at that time she was a really hot hitter. It took her mentally out of the rest of the tournament."

Umpires have never taken more bats out of play than in the past two years, according to Shurtz. Bat makers Easton and Demarini have come out with particularly bad models, she said.

"We know now these bats are just terrible," she said. Shurtz's 46 umpires will check every bat on every team before every game this week along with every batting helmet and catcher's mask.

If one player gets hurt because of faulty equipment, she said, "That ruins our tournament."