The enforcement fluctuates from umpire to umpire, regardless of who the player, the team, or the head coach is.

Even iconic coaches like Gasso at Oklahoma are not beyond the whim of an umpire who decides that they want to make a rather meaningless infraction a major part of the game.

While our eyes on VT softball make us feel like everyone is picking on Emma, Bahl has been called too, starting from the very beginning of the season. Six times in one game against UCLA. Her response to that game here (and the full article linked below). Like Emma, she seems to be working on trying to stay grounded a little better. Unless/until they make some changes, both will continue to be subject to an umpire's decision to make or ignore the call.


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While Bahl didn’t have much trouble with the Bruins, she did have some slip ups in the circle. Bahl got called for six illegal pitches throughout the game, two of which came on what would have been strikeouts pitches.

But Bahl didn’t seem deterred. She got both Bruins out on the next pitch.

“I thought that the adversity was a good thing for our team tonight, especially me on the mound getting those illegal pitches called,” Bahl said. “I think that was good because that stuff’s not going away. It’s going to keep happening throughout the season and learning how to deal with that early on is big.”
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I really like that neither she nor Emma are playing the victim with regard to this. As fans, we can complain all we want, but both of these ladies seem to take it in stride and manage as best as they can.