By Steven Lewis
TORRINGTON – Buried into No. 5 Torrington softball’s 4-0 victory over No. 12 East Lyme in the Class L state tournament on Thursday was one of the most bizarre umpiring decisions of the entire spring season.
It’s a well-accepted fact in sports that officials have the final say in a game. Well, in the fifth inning at Torrington High School, the umpires had the final say three different times … on the same play.
While Torrington held a 4-0 lead, East Lyme’s Sage Dubreuil smacked a long fly down the left field line off Torrington pitcher Ali DuBois, a ball that rolled a long way in an outfield with no fence. Dubreuil rounded the bases with ease, appearing to score East Lyme’s first run.
Nearly as soon as she crossed the plate, however, the field umpire raised his fist in the air, calling Dubreuil 
out because she did not touch second base during her trip around the base path. Torrington players ran off the field to the dismay of the East Lyme coaching staff.
If the initial call itself wasn’t strange enough, it was about to get weirder. After some debate from the East Lyme head coach, who argued that Torrington didn’t appeal the call, the umpires met and decided to overturn the original call.
Now it was Torrington’s turn to argue. Head coach Maryanne Musselman took to the field, expressing her strong displeasure with the decision.
As Torrington players prepared to take the field again, the umpires notified Musselman that the Red Raiders could not appeal the play at second base since they walked off the field. According to the umpires, once players leave the field, they give up the right to appeal a call.
Musselman argued, and rightfully so, that the Torrington players only left the field because the field umpire originally called Dubreuil out, which would have been the third out of the inning.
After more deliberation by the umpires, the field umpire stated that the Torrington second baseman, Alexis Tyrell, actually tagged second base at the end of the play. Tyrell saw that Dubreuil missed the base and when the relay throw came to the infield, Tyrell tagged second immediately.
Why this information wasn’t shared originally by the field umpire is a mystery. What was a clear call, as video evidence suggests Dubreuil did indeed miss the base, became a terrible blunder of indecision by the umpiring crew.
As can be expected, the East Lyme head coach was livid, nearly taking her team to the bus right after the second call was changed. The whole sequence was a nightmare, going back and forth, as just about everyone (including people off the field) shared their interpretation of the rules.
Isn’t that why we have umpires?
The bottom line is that Torrington won 4-0, and the solo home run would not have mattered anyway. However, you will have a hard time recalling a play in any sport where umpires or officials changed the call not once, but twice.