Thanks for the clarification, MD.
Technically, this is an appeal play. It is a live ball appeal of a runner who left early on a caught fly ball. Live ball appeals don't require any sort of verbal appeal by the defense. All they require is a tag of the runner being appealed.
But we are getting off the point. Whether this was an appeal play or just a routine tag of a runner who was off her base, it doesn't matter one bit. My answer is still the same.
Any runner crossing the plate BEFORE the third out tag play scores.
Any runner crossing the plate AFTER the third out tag play does not score.
This does bring us to the claim that this was a "force out". This is one of the biggest rule myths I deal with and a question that has come up time and time again. This is NOT a force play!
The definition of a force play is when a runner is forced to advance by the batter becoming a batter-runner. Once the batter-runner is retired (as this one was, on a caught fly ball) all force plays are removed.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to have a force play once the batter-runner has been put out. Once the batter-runner is put out, the other runners are no longer FORCED to advance, they can stop on the base they're on, retreat to the prvious base, or advance if they wish to.
The confusion seems to be that on normal force play, runners are routinely retired by a fielder stepping on a base. On a fly ball where the runner left too soon, that runner can also be put out by a fielder just touching a base.
Doubling off a runner following a catch looks similar to a force play, because the fielder is just tagging the base, so many people just assume that whenever a runner leaves early on a catch that is is a force out. But it is NOT a force out, either by rule or definition!
