If a successful appeal of a runner leaving a base too soon is the third out of the inning, which statement is correct?

• A. No runs score as this is considered to be a force play.
• B. All runs that score in advance of the appealed runner and scored prior to the appeal will count.
• C. The inning ends immediately with the third out.
• D. The appeal has no effect on scoring.

Answer: (B)

When the third out of an inning is recorded on an appeal for leaving a base too soon, the inning ends, but any runs that have already crossed home plate before that moment still count. The appeal-out stops further scoring in that play, so only runs that had scored prior to the appeal (and before the third out) stand.

That’s why the statement stating that all runs that score in advance of the appealed runner and scored prior to the appeal will count is the best answer. It reflects that the out on appeal ends the inning, but does not erase runs that had already scored. The other options misstate the situation: it isn’t a forced-out scenario, the inning ending is true but incomplete without mentioning scoring, and an appeal can affect scoring, so saying it has no effect is incorrect.