In a non-forced situation with two runners sharing a base, and both are tagged, which statement is true?

• A. Both runners are out.
• B. Neither runner is out.
• C. The preceding runner is declared out.
• D. The following runner is declared out.

Answer: (D)

The situation hinges on ownership of the base in a non-forced scenario. When two runners share a base, the runner who arrived first has the base as their own. The second runner is occupying the same base only because there’s no force to move them forward yet, so they’re not safe just by touching the base. If both runners are tagged during the play, the tag on the trailing runner is the one that produces an out, because that runner was not legally occupying the base by the time the tag occurred. The lead runner remains on the base and is not out for this particular tag sequence.

So the true statement is that the following runner is declared out.