Intramural Softball Games Decided by Umpires

I am a member of an Intramural CoEd Softball team. Recently our team was playing in the Playoffs. The team we were playing had one extra player they wanted to let hit, so they stuck him in at the 11th postion in the batting order. The umpire (we will not state a name to save embarassment) was uninformed of the rules he was there to enforce and allowed the 11th batter to hit. The game was lost by my team after the extra man loaded up on RBI’s and Hits of his own. When we asked the umpire before the game if the extra man was allowed he said “We play ASA rules and they can have a DH.” Nowhere in CoEd ASA rules can you have a DH. Because of this blatant misinterpitation of the rules of the game we were handed a loss to a far inferior team. This umpire was friends of the team we were playing even going as far as helping their pitcher warm up and chatting with team as friends and not players. Which brings me to my point. Should players of teams playing in that particular sport be allowed to umpire for those games. Why are people that are trying to win just as bad as the rest of us be allowed to have the final say on who wins? Trust me on this one, the umpire made the game. With no offical from the Intramural office watching over the game the umpire called one of the most one-sided games I have ever seen. Submitted by ADAM BLANKENSHIP