It is very hard to tell you who should of had the ball. I would of had to seen the play because it is difficult to properly describe what happened. I will say if both you and the center fielder had to dive to catch the ball and the shortstop would not of had to, neither of you should of called it.

Amber, I am glad you asked that question. Communication is so very important to softball and baseball teams. One thing I see a lot of young players call when their waiting to catch a pop or fly ball is I got it/ you got it, the problem with this is sometimes one of the players might not hear the I or you and only the got it and both will either run into each other or watch it fall to the ground. I always tell my players to say mine, mine, mine. As far as who should have caught the ball it should have been the center fielder on most teams, the center fielder is usually the captain of the outfield and has priority on who catches the ball, also it's much easier (in most cases) to catch a ball your coming in on and not one your trying to catch over your shoulder. So outfielders usually have the priority on calling off the infielders.

Amber, this is a great question...Thank goodness the two of you were not hurt. If the ball is between you....then I will tell you the rule I teach my girls on our travel team, which I know is used by many College coaches as well. The priority system is: Outfielders always take priority over infielders because the ball is in front of them. Centerfielder always has priority over OF and SS always has priority over infield; In other words, if these players call for the ball....It is theirs. Knowing this ahead of time helps to avoid collisions such as this. .

We also use different calls, All Infielders say "Got It!" while all OF say "Mine!". This way all players can watch the ball, & They still know who is calling for it without having to look.

I hope this helps. Good Luck....and keep playing hard like that!

Great answer Pete, same thing I would recommend.