Runner out of basepath?

Question
Should a baserunner have been called out in the following situation? (girls 12U softball playing under PONY rules)
Runners on 2nd and 3rd, no outs.
Line drive to 2nd baseman who catches the ball, then doubles runner off of 3rd base.  
Confusion takes over as both teams believe there are 3 outs.
Runner on second base walks toward dugout but does not leave the field of play (stays between foul lines) and is near pitcher's mound when she realizes there are only 2 outs.  She runs in a direct path toward 2nd base with a defensive player chasing her with the ball.  Runner makes it back to 2nd base before tag.  Umpires confer and call runner out for being out of base path.
Is this correct?

Answer
Richard,

This is absolutely incorrect.  The runner should not have been called out.  It boils down to not understanding what a base path is.  A base path is not a direct line between two bases.

A base path is always defined by the current position of the runner and is a direct line from the current position of the runner and the base they are running to.  It would be perfectly legal (although very stupid) for a runner to leave first base run toward the pitcher, do a loop around the pitcher and then head to second base.  

The only situation in the rule book where the runners base patch comes into play is when the defense is attempting to make a tag on the runner.  In this case the runner can not veer more that three feet from their current base path to the next base.  If they do, they are out.

In your scenario, picture a straight line from the current position of the runner to second base as she leaves the field.  As she walks away from second base this line moves based on the position of the runner.  When she realizes that she should still be on second, she runs directly back to the base, following her current base path.  Since the defensive player was chasing her with the ball it doesn't sound like the runner ever veered off her current path to the base.

Tom