Rule 6.08 (b)(2) Says a batter is not entitled to first base if “The batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball” ... and, in that case, the umpire is to call the pitch as he sees it ... ball or strike.
Thanks for posting the actual rule. I was going to say that was the rule, but then I’m thinking back to my own time as a Softball Pitcher.
There was this one girl (yes I remember her name, but it’s not imp.) and she ALWAYS crowded the plate something awful... I mean bending at the waist so far that her HEAD was in the strike zone - she did this until the count built up and worked on the pitcher (most girls were way too intimidated to aim for her head). I remember my coach telling me - just pitch like you ALWAYS do, put it right in there and if she doesn’t move, she doesn’t get the base. As soon as she figured out I wasn’t falling for her deliberate intimidation tactics she NEVER crowded the plate facing me again... We ended up winning that game, but lost our second game that day (playoffs).
We ended up in 3rd for the season, but after watching that girls’ team consistently pull dirty tricks all season long we were more than satisfied that we beat them. (The fact that the girl’s Dad - and team’s coach - was a former MLB player made them think they were invincible and there’s no doubt in my mind that the tricks were compliments of her father.)