Down of the Day

[ElvisLives]

Not terribly difficult, but a good one to review. Some info provided may not be important, but provide all elements (possession, down, distance, yard line, time, clock status, and score) in your ruling.
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Kickoff, A-35, 10:00 (2), A=7, B=0.
A11’s legal place kick lands at the B-10 and bounces/rolls to the B-3, where B99 attempts to recover the ball, but muffs it and the ball bounces into B’s end zone. B99 and A80 are chasing the ball in the end zone when B99 slaps the ball to prevent A80 from recovering the ball. The ball rolls beyond the end line. The game clock was correctly started when first touched by B99, and reads 9:55 when the ball is declared dead by the covering officials.

Ruling:

[Stinterp]

When you say B99 "slaps" the ball, I assume you mean he "bats" it., If so, this is a foul for an illegal bat, enforce from the previous spot and A will rekick from the A45, or decline and then the result of the play is a Touchback. B 1/10 B-25 , lateral position, snap
Clock is correct.

[ElvisLives]

When you say B99 "slaps" the ball, I assume you mean he "bats" it., If so, this is a foul for an illegal bat, enforce from the previous spot and A will rekick from the A45, or decline and then the result of the play is a Touchback. B 1/10 B-25 , lateral position, snap
Clock is correct.

Yes (on the ruling). It might seem somewhat natural to rule a safety, since, in any other situation, batting a loose ball in the end zone is a foul, resulting in a safety. But, not on a free kick. Until the ball is possessed, the previous spot is the enforcement spot for most fouls (which includes illegal batting) DURING THE KICK on a free kick. Even though touched by B, the status of the ball was still a free kick when the batting occurred.

I try not to use a term that directly describes the action as a foul. With as little judgment as possible, I want the reader to decide if something is a foul - or not - by describing the action as accurately as possible, and in a way that leaves no doubt as to whether the action is, or is not, a foul. I would hope that everyone would rule ‘slapping’ the ball as ‘batting’ the ball.
(However, I checked for synonyms of ‘slap,’ hoping to find ‘bat,’ but didn’t. I still think officials would equate a slap, or slapping, the ball, with batting.  )