FORT RUCKER, Ala. (June 7, 2013) -- Summer isn't the only thing in full swing as Fort Rucker intramural softball hits its regular-season stride.
The 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment Outcasts beat the flight-student team, Sauce All-Stars from D Company, 1st Bn., 145th Avn. Reg., 14-12, in a game that kept spectators on the edge of their seats June 3 at the Fort Rucker softball fields.
"I think we had a pretty good win tonight," said James Thomson, coach for the Outcasts. "We had pretty good defense and they played pretty well, but we got the bat on the ball and made some plays."
The Outcasts took to the plate and got off to an easy start as their first batter was walked, followed by a base hit and an RBI to get them on the score board and start the game on the right foot.
Colin Schwalm, player for the Outcasts, took his turn at bat and managed to load the bases with a base hit, which eventually allowed his fellow player, Chris Bunten, to steal home and add to the early lead.
With only one out at this point, the 1-14th team had plenty of opportunity to extend its lead, something it took advantage of as the All-Star's pitcher couldn't seem to catch his stride as he walked multiple players.
The Outcasts managed RBI after RBI before their third out, ending their time at bat 6 runs ahead of their opponents.
The Sauce All-Stars took to the plate determined to stay in the game, and they started out right with a base hit by Frank Yu, which his fellow players quickly followed suit. With the bases loaded and two outs, the D Co. team needed to up their game, and a player stole home to get them on the scoreboard before a pop up sent them back into the outfield with only 1 run.
The Outcasts had the advantage going into the 2nd inning, but they seemed to lose some of their momentum as their opponent's defense tightened up and didn't allow a single run to get through.
The Sauce All-Stars offense appeared to mirror their defense as they took to the plate and loaded the bases early on. Their offense seemed to find the gaps in the Outcasts' defense and they were able to bring in run after run, and end the inning on the heels of their opponents, 6-5.
The 1-14th had its work cut out for it, but wasn't able to get past the D Co. team's tight defense, and went back into the outfield, scoreless again.
The sudden aggressive play style by the Sauce All-Stars allowed them to get back to the plate and bring in two runs and take the lead, 7-6, before their opponent's defense went to work.
The Outcasts were still very much in the game going into the 4th inning, but realized that they were going to have to work for their win, but with two outs early into the inning, the outcome seemed bleak. They managed to keep the ball on the ground with only one out remaining, and brought in two more runs to retake the lead before heading back into the field.
The game wasn't going to be won with just a strong offense, though. The 1-14th defense came together as its opponents took to the plate at the bottom of the fourth, and the Sauce All-Stars didn't manage a single run to end their first scoreless inning of the game.
As the Outcasts seemed to find their footing, they managed to put the ball everywhere their opponents weren't and extended their lead to 9-5 in the fifth inning.
The Sauce All-stars didn't give up that easily, however, as they pushed hard to get past their opponent's defense and eventually bring the teams within one run of each other.
They weren't able to hold onto their momentum, however, as the Outcasts were able to overpower them in every way to end the game, 14-12.
"We like to keep the games close, we like to be the cardiac kids," said Thomson. "Most of our games this year have been 2-3 run games, and this was a 2-run game as well, and it's kind of our MO just to hang with them and try to get a win."
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