It may have taken most of the game to get the lead, but the Pioneers rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring seven runs to claim a 10-9 victory in intramural softball June 10 at Gowdy Field.
The Outriders, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning, while the Pioneers, 2nd Bn., 29th Inf. Regt., scored one run to trail 5-1.
The Pioneers' Matt Hauser homered in the second and Shane Pogue hit an RBI double in the third to close the deficit to 5-3, while the Pioneers held the Outriders scoreless.
The Outriders extended their lead to 9-3 in the top of the fifth, scoring on a Josh Sweeden RBI single and two Pioneer errors.
The Pioneers began their seven-run comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning with Mo Moore, Will Edwards and Ryan Estes driving in runs. Estes went on to score on a catcher's error to tie the game at 9. Lamont Williams broke the stalemate with an RBI single minutes before game time expired, sealing the 10-9 win for the Pioneers.
Williams said the victory was exciting because of the friendly rivalry between the two teams who are in the same regiment.
"This is like a Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs game - it's a rivalry," he said.
Williams said although the team was down, he knew his team would come out on top.
"We have a good team, it just takes us a while to get our bats (going)," he said. "We stayed focused and motivated, tightened our defense in the last couple of innings and got the hits when it mattered."
Pioneers' coach Phillip Murray said the team usually comes back in the latter part of the game.
"Usually, in the first two innings, we're sloppy, but then we'll get into the game, focus and come back in the last two or three innings," he said. "By the end, we realized we needed to make base hits and we would be good ... and we did that."
Next up for the Pioneers is 11th Engineer Bn. Team Two at 6 p.m. June 24 while the Outriders will take on E Co., 1st Bn. (Airborne), 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment at
8 p.m. Both games are at Gowdy Field. Spectators are welcome.
Editor's note: For more softball scores, see the Sports Scoreboard.
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