FORT RUCKER, Ala. (August 16, 2012) -- Fort Rucker got a break from the rain as the sun peaked through the clouds to provide ideal weather for the Fort Rucker Intramural Softball Post Championship Game Aug. 9.
The 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment Misfits won the post championship as they beat the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory's Double Tap in the final game of the double-elimination tournament, 14-6.
Jason Umiamaki, pitcher for the Misfits, said it was a team effort that brought them to this point.
"We came together really well during the past four or five weeks and it was more of a team effort than anything," he said. "There was no one person who stood out. Our defense was sensational and our hitting was impeccable."
As the game started out, the Misfits got home field advantage during the coin toss and took to the field as their opponents went up to bat.
Double Tap started off strong with a base hit to put a man on the base before their power hitter, Marcus Prichard, mirrored his first at bat the first time the two teams met and hit a home run to bring in two runs for his team to start the game strong.
The USAARL team was able to get a few more base hits, but their opponent's defense went to work and quickly sent Double Tap out into the field.
As the Misfits took to the plate, determined not to fall behind, they were able to put the ball on the ground and get players on the bases.
Despite a pop fly that led to an out, they managed a 2-run shot to put their team on the scoreboard.
They continued to find the gaps in their opponent's defense and put more runners on base to make sacrifices and bring in runs to allow them to surpass Double Tap.
A pop fly to center field eventually ended their time at the plate to end the 1st inning leading their opponents, 4-2.
As the Misfits took to the field, their defense played as hard as their offense to keep Double Tap from getting on base. An out at first sent the USAARL team back into the field without adding any runs to the scoreboard.
The Misfits went back up to bat, up by two runs, giving them the advantage in the bottom of the 2nd. They managed multiple base hits but Double Tap's defense got into the game and was able to keep their opponents at bay.
It wasn't enough to stop the Misfits, however, as they seemed to find the gaps in Double Tap's defense and managed to bring in two more runs and lead the game 6-2.
Although it was still early in the game, Double Tap had to work hard to get back in the game. With two outs early in the inning, things weren't looking good for them, but they managed to start getting the ball on the ground to bring in a run before another pop fly sent them into the field.
The Misfits continued to play their offense aggressively as they hit base hits giving them the opportunity to sacrifice players to bring in runs and extend their lead by another two runs.
Double Tap went into the 4th inning determined to get back into the game, but were unable to break their opponents' aggressive defense as they ended another at bat scoreless.
As the Misfits took to the plate, their offense seemed to dwindle and mirror that of their opponents as they hit three back-to-back pop flies for three consecutive outs.
Double tap took advantage of their opponent's scoreless inning and stepped up their offense by putting a man on the base before hitting a home run to bring in two runs for the team and close the scoring gap.
Despite having two outs, USAARL's team was determined to stay at the plate and managed to get more base hits and bring in additional runs to end the inning only down by two runs.
Although the Misfits' defense slipped in the previous inning, their offense made up for it as they were able to keep the ball on the ground, load the bases and bring in three runs before heading back into the field to lead their opponents 11-6.
Their defense echoed their offense as they kept Double Tap at bay during their time at the plate and kept them from bringing in any runs.
As the Misfits went back up to the plate in the bottom of the 6th inning, their opponent's defense seemed to falter again as they allowed the 1-145th team to get on the bases and extend their lead by three more runs.
Double Tap had one final opportunity to pull out a win in the final inning, but their opponent's superior defense went into play and stopped them from scoring to end the game 14-6.
"We had a good team and we knew we would contend this year," said Brad Mort, coach for the Misfits. "[Double Tap] is a good team and they blew out two teams last night to play us again."
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