EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 96th Maintenance Squadron overwhelmed the 359th Training Squadron 10-5 July 18 in intramural softball league competition here.
Maintenance came to the matchup in first place in the league standings at 8-1. The 359th, with a 3-4 record, looked to pull even in the standings with a win.
Maintenance’s superior batting and fielding dominated throughout the contest.
The game was close early on. The 359th scored first in the top of the second inning, when Ben Nariz’s single to center field drove in a run for a 1-0 lead.
Maintenance answered quickly in the bottom of the second inning, when a Donny Derusha triple sent a runner home to tie the game at one-all. Derusha tagged up after Jeff Hird’s sacrifice fly to left field put the maintainers in front, 2-1.
At the top of the third, Andrew McEntire’s deep blast to right field notched a run for the 359th and leveled the score at two-apiece.
Maintenance fired up the afterburners in the bottom of the third, as Gage Walsh’s three-run homer and two more team runs powered them to a 7-2 lead.
The 359th never caught up, scoring only three more runs to match Maintenance’s three, through the remaining four innings. Maintenance sealed a 10-5 victory after seven innings.
Tyler Leemon, Maintenance’s coach, was happy with the win, but saw room for improvement.
“Our defense was solid, but our batting has been better,” he said. “We’re going to work on that through the rest of the season.”