MARINE CORPS BASE, CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii -- Big bats in the Lil’ Sluggers lineup pulled off a 22-13 win, finishing a three-game sweep over MARFORPAC G-6 in the best-of-five intramural championship softball series at Bordelon Field here, Nov. 8.
The Sluggers won their first game on Tuesday in a squeaker 8-7. Thursday evening, the first game in the doubleheader was won by mercy rule when the Sluggers outscored G-6 by 10 runs after the fifth inning, 11-1.
The final game is where the real slugfest kicked off.
In the first inning, Michael Berg, Sluggers center fielder/coach, made the first impression, smacking a long fly ball over the fence for a three-run home run. G-6 responded without haste, when Douglas Dixon, pitcher, drove in two runs with a hard ground ball up the third baseline.
Trouble was in the making for the Sluggers in the second inning. It was three up and three down for them, and then G-6 came with an onslaught of base hits. The first nine hitters made it on base and four of them hit doubles.
Juan Griffin, outfielder/shortstop, Jeremy Barton, second baseman, and Jeffrey Boyer, left fielder who went nine for 10 in the last two games, were the hot hitters for G-6 in the doubleheader.
Finally, after a fly ball out and ground out, Greg Fryman, Sluggers shortstop, fielded a difficult ground ball and made the final out at second to end their misery.
The Slugger dugout stayed calm, cool and collected as they started the third inning down six runs.
Eric Henzler, Sluggers second baseman, and Berg both started the inning with doubles to set the needed tone. The Sluggers continued with a procession of base hits to battle back from a six-point deficit, scoring eight runs total.
G-6 managed one run in the bottom of the third and the score was 12-11, Sluggers up.
In the fourth and fifth inning the Sluggers continued to pull away with hit after hit. Four runs were scored in the fourth and Ethan Hoaldridge, Sluggers utility player, knocked a two-run home run followed with an RBI double by Paul “Bunyan” Bowman, left fielder, making the score 19-11.
G-6 scored two more runs in the fifth, and Henzler, Berg, and Alfonzo Lopez, the left fielder, ran in the next three runs for the Sluggers in the sixth inning to make it 22-13.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, G-6 had their last chance to catch up. Two fly balls were caught in left-center field, and the pressure was on.
Douglas Dixon knocked a shallow line drive into center field, but Joseph Kuehner, right-center fielder, made a diving-circus catch and rolled over to hold the ball up in the air. The game was over, Sluggers on top 22-13.
Berg told his team after the game, “Our bats came alive and our defense held up. We had a great game, and it feels good to take home the trophy.”