Tinker softball team alone in first place Published May 14, 2010 By Brandice J. Armstrong Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- May 5 was both an interesting and intense evening for the Tinker men's varsity softball team at Boomer Sports Complex in Oklahoma City. The team attempted to recapture its unofficial "doubleheader winner" title and take first place in the league. They succeeded, but with drama. When all was said and done, Will Mitchell said, "We are all alone in first place." The evening began with a 7:30 p.m. game at field 4. Tinker played the Outsiders, an equivalent rated "C" team. Already up 1-0, Tinker scored three more runs in the second inning. Taylor Lamar scored on a single off the bat of Will Schmitz. Immediately after, Chris Graham hit a two-run homerun. Tinker scored another run in the third inning, making the score 5-0. Seven more Tinker runs crossed the plate in the fourth inning. The barrage began when Graham hit a single, allowing Mike McCabe to score. With two runners on the bases, Eric "Ski" Szymanski then hit an inside-the-park homerun. Charles Shumpart, John Deem and Jeramy Thigpen also scored. At the end of the inning, Tinker was up 12-0. With Tinker leading by so many runs, the officials switched the teams' "home" and "away" positions to allow the Outsiders one more chance to score before enacting the mercy rule. The Outsiders took advantage of the opportunity and scored 14 runs. "We gave them every one of their hits, don't complain, just play the game," Mark Upchurch said when his teammates returned to the dugout. The Outsiders led 14-12, but Tinker was not about to give up. The base team scored six runs in their half of the fifth and went ahead 18-14. The Outsiders only scored one run in the top of the sixth inning and the game ended 18-15 in Tinker's favor. An hour later, Tinker met TWP at field 3. The two "C-rated" teams shared the first place position in the standings. TWP wasted no time getting on the board, scoring five runs in the first inning. Szymanski led off the Tinker half of the inning with a single. He advanced to third base on a double by Mitchell. The two base runners got Tinker on the board when they scored on Deem's double. Thigpen kept the hit parade going with a two-run homerun. Tinker still trailed 5-4, but the inning was far from over. Upchurch and Lamar hit singles and Graham hit a double, allowing his teammates to score. With Graham still on base and two outs, Schmitz hit a single and picked up the RBI when Graham crossed home plate. The first inning ended with Tinker back on top, 7-5. In the bottom of the second inning, Tinker's Deem, Thigpen and Upchurch all crossed home plate, bringing the score 10-5. The Tinker bats stayed hot in the third inning. Schmitz and Szymanski hit singles, but Schmitz was tagged out running to second. Mitchell followed with a homerun, allowing himself and Szymanski to score. Mitchell's homerun marked the second for Tinker in the game and until TWP got two of their own, the next Tinker homerun would be declared an out. After three innings, Tinker led 13-5. TWP responded with three runs in the fourth inning. Hitting a single, Mitchell was the only Tinker player to score in the fourth inning. Deem tried, but hit a homerun, which was declared an out. Tinker led 14-8. Tinker needed two runs in the fifth inning for the game to end under the mercy rule. The team only plated one run, so the game went into the sixth inning. TWP put up a good fight, scoring four runs, but Tinker held on for the 15-12 win and sole possession of first place.