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Team Tinker wins doubleheader

  • Published
  • By Brandice J. Armstrong
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Eric "Ski" Szymanski was not taking any chances.

As the first of two back-to-back softball games got under way, Szymanski hurriedly removed the bats from a wood holder in the dugout, claiming it was bad luck. He leaned them against the fenced dugout cage. But, luck and skill was already on Team Tinker's side. The men's varsity softball team won a doubleheader April 14 at Boomer Sports Complex in Oklahoma City.

Team Tinker, a class "C" team, beat the SPs, a Class "D" team, 13-3 in three innings. An hour later, they defeated another Class "D" team, Impact, 19-9 in four innings.

"Our goal is to be prepared for our upcoming military tournaments and, ultimately, Military World Series in August," said Brent Nichols. "Last Wednesday night, we had an opportunity to find out what it is like when we let hitting become contagious; it's all part of figuring out how to play together. Defensively, we have quite of few weapons which gives us a chance to try a few things out in preparation for weekends, when it counts."

In game No. 1, Szymanski started Tinker's team off on the right foot, hitting a triple. After a walk by Will Mitchell, Cody Brooks hit a sacrifice fly to score Szymanski. That lone run was all Tinker would get in the first inning, but the team was far from done on the scoresheet.

The Tinker bats heated up in the second inning as they tallied eight runs. The SPs lack of defense helped Tinker out a little as John Deem reached third base on an error. Deem scored when the next batter, Taylor Lamar, hit a sacrifice fly. Charles Schumpart followed with a double. A couple of batters later, Szymanski came up to the plate for his second at-bat. His good luck streak continued with his second triple of the game.

Tinker racked up seven hits in the second inning and cruised into the third with a commanding lead.

The SPs didn't have much fight left and were run-ruled by Team Tinker 13-3 in three innings.

The Team Tinker bats stayed hot for the second game against Impact. As he did in game one, Szymanski started it off by hitting a triple. Mitchell and Cody Brooks followed with doubles. Tinker took an early 2-0 lead. The team plated five more runs in the second inning.

Despite the accomplishments of the first two innings, the best was yet to come. In the third inning, Brooks and Schumpart hit homeruns. During innings three and four, Team Tinker scored 12 runs. By the end of the game, each of Tinker's batters had at one hit during the course of the game.