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Swingers capture regular season crown

  • Published
  • By John Banks
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., --  The long awaited match-up of two of the top teams in intramural softball's Monday League took place Aug. 4 and it definitely did not disappoint. The Swingers captured the regular season crown by defeating the 72nd Medical Group 16-7 under the blistering sun at the Tinker Sports Complex . 

The two of the perennial powers of intramural softball got under way with the Swingers taking the lead in the first inning. Power hitter and first baseman Doak Wishon got his team on the board early with a run-scoring double to put the Swingers up 1-0 after one inning. 

"Doak is the heart of our team. He is currently batting .950 with 12 home runs and he is the key to our offense," said Robert Mahan, head coach of the Swingers. 

The Swingers continued their hitting prowess in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Jimmy Horton increasing the Swingers' lead to 3-0. 

The 72nd Med Group responded in the bottom half of the second inning. First baseman Joe Henry and pitcher Marcus Henry let the hit parade with a pair of run-scoring doubles, tying the score at 3-3. 

The flood gates opened up over the next two innings for the Swingers, on the way to a victory. The Swingers scored 13 runs behind the power hitting of first baseman Bud Cox who hammered out two home runs and drove in six runs over the two inning stretch. The first home run was a monster shot over the center-field fence driving in three runs to give the Swingers an 8-3 lead in which they would never surrender. 

The Med Group tried to keep it close, however they were only playing the game with eight players and that advantage was too difficult to overcome. 

Henry and Brown hit two more run-scoring doubles in the third inning to keep it close at 8-5, but an eight-run outburst by the Swingers in their half of the fourth inning catapulted them to victory. 

"This was a great win for us leading into the playoffs," said Mahan. 

With the win, the Swingers finish the regular season with a 14-2 record and capture the regular season title. The loss drops the 72nd Med Group to a 10-6 record and a number three seed in the upcoming playoffs.