CPTS disconnects COMM 14-7

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chuck Walker
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Known for not being a power team, when the 436th Comptroller Squadron softball team can consistently string together its hits, the results are usually good.

And Tuesday night was no exception.

CPTS came away with 15 base hits as it was able to defeat the 436th Communications Squadron 14-7 in a National League game at the Dover Air Force Base softball field on August 3.

The victory pushes CPTS' record to 7-4 on the season, providing them with much needed momentum as the season heads toward the playoffs.

"It was good to be able to get the win," CPTS first baseman/coach Jason Pulido said. "We've been struggling the last couple of games with hitting consistently and being able to find a way to get runs on the board. We were able to get the hits when we needed them and at the right times, which enabled us to put runs on the board."

Early on the game looked to be a nip-and-tuck struggle.

After CPTS jumped to an early 3-0 lead after two innings, COMM finally woke up offensively.

Mike Morris blasted a three-run homer and Beau Brouillette rapped a two-run homer to give COMM its only lead of the game at 6-3 in the top of the third inning.

CPTS dashed any hopes of a COMM victory by scoring five runs in the third to retake the lead in the bottom of the third at 8-6. CPTS added three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to close out the victory.

Bill LaDuke led CPTS offensively going 3-for-3 with two doubles and four RBI. Nyle Smith went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI, while Ben Taylor and Thomas Tarantella each went 2-for-3 as well for CPTS.

Smith said CPTS' ability to hold COMM scoreless the first couple of innings enabled them to avoid COMM gaining revenge for a defeat earlier in the season.

"We had the article in the paper after the last game, so it was good to get a good team out here and be able to hold them off," Smith said. "We were able to score runs early and we were able to keep them from scoring, which was good. We kept playing our game and we were able to pick up a good win."

Joe Riff led COMM in hitting going 3-for-3. Morris went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, Brouillette went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI, while second baseman/coach Josh Solomon went 2-3 with an RBI as well as COMM dropped to 7-4 on the season with the loss.

Solomon said not getting enough offense and leaving too many runners stranded is what hurt its cause. He said his team needs to keep on hitting if it wants to improve and be ready for the playoffs.

"It wasn't a bad game, we just couldn't string hits together and we left a lot of runners stranded, " Solomon said. "We just need to keep hitting. We also need to get our heads in the game and stop making errors in the field. We didn't have a lot of errors, but the few we did have hurt us. We just need to buckle down on defense a little more."

As for CPTS, Pulido said they will need to fill holes in their lineup due to people leaving and just keep on hitting.

"We just need to get everybody we can out here to play," Pulido said. "We've lost a couple of players due to PCS and we just need to fill those holes due to people leaving. We also just need to keep hitting. We're not a power team, we have to hit singles. We just need to keep doing it so we can score runs."