Cops rob the 373d TRS of softball championship

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class William Johnson
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Albert Einstein once said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

It's 8-5 at the top of the seventh inning and the 373d Training Squadron needs two more outs and they'll be crowned the 2014 intramural softball champions. There are runners on first and second and a calculated decision by the coach to intentionally walk two batters in-a-row leaves the score 8-6 and the bases loaded as Rick Barker, 436th Security Forces Squadron third baseman, steps up to the plate. The pitch is thrown inside and the entire 436th SFS team is glued to the fence waiting to see if Barker is going to swing. Barker swings violently and cranks the ball clear over the leftfielder and it easily sails out of the ballpark.

"I don't always try to hit homeruns but I have to ability to do so if I want," said Barker. "The pitcher threw an inside pitch exactly how I like it. That is where my power lies, so I decided to turn on it."

Barker was ready for action after the bold call by 373d TRS to walk the two batters before him. He announced to his teammates, while walking to the plate, "I'm going to make them pay for that."

The 436th SFS rose out of the loser's bracket, which meant they had to win game one to make it to the final championship game. Barker's grand slam sealed their victory and set the stage for the final championship game.

The two teams came out swinging hard and by the end of the third inning the 436th SFS had a slim lead over the 373d TRS 8-6. The 373d TRS closed the gap by scoring a run in the fourth and were only down by one when the 436th SFS came up to bat.
The 373d TRS in an effort to keep the game close revisited a tactic that did not work well for them in the first game.

"I was thinking, I can't believe they are doing it again," said Barker.

Once again, the call was made to intentionally walk the same two 436th SFS batters in-a-row to load the bases. Like an instant replay from the previous game, the bases were loaded and Barker was stepping up to the plate. Barker was unable to knock this ball out of the park, but made solid contact and ended up hitting a double and driving home all three base runners.

"The second time it happened I said the same thing in the dugout, 'If they're going to disrespect and walk to get to me, I'm going to make them pay for it,'" said Barker. "They know we have good hitters, but you know what, I can hit pretty consistently too."

The big play provided all the cushion the 436th SFS team needed and they went on to defeat the 373d TRS 14-8 and seize the 2014 intramural softball championship.

When asked if he regretted making the decision to walk the batters that led to Barker's 7 RBI's, Benjamin Schaffer, 373d TRS player-coach, stood behind his calls and said he would make the same call every time.

"I play a lot with these guys downtown so I knew exactly what I was doing," said Schaffer. "I knew the two batters that we walked can hit the ball out of the park on any given pitch. We thought we could handle Barker, but he had a heck of a night."

Rafael Gonzalez, 436th SFS player-coach, said it was challenging making it to the championship game, but his team pulled together and made winning the championship a reality.

"Well like always, we never make this easy and had to come back from the loser's bracket to win this thing," said Gonzalez. "We had big games leading up to tonight's game and faced elimination multiple times, but we overcame it and it sure does feel great to win it all."