News

Comm unplugs MXS 20-18 in season opener

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chuck Walker
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 436th Communications Squadron and the 436th Maintenance Squadron started off the 2010 Dover Air Force Base intramural softball season in dramatic fashion in a National League game at the base softball field on June 15.

Providing the drama was Comm catcher Beau Brouillette.

Brouillette belted a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the fifth inning leading Comm to a 20-18 come-back win against MXS.

For Brouillette, who went 2-for-2 with a double, a home run and three RBI, it was a chance to shine in the opening game of the season. To say he was ecstatic with his heroics would be an understatement.

"If this gets in the paper, I'll be happy," Brouillette said. "It just feels good to win. I'm still doing big things for Comm."

Offense was the name of the game for Comm, as each player picked up a base hit. For the game, Comm pounded out 22 hits led by right-center fielder Joe Riff, who went 3-for-3 with a homer, a double and a triple and six RBI.

"Softball is an offensive game, you've got to score lots of runs," Riff said. "Offensively, we hit the ball well. Everybody on the team had at least one base hit. It was a total team effort. It was a good first game, but there is definitely room for improvement."

Early on it looked as though Comm would put away MXS in blow out fashion. Riff blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the first as Comm jumped out to what looked like a commanding 6-0 lead.

After back-to-back RBI doubles by Brouillette and Riff and an RBI single by Shaun Bond, Comm took a 9-3 lead into the top of the fourth inning.

That's when the wheels came off the Comm defense. MXS took advantage of multiple Comm fielding errors to plate eight runs and take the lead 11-9.

After Comm retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth 16-11, MXS again rallied thanks to Comm's fielding woes to lead 18-16 heading into Comm's final at-bats.

Comm coach and second baseman Josh Solomon said defense is definitely an area of improvement for his team.

"I don't know what it is, but we always have 'that' inning," Solomon said of his team's tendency to have defensive lapses. "It always starts with one error, then it compounds into many more errors. It was rough. We made a lot of stupid plays in the field. But we were able to come in and shake it off and start hitting. We did do that well."

For MXS it was a tale of the good and the bad. The good, in being able to come back from huge deficits twice to forge leads. The bad, in not being able to hold off the Comm offense long enough to pick up the victory.

MXS coach Josh Welter said that, all-in-all, he was pleased with his team's effort.

"We did what we had to do and it was a close game," Welter said. "After being down 6-0 in the first inning, we stepped up and had a big fourth inning, we scored eight runs. You couldn't ask for too much more. It's just the first game. We've been practicing. We see what we need to work on."

Solomon said he knows Comm needs to have its defense match its offense if it wants to have a successful season and make a run at the playoffs.

"Defensively, we need to continue to work on the fundamentals," said Solomon. "We have to not let errors get to us. But, we did very well offensively, especially for the first game of the season. We just need to continue to hit offensively and get aggressive base running."