LRS defeats 56 AMXS 15-11 during softball championship

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman TONG DUONG
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  
The 56th Logistic Readiness Squadron softball team defeated the 56th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron team 15-11 to secure the intramural championship Monday.

Looking to rein home a win, both teams fought to keep each other scoreless for the first inning. The seesaw action continued until the middle of the second inning, when LRS's Jeremy Whitworth drove the ball deep into the right field. The play would give his team the momentum to score seven more runs in the third inning, allowing them to dominate the board 8-0 going into the fourth.

Scoreless but undeterred by the point spread, AMXS' Jeff Owens struck back with a run batted in to put his team on the board. Slowly the AMXS team chipped away at the 10 points LRS has stockpiled by the end of the fourth.

AMXS drove home three runs in the fifth and six innings to try and close the gap. After a scoreless fifth inning, LRS came back with five runs to distance themselves 15-7 at the end of the sixth.

Going on the defensive, LRS worked hard to keep their competitors at bay, but AMXS continued racking up more runs in the seventh inning.

Despite the AMXS' efforts, the LRS was able to hold them off, to take the 15-11 win.

"We came out to a slow start, but after three innings we were able to settle down and hit the ball well," said John Kemp, 56th AMXS coach, "but they were able to get eight runs on us in the first three innings (giving them the upper hand.)"

Having a full lineup throughout the regular season and playoffs were one of the many aspects that helped the LRS team.

"Having all our players throughout the season helped the team a lot," said Ian Reeve, 56th LRS coach. "We didn't have to mix and match players or switch people around. It gave us great continuity across the board. We had a lot of confidence going into the playoffs, because we played very well as a team this year. We also had a lot of key hits from everyone across the board. We were coming into the playoffs hot."

Pitching and defense also helped to defeat the 56th AMXS team, specifically the defensive side of the house, said Coach Reeves.

"We focused on defense more during the playoffs than our regular season," he said, "but a total team effort helped us to win."
Along with their undefeated record of 16-0 in the regular season, the win also gave the squadron a morale boost as it has been a few years since LRS has brought home the intramural softball championship trophy.

For more information on sporting events, call the fitness center staff at (623) 856-6241.