The National Guard Hummers, trailing by five runs in the sixth inning, rallied to shock the Coolers, 13-12, in extra innings Thursday night in game two of the Bob Owens Softball League’s action at the D.C. Canegata Ball Park. Coolers ace Warren Brooks kept the powerful Hummers line up off balance for most of the night, but in the end it was the play of his team’s defense that let him down.
The Coolers got a three-run home run off the bat of Jose Berrios in the top of the first to take the early 3-0 lead. An RBI single by Arthur Canaii in the bottom of the inning got one back for the Hummers and they trailed 3-1 after one.
The Coolers went right back on the offense in the top of the second, plating four more runs to extend their lead to 7-1. They scored seven runs on an RBI double by Brooks, RBI singles by Dwayne Harvey and Oto Pereira and a fielder’s choice. The Hummers failed to score in the bottom of the inning and the score would stay this way until the top of the fourth.
A bases-loaded walk drawn by Berrios and two errors by the Hummers allowed the Coolers two more runs and an eight run advantage at 9-1 in the top of the fourth. It was in the bottom of the inning, however, that the Hummers began their comeback. They began chipping away at the lead when Dushane Brown blasted a two-run home run to bring two runs closer at 9-3 after four completed innings.
After the Coolers failed to score in the top of the fifth, the Hummers cut into the lead once again in the bottom of the inning on a two-run single by David Clark to trail 9-5.
Jose Navarro’s RBI double made it 10-5 in the top of the sixth, but the Hummers erupted for six big runs in the bottom of the sixth on a three-run blast by Sylvester Blake and a three-run error by the Coolers left fielder that propelled them into the lead at 11-10.
The sudden turnaround momentarily seemed to shock Coolers, but they regrouped in the top of the seventh to retake the lead at 12-11 on Michael Schjang’s two-run home run over the center field fence. An error by the Coolers allowed the Hummers to tie the game at 12 in the bottom of the inning to send the game into extra innings.
The Hummers ace, Jerry Vialet, was tough on the Coolers in the top of the eighth, striking out one batter and coercing two easy ground outs from the other two. The Hummers completed their comeback when Neal Davis ripped a sharp, walk-off single to left to score Mervin Mills from second for the 13-12 victory.
Vialet got the win on the hill for the Hummers while Brooks got the loss. Top batters for the winners were Blake (3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs), Brown (2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs), and Clark was (2 for 4 with two RBIs). For the Coolers, Schjang was 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs, Berrios, 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs and Brooks was 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
