Wednesday, Jun. 27, 2012

Engineers outlast 2-69 at Gowdy

Though shorthanded and lacking on defense, the 11th Engineer Battalion remained at the top of the Woods League in intramural softball play Wednesday. The Engineers (6-1) held off 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 7-5, at Gowdy Field.

Engineers coach George Ruiz said nearly half of his starting lineup missed the game due to leave time. But Ruiz exhaled once his team put to rest a late-game threat by 2-69.

“We still only have one loss,” Ruiz said. “It was a big win for us today.”

2-69 failed to score in the last three innings after scoring five in the first four. Pop outs and shallow grounders appeared contagious. With 2-69 down to its final three outs, the Engineers made quick work with a three-up, three-down inning.

Until the last couple of innings, the game was the worst defensive performance of the season for the Engineers, Ruiz said.

But, the offense was just good enough after a hot start. The Engineers scored five runs in the first two innings. “We won the innings,” Ruiz said. “We scored more runs than them every inning. Our defense wasn’t so good, but our sticks kept us in the game.”

Catcher Josh Olson, who had two runs in the game, scored a crucial run in the sixth to give the Engineers a two-run lead.

“(Scoring the extra run) was really big because we knew time was getting short. We knew if we made any mistakes on the defensive end, we could still be OK,” Ruiz said.

2-69 dropped to 1-3 with the loss. Coach Shane Jones said the team missed almost three weeks worth of games due to field duties. It’s now in the process of making those games up.