The first inning was over quickly with only one Marine scoring and the Falcons failing to get a runner on base.  The trend of no runners on base continued through the second inning and into the third.

As the Falcons came to bat in the third, the pace of the game was flying. First batter Rick Janzer stood ready behind home base. With a solid crack of the bat Janzer hit the ball between the short stop and second baseman managing to get on base.  It was short-lived, however, as the Marines got a double play and struck out the next Falcon up to bat.

As the game progressed, the Marines scored one more run in the fifth inning before a double play by the Falcons stopped the Marines from scoring again.

Hope was running low for the Falcons until the seventh inning when both Jeremy Rojas and Paul Madrid made it on base. With two on, Mike Ortiz stepped up to bat. He hit a ball into left field, and was plucked up by the Marine left fielder. He threw to first but overcompensated making the ball skip by the first baseman. Rojas and Madrid were able to make it home, tying the game, while Ortiz ran to second during the confusion of the play.

With the game tied, both teams fought to gain the lead but were unsuccessful. The first game ended in a tie 2-2.

“The second game is where we took them,” said Nichalos George, Luke Falcons coach. “The Marines were not happy about the tie the first game. That’s when we really won. They lost focus and their team unity just wasn’t there anymore.”

The second game began much like the Marines started the first but this time the first batters from both teams made it home. Keeping up the momentum made the difference for the Falcons.

To the dismay of the Marines, the Falcons took a quick lead scoring three more runs in the second. After that, the Marines were able to hold off the Falcon fury for two innings before the Falcons scored yet again.

The Marines were not able to score after the first inning until the eighth inning when two Marine batters made it to first and second. The Marines third batter brought the first two home, but in the process, got himself out.  The Marines continued the inning with two more runs bringing them to yet another tie at 5-5.

The Falcons up to bat told the Marines how they felt about the tie. The first Falcon batter struck out while the next three batters, Dennis Bettcher, Gary Nelson and Heath Wimberley all made it home, ending the game. The Falcons won 8-5.

“It was good to beat the Marines,” Coach George said. “They bested us last year. It was sort of a miracle, because our team hasn’t played together for a while. But the Marines play all the time. This meeting didn’t make them happy.”