The crack of wooden bats and the sound of players sliding into bases were prevalent at the Tarawa Terrace baseball complex as two baseball games were played aboard the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune housing area June 24.
The Lejeune Bombers took on the Breaktime Warriors during the second game of the night.
The 5-2 Bombers came out firing from the start of the first inning. Trevor Kean, the starting pitcher for the Bombers, played well and after hitting the second batter he faced, he forced the next batter to ground into a double play, which ended the top half of the inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, the batters saw the ball well and strung together hit after hit. Tony Hill, right fielder for the bombers, smashed a double off the left field fence, scoring a run on the play. The bombers took an early two-run lead after the first inning.
The Warriors faced the same offensive struggles in the second inning, as the first two batters struck out and the third grounded out. Kean was off to a great start, and the Warriors had no answer for him.
The gates broke wide open in the home half the second. The Bombers racked up numerous hits, and the inning capped off with a two-run home run by center fielder Eric White. The game was getting more and more out of reach for the Warriors, who were down by six after two innings.
The game went smoother for the Warriors as time went on, with the Bombers only scoring two runs over the next three innings, but Kean kept mowing down batter after batter for the Warriors. Every time there was a bit of hope for the Warriors to score a run, the Bombers defense stepped up and made big plays, whether it was a sliding catch by the third baseman, or Hill throwing out a runner who tried to stretch a single into a double. Kean shutout the Warrior through five innings before he was taken out.
In the top of the sixth inning, Hill switched from right field to pitcher. The Warriors could not make contact with the flamethrower, other than barely fouling off pitches. Hill struck out the side with precise control, along with a blazing fastball and a curveball no one could time.
The score of the game going into the bottom of the sixth inning was 8-0. If the Bombers scored two more runs, the 10-run rule would come into effect, ending the game.
The first batter reached base on a single, followed by White hitting a double, scoring the batter before him. Hill stepped up to the plate after White, and just as the game was going his way so far, so did this at-bat. The pitcher delivered the ball and Hill sent it into orbit, hitting a sky-rocket, two-run home run into left field, putting his team up by 11-0, ending the game.
Even though it was a one-sided game throughout, the Bombers and Warriors displayed great sportsmanship, acting professionally and even joking around with each other at various times during the game.
“I love calling games for the (Carolina Men’s Baseball League), and these two teams always have great attitudes whenever they take the field,” said the home plate umpire for the game.