Marine Corps Base Hawaii -- Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay’s Flashpoint lost against 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment’s Kings of Battle in an intramural softball game with a score of 14-4.
The game was back and forth as both teams fought to stay ahead of the other. The score was 4-4 at the top of the fourth inning until the Kings got a hitting streak.
“We had a good run,” said Kenneth Epps, the first baseman for the Kings of Battle. “We batted to run in the 4th inning and which gave us a 10-run lead going into the fifth inning.”
Epps said at the beginning of the game the bats just weren’t connecting like they wanted.
“The hits were intermittent,” Epps explained. “But once we got the bats going, everyone started hitting to the outfield.”
Flashpoint third baseman Dalton Stice said his teammates were battling hard while both teams were neck and neck.
“We played really well, but we got down (on ourselves) a little,” he said. “This team was just really good.”
Epps said it’s these softball games that really bring the unit together.
“(Softball) brings together all the different ranks,” said the South Boston, Va., native. “It’s not too often you see master sergeants running around with lance corporals (playing a game). We all get to know each other in a way we don’t get a chance to do at work.”
Stice, a Grantsville, Utah, native said that softball is a game that is fun.
“It’s a pretty good escape,” he added. “You get to go out and play softball (and) there isn’t a rank barrier (in the game).”
The intramural softball league is a huge part of the base, Epps said.
“This is the biggest sport we have on base,” he concluded. “We have 17 teams of 12 to 20 players on each softball team. We prepare all year and talk trash for the intramural season and I’d (even) like to see two seasons a year.”