INS DRAGONSLAYERS WIN A CLASSIC, GO TO 7-0

Sunnyvale...Last tuesday, the INS Dragonslayers continued their quest for perfection. All through this storied season, the Slayers have won the blow-outs and they have won the close ones but this last game may have been their sweetest victory of all. Down three of their key players, including both their starter and back-up pitchers, the Slayers laughed in the face of adversity, stayed focused and went on to a stirring 12-9 victory over Nav Tech, the number two team in the league.

In the early innings, things looked grim for the Slayers. They looked unfocused and intimidated by Nav Tech and quickly fell behind 5-0 in the 1st. Instead of bouncing back and keeping things close, the Slayers gave up another three runs in the 3rd and quickly trailed 8-0. In the bottom of the 3rd, the Dragonslayers finally got on track. Mitch Alvarez led off with a single and went to 2nd on a Ann Marie Dailey single. With runners on 1st and 2nd, leadoff hitter Jason "Wheels" Dominguez slashed a double to left that scored both runners and the Slayers were on the board. Kelly Vincent followed with a single that scored Dominguez. INS scratched and clawed their way to 2 more runs by the time the inning was over, the Slayers had pulled to within 3, 8-5. In the top of the 4th, Nav Tech got it's lead back up to 4 but 9 runs was all they would get as the Slayer defense clamped down and emergency starter Dave "Scoops" Maynard, settled into a groove on the mound.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Slayers began their comeback. Kelly Vincent led off the inning with a single, the second of her three hits on the evening, and moved to 2nd on a Kim "Patience is my middle name" Goodwin walk. Newcomer Katie "Stretch" Pile contributed a single to score Vincent and "Scoops" Maynard followed with a single to score Goodwin. INS closed out the scoring in the 5th with a Mitch Alvarez single that scored Maynard with the tying run.

After shutting Nav Tech down in the top of the 6th, the Slayer went back to work in the bottom of the inning. Kelly Vincent again led off with a single. Joel Vincent followed with a single of his own. "Patience" Goodwin then followed with another single and the bases were loaded. John "Green Light" Krejcha followed with yet another single to right and the Slayers had the lead, 10-9. "Scoops" Maynard added some insurance with a 2 run single to finish the scoring.

The bottom of the 7th went without incident. INS got the first out on a groundout to the pitcher. After walking the next batter, "Scoops" picked the perfect time to record his first strikeout of the game. The game finished on a weak groundout to 2nd and INS had themselves a 12-9 victory and an amazing comeback from an 8-0 deficit.

Offensively, the Dragonslayers showed they could make things happen even with their best hitter out of the lineup. Everyone stepped up and there were key hits from everywhere in the lineup. The Slayer offense showed that they are never out of a game and that when the chips are down they are at their best.

The Daragonslayer defense had perhaps it's best game of the year. After giving up 8 runs in the first 3 innings, they clamped down and allowed Nav Tech only 3 hits and one run for the rest of the game. The INS outfield was particularly effective doing a great job in the swirling Twin Creek winds.

This week's Star of the Game is a player who just goes out and plays hard every week. When the Dragonslayers needed a pitcher, he stepped in and won his first game of the season with a gutsy performance on the mound. At the plate, he went 4-4, scored a run and had 3 RBIs. Dave "Scoops" Maynard is this week's Star of the Game. He has won himself 1000 rounds of miniature golf at Golfland USA and of course, a gift certificate for dinner for 2 at the local Chuck E. Cheese.

The pressure is building for the 1997 INS Dragonslayers. Can they complete the perfect 10-0 season? The only way to find out is to come out and see them play. Their next game is Tuesday, Sept. 9th at 5:30p on field 9 versus division rival Sony Swingers. The Swingers will be looking for revenge after the early season beating they took at the hands of the Slayers. Come on out to the ballpark...

Dragonslayer softball......come enjoy the ride!