It's 'Déjà Vu All Over Again' as Staff/Faculty Win Softball Game in Dramatic Fashion

Students came out with a vengeance in Wednesday's softball challenge against staff/faculty: Justin Eberhart, Bryann Bingamann and Marc Kaylor scored early to take a 3-0 lead after the first inning. Their opponents didn't get their first run until the third, and scored three more in the bottom of the fourth after RBI singles from Eric Ranck and Andy Gutkowski. Determined not to let this one get away, the students answered with three runs in the fifth (thanks to two RBI singles and an RBI double) to go up 7-4. The staff/faculty team got one back in the bottom of the inning on Michael Richards' inside-the-park home run to make the score 7-5. Gutkowski led off the bottom of the sixth with an inside-the-park homer, cutting the student lead to one. Jami Hughes belted a single and Rick Wyland hit into a fielder's choice, giving the students one out to work with. "And wouldn't you know it," intramural assistant Jeremy R. Bottorf said, "as sure as it rains here in April, the staff/faculty team made a dramatic comeback." Athletics intern Julie Buonaguro singled and Richards doubled, putting runners on third and second as Dylan Lackey came to the plate. With rain falling harder and harder, Lackey ripped the ball through the first-base side and won the game for the staff/faculty team for the second year in a row 8-7. Rounding out the winning team were Chet Rogers and Tina Evans. Other members of the student squad, all from Sigma Nu, were Alex Martinez, Trey Judy, Daniel Smith, Tom Wood, Keith Kohn, Ryan Enders, Chris DiStasio, Andrew Del Grosso and Aaron Rubin. "Thank you to everyone who played and to Donnie Stevenson and Greg Solyak for standing in the soaking rain from the fifth inning on to umpire the game," said Bottorf, who also provided photos.