JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
The Defense Information Systems Agency intramural softball team enjoyed its first season in the JBSA-Lackland Intramural Softball League last year, despite a 1-9 finish.
DISA coach Terry Armstrong, information assurance chief, commented on their enjoyment of the game before the end of last season.
"It is fun and recreational for me," said Armstrong. "We don't have the greatest team by any means, but we have fun when we play."
So far, this season has proven to more gratifying for the team. With six games behind them, DISA has drastically improved its winning total from last year with a 4-2 record in the American League.
"Anytime you win, it is outstanding," Armstrong said after DISA's second loss of the season to the 802nd Security Forces Squadron-White June 4.
A key reason for the team's turnaround, Armstrong said, is having more people available to play and build team camaraderie.
DISA's roster has expanded from nine active players last season to 18 with an average age of 46.
For Armstrong, finding playing time for everybody is a good problem to have.
"I try every single game to get every single person to play," he said. "We love to win, but everyone who wants to play participates; we are not playing just the best players."
A couple of new players contributing to the team are outfielder Dana Maureschat and second baseman Michael Johnson.
Maureschat was originally supposed to join the team last year, but a knee surgery thwarted those plans, she said.
After being encouraged to join the team again this season, the 27-year-old outfielder feels she has contributed youth and enthusiasm to the team, joking that she has brought the average age of the team down.
"My energy from cheering on the team when we make plays has been beneficial in motivating the team and keep us moving forward," Maureschat said.
Johnson, who joined the team this season after moving to San Antonio from Yokosuka, Japan, in October 2014, also feels the team's gusto on the field.
"We are willing to give 100 percent and do whatever it takes to win," he said. "We play together, everybody knows their job and nobody tries to overdo it."
Maureschat hopes DISA's fun spirit continues to foster a winning attitude, as her goal is for the team to be a contender and make the playoffs.
The team making the playoffs in their second season would be wonderful, Armstrong said, while pitcher Paul Braudis, DISA San Antonio director, believes that a playoff berth would equate to "bragging rights" among the unit's mission partners in the Department of Defense.
"To go from where we were last year to making the playoffs would be huge," Armstrong said.
"To go from 1and 9 to the playoffs shows that we are the most improved unit in all of DISA," Braudis added.