CAMP HENRY, South Korea — Can a simple change in uniform color be responsible for Taegu ACE’s turnaround? Coach Pedro Arocho seems to think so.

For the season’s first five games, ACE players took the field in gray jerseys. They lost all five. Then they switched to short-sleeved red shirts — and haven’t stopped winning, including Sunday, when they beat the Taegu Invaders.

Taegu ACE uniforms feature an Atlanta Braves color scheme.

“We’ve kept the gray pants but went to light short-sleeved red jerseys,” Arocho said. “Since we’ve worn them, we’ve won three in a row.

“We’ve voted as a team to not go back to the old jerseys until we lose a game.”

The team’s latest victory came as ACE, comprised of Taegu-area GIs, DOD civilians and dependents and Korean civilians, held off a late rally to beat the Taegu Invaders 12-11 in Hammer League amateur play at Camp Henry’s Victory Field.

Kevin Rioles, batting .710 in what Arocho terms a “torrid season,” smacked a bases-loaded triple in ACE’s four-run first inning. J.H. Lee added a pair of homers for ACE, which pushed the lead to 10-1 before the Invaders came back with four in the fourth inning. In the bottom of the next inning, Robert Baughman belted a two-run shot that proved to be the game-winner, as the Invaders tacked on six runs in the top of the sixth. The game was called due to the league’s two-hour time limit.

With the win, ACE improved to 3-3 in league play, tied for fourth place with the Taegu Hammers.About that new winning streak, Arocho said, “I’m hoping it will continue.”

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