Army carves up field, claims gold medal

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Mike Meares
  • 96th Air base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The ball fell the all-Army's way in their hunt for spoiling the Air Force's bid for a fourth championship in a row by capturing the gold medal at the Armed Forces Men's Softball championship tournament here Sept. 14. 

The all-Army team claimed their first Armed Forces Men's Softball championship since 2003, and their sixth overall, carving a path through the field with a six win and two loss record, while the all-Marine Corps team goes home with the silver medal. 

"Any team can beat any team at any given time," said Victor Rivera, the all-Army team coach. "My strategy is to beat everyone at least twice." 

The three day round-robin tournament featured hand-picked players from around the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy. Each team played a total of nine games and the Army is excited about the bragging rights they have earned. 

The team counted on the experience of 12 veterans and had just three rookies. The Marine Corps team jumped on the Army in the first game of the tournament 20-8. The Army made their necessary adjustments only losing one more game to the Air Force. 

"Not only did we win it for ourselves, we won it for our units, divisions, and most importantly, the Army," the command sergeant major from Fort Drum, N.Y. said. "We can brag for the next year we are the softball champs." 

Becoming the champions in the Armed Forces tournament isn't a guarantee, even for a team like the all-Air Force, who's won three championships in a row. After five games, the Air Force only had one win before turning their tournament around in the final game of the second day beating the Navy 18-9. 

They went into the final day needing to sweep their schedule with all three of the services standing in their way. They beat the Army in a defensive battle 5-2 and blanked the Navy 15-0, but couldn't hold off the Marine Corps in the silver medal game as they fell 9-5. 

"In this tournament, you have to come to play every single game as if it were the championship game," said Josh Wiggs, all-Air Force first baseman from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. "Every game counts." 

In their bid for the fourth championship in a row, Stephen Shortland, all-Air Force coach, put together a team of three all-Americans and nine gold medal carrying veterans. It wasn't enough for the team to hold on to the gold. 

"We just didn't hit," Shortland said. "You have to put the pedal to the medal every pitch of every out of every inning of every game to win this tournament. It is what it is. It's disappointing to know that we had so much talent on the field and couldn't get it done." 

The Army did get it done with their bats. Five of the top 10 hitters were from the all-Army team. Mason Elmer, all-Army team, led the Armed Force tournament with a .700 batting average with 21 hits and driving in 12 RBIs. Dexter Avery, all-Army team, and Joshua Wiggs, all-Air Force team veteran, both led the tournament with five home runs. Wiggs drove in a tournament leading 23 RBIs. 

"The teams keep getting stronger and stronger," said Mike Dochwat, all-Army utility player from Fort Campbell, N.Y. "The services bring more dedicated players that sacrifice their egos for championships." 

After the tournament, the coaches put their heads together to choose the all-Armed Forces Men's Softball Team to represent the Armed Forces at the Amateur Softball Association Class A Nationals, Oklahoma City Sept. 29-30. 

The players are:
Stephen Shortland, U.S. Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas (coach)
Scott Feterl, U.S. Army, Fort Leonardwood, Mo. (assistant coach)
Toby Urenda, U.S. Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (trainer)
Nicole Boynton, U.S. Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (project officer)
Christopher Bast, U.S. Air Force, Kunsan Air Base, Korea
Richard Mercer, U.S. Air Force, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Anthony Patrick, U.S. Air Force, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.
Christopher Markey, U.S. Air Force, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
Randy Wilhide, U.S. Air Force, Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
Maikeld Quarles, U.S. Army, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Gabriel Beltran, U.S. Army, Fort Bliss, Texas
Lee Diaz, U.S. Army, Fort Meade, Md.
Jacob Jenkins, U.S. Army, Fort Knox, Ky.
Chris Smith, U.S. Navy, Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, Va.
Dustin Kentzell, U.S. Navy, Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, Italy
Mike Swerda, U.S. Navy, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va.
William Read, U.S. Navy, Naval Air Station, Sigonella, Sicily, Italy
Alex Puskarich, U.S. Navy, Naval Air Station Oceania, Va.
Cherylton McRae, U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, Ga. 

Final standings
Army 6-2
Marine Corps 6-3
Air Force 4-5
Navy 1-7

Game breakdown
Sept. 14 games:
Marine Corps 20, Army 8
Navy 22, Air Force 17
Army 17, Navy 8
Air Force 12, Marine Corps 11 

Sept. 15 games:
Army 13, Air Force 10
Marine Corps 11, Navy 10
Marine Corps 9, Air Force 5
Army 15, Navy 9
Army 15, Air Force 5
Marine Corps 9, Navy 5
Army 10, Marine Corps 9
Air Force 18, Navy 9 

Sept. 16 games:
Air Force 5, Army 2
Marine Corps 9, Navy 8
Army 17, Marine Corps 1
Air Force 15, Navy 0
Army vs. Navy, ccd.
Marine Corps 9, Air Force 5