JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- The All-Air Force Men’s Softball Team showed it’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Despite having 12 first-year players and three with only a year of experience, the team almost captured the gold medal in the Armed Forces Softball Tournament, losing 21-19 to the U.S. Army in eight innings at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston’s Pershing Ballpark Sept. 19-22.
“We think that’s pretty refreshing that we have that many young guys here, and now the program should just flourish,” said Chief Master Sgt. Scott Harris, First Sergeant/8F Functional Manager with Air Education and Training Command headquarters, JBSA-Randolph, Texas, and men’s team coach. “Spreading it by word of mouth is what’s going to make the program better. We got nine guys from overseas and six guys stateside, so we count on them to go back to their duty stations and talk about the program.”
The men finished 5-4 overall.
The team displayed remarkable resiliency after a tough second day. After starting the tournament 2-0, the team lost three straight. But on the third day, the All-Air Force team went 3-0 to set up the showdown with the U.S. Army.
“We did a lot of self-reflection after the second day,” Harris said. “We told the players, ‘Look. We had the worst day we could possibly have. Our destiny is still in our hands. We knew even if we lost all three on Tuesday we could come out, still run the table and win gold.’ ”
The final game with the U.S. Army was back and forth. Down 17-16 with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Senior Airman Mike Storey hit a solo home run to tie the game and sent it into extra innings. The U.S. Air Force took a 19-17 lead in the top of the eighth after Senior Airman Anthony Eschete, of the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, hit a two-run home run. But the U.S. Army ultimately prevailed with a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth.
Storey, a second baseman, was one of the 12 rookies on the team. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2004 and spent five years in the minor leagues before joining the U.S. Air Force.
“We were in a position to win,” said Storey, an intelligence analyst with the Joint Communications Information Services Activity, Offut AFB, Nebraska. “It was two good teams battling it out. They got the better of us today.”
While he was disappointed, Storey kept it in perspective.
“It’s a big honor to represent your service and to come out and play with the other services,” he said.
Harris, who played on the team from 1999-2006, stressed the importance of using Air Force sports to network and build relationships to help build and sustain ready and resilient Airmen.
That was how he met his assistant coach, Chief Master Sgt. Jason Parker, who is the 86th Mission Support Group superintendent at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
“We talked about being thankful for the opportunity to try out,” he said. “And build relationships with other folks. One of the reasons why I made chief was because of (Parker).”
Eschete and Senior Airman Rashad Robinson, of the 344th Training Squadron at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, were named to the All-Tournament Team. Eschete, Robinson and Tech. Sgt. Justin Newton, of the 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany, were named to the Armed Forces Team that competed in the ASA Softball National Championship Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in Oklahoma City.
Women finish 5-4
After losing two in a row to the U.S. Army and eventual tournament champion, the All-Air Force women’s softball team won 10-5 in its final game to finish 5-4 and take third place.
The women also demonstrated their resiliency by bouncing back from an 11-0, five-inning loss to Navy Sept. 21.
“We just had to recollect ourselves, focus on being a team and having fun,” said Tech. Sgt. Schameka White, of the 1st Support Operations Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan. “That’s what softball is about – having fun and working together as one.
“Everyone has different personalities, and everybody is coming from different parts of the world,” White added. “It’s just trying to figure out where we mesh at, and where we can click as one.”
White, a third baseman, played in high school in Montgomery, Alabama, and later at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia.
“It’s a way to keep involved with softball,” said White, who played on her ninth team. “It helps with my esprit de corps, and it helps me to be more focused with my job. I get back, and I’m ready to work.”
White also praised the coaching staff of Senior Master Sgt. Salomon Vieyra, superintendent of the 690th Intelligence Support Squadron at JBSA-Lackland and Senior Master Sgt. Danielle Hirvela of the 374th Force Support Squadron at Yokota AB, Japan.
“He (Vieyra) has stuck with us through thick and thin, so I think he’s doing a great job,” White said.
Vierya also praised his team’s talent and resolve.
“Defensively, we were a lot more solid,” he said. “They’re great Airmen. They helped each other up and had each other’s backs.”
Staff Sgt. Terri Hodges of the 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas; and Staff Sgt. Stephanie George of the 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas, were named to the All-Tournament Team. White, Hodges, George and Airman First Class Carissa Albizu, of the 374th Operational Support Squadron, Yokota AB, Japan, were named to the Armed Forces Team that will compete in the ASA Softball National Championship that competed Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in Oklahoma City.