AIR FORCE WINS THE 2005 ARMED FORCES WOMEN'S SOFTBALL CROWN
By Walt Johnson
Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group
Colorado Springs , CO --With a capacity crowd cheering wildly from the first pitch to the last, Air Force's women's softball team held off the challenge of an extremely talented Army team to capture the 2005 Armed Forces Women's Softball championship with a 20-15 victory Friday night at Peterson AFB.
Air Force rallied from an opening tournament game loss to the Army to win its last eight games and recapture the tournament championship it lost to Army last year.
The tournament opened as it ended last year with the two heavyweights of the tournament, Army and Air Force squaring off. Both teams came into the tournament extremely confident they had the right ingredients to win this year's championship.
When the Army team arrived in Colorado Springs for the tournament one of its best players, Chicola Barrington put the team's attitude in perspective when she said “We did not come here to lose the championship. We are focused on one thing and that is winning this year's championship.”
Air Force had a similar confidence as it began the tournament. Billy Hardy, Air Force head coach, was a little concerned about his lack of experience before the tournament started but after his team made an impressive showing, finishing in second place, at a Colorado state tournament that involved many of the best teams in Colorado, the team and the coach felt confident they had what it took to go after the championship.
After the pre-game festivities ended it was time for the players to take over and decide who would be the next armed forces champion. As Air Force and Army warmed up for the contest there was an excitement and tension reserved for athletic events that have two big time programs ready to face each other. There was no bravado from either team, but there was a very evident level of respect each team had for the other.
In the first inning the game showed just how tense the atmosphere was as each team allowed the other to score runs on errors that could be directly tied to nervousness. As the game continued each team took turns putting runs on the board and overcoming. After six and a half inning Air Force had a 14-10 lead on the Army and it looked like the Air Force team was in prime position to take the game. Army had another idea as it rallied for six runs in the bottom of the inning to win the game 16-14 and put itself in a commanding position to win its second consecutive title.
The next game of the tournament found the Navy meeting the Marine Corps. Navy head coach Rodney Pryor said the mission the country is currently involved in cost the Navy and Marines a chance to send its best team to the tournament but they would definitely compete with everything it had. That made the game interesting for spectators and the Army and Air Force which wanted to see if either the Navy or Marines would be a legitimate factor in determining this year's tournament champion.
The Marines beat the Navy 12-4 and both teams played well enough to show it could be a factor against the Army or Air Force given the right breaks. Air Force and Army however were in no mood to give the other two service teams the chance to be a spoiler however. Both the Air Force and Army took notice of how competitive the Marines and Navy teams were and they brought its best games when they met them knowing any lapse in concentration could mean a devastating loss for them and ruin any chance of winning the title.
After the first night of the tournament was complete Army had a perfect 3-0 record while Air Force was 2-1 and day two shaped up as the first crucial day of the tournament for Air Force After both Army and Air Force won its morning games the teams met in what would be an elimination game for Air Force with a loss and a virtual strangle hold on the tournament for Army if it won.
The Air Force knew it was do or die time, which wasn't lost on Hardy or his team. Army and Air Force played the same type of game that was played in the first contest between the two teams with the lead changing hands on six different occasions.
Army found itself in the same position Air Force was in after six and a half innings of game one of the tournament, clinging to a lead with the opponents having one last crack to win the game. Just as Army did in game one, Air Force rallied from a three-run deficit to push across the winning run and capture and exciting 26-25 victory.
Both teams won its evening contest setting up day three as the most important day of the tournament. Air Force and Army began the day with victories in the morning and followed that up with victories in the afternoon to set up the winner-take-all third game of the series. So evenly matched were the two teams that many observers were mixed on who would win the game but there was unanimous agreement that the biggest factor in the game was who would win the coin toss to determine the home team.
Air Force won the coin toss and earned the right to be the home team Army didn't seem to be very fazed by being the visitors as it jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after its half of the first inning. Air Force was just as determined not to be fazed by the quick strikes of the Army team as it rallied to score four runs of its own to tie the game at four apiece after one inning.
After three innings the Air Force managed to build a 9-5 lead that it increased to 11-6 after four innings. Army came to bat in the top of the fifth inning knowing time was beginning to run out on them and they responded with a six run inning that tied the game at 11 after four and a half innings. In the bottom of the fifth inning Air Force regained the lead by scoring a run to lead 12-11. Army responded to Air Force taking the lead by scoring two runs of its own in the top of the sixth inning with two outs to take a 13-12 lead and now it was Air Force that was looking at time becoming short. Army was six outs away from defending its armed forces title as Air Force came up for its at bat and Hardy and his team knew this was going to be its best chance to put runs on the board since the heart of the lineup would be coming to the plate.
The Air Force offense did exactly what it needed to do in the bottom of the sixth inning by getting timely hits and showing tremendous patience at the plate. After the sixth inning was over Air Force had plated eight runs and took a commanding 20-13 lead into the top of the seventh inning.
Army was not about to lie down and die which is what categorized this year's team according to Army head coach Robert Bailey. The Army team pushed across two runs with one out and then loaded the bases. It looked like the Army team was going to be able to rally from the eight run deficit but the next two batters were retired by the Air Force, giving them the 2005 armed forces championship.
FINAL STANDINGS FOR THE 2005 ARMED FORCES WOMEN'S SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP