Air Force goes back-to-back, claims third title in four years

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ryan Hansen
  • Air Armament Center Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  The leader of the All-Air Force Men’s Softball Team knew it was going to take more than talent alone to claim the 2005 Armed Forces Men’s Softball Championship.

But after claiming the title with a 7-2 record during the three-day round-robin tournament held here Sept. 7 to 9, the four-time head coach now believes it may have come down to a little astrology.

“The stars and moon were lined up in the right direction for us this time, and we were real fortunate,” said Steve Shortland, the team’s head coach. “This tournament was such a nail-biter.”

The tournament championship is the Air Force’s second consecutive title and its third in four years.

“Our big thing is team, team, team,” Shortland said. “We had veterans producing, rookies producing, and we used them all in different situations throughout the tournament. Everything really paid off for us.”

The All-Marine Corps Softball Team grabbed second place with a 6-3 record while the All-Army Softball Team snagged third with a 4-5 record. Coming in fourth was the All-Navy Softball Team with a 1-8 record.

On paper it may appear as though Air Force had an easy run to the championship, but it actually dropped its opening game of the tournament to Navy, 7-6.

“It seemed like everybody was really gunning for us,” said Steven Folds, Air Force second baseman. “But that game definitely served as a wake-up call.”

From there the Air Force rebounded with a 14-7 win over the Army, generally considered one of the top teams in the tournament.

“There’s a lot of parity, and these teams are truly indicative of what their services offer,” Shortland said. “The competition is great.”

Air Force continued its rebound by hammering the Marines 25-3 in the nightcap, ending day one at 2-1.

“We just needed to get our focus down and realize what we needed to do,” said Sherwin Lockridge, Air Force shortstop. “The veterans really told us what to expect, and they led us in the right direction.”

The Air Force team continued its roll on day two of the tournament, defeating Army in their second matchup, 12-5. But a hard dose of reality came in the afternoon via the Marines in a 6-5 loss.

“The first loss should have been an eye-opener, but after we won a few games we may have gotten a little complacent,” Shortland said. “But scores will humble you, and for us, it worked.”

At that point, Air Force, Army and Marines were all 3-2 with Navy at 1-4. The tournament championship was still up for grabs, and Shortland had to get the team focused.

“I just reminded them that they have to play this tourney one game at a time and not take any team for granted,” he said. “To win you have to bring your ‘A’ game every time.”

The team listened and sunk the Navy 11-3 that evening, while the Marines defeated the Army 8-6. Those two wins set up a showdown between the two 4-2 teams the morning of Sept. 9.

“We still controlled our own destiny and all we had to do was win-out,” said Christopher Markey, Air Force utility player. “We didn’t want to have to have help from anyone else, we just wanted to win the games we needed to win and take control.”

Take control is exactly what the Air Force team did, handily defeating the Marines 13-4.

“We were really stoked going into that game,” Edwards said. “We had a good shot and our guys never gave up, and I’m really proud of them.”

“We pulled together when we needed to,” said James Flagg, Air Force outfielder. “That was a key game and we had to have it.”

A win against the Navy in the afternoon would clinch the title for the Air Force; however, the Sailors would not go down without a fight, losing a close 9-8 ball game.

“Softball is a game of inches,” said Earlie West, the Navy team’s head coach. “A line drive here or there and our destiny may have changed a bit.”

“I told the team that on my death certificate, when I die, it will read cause of death -- 2005 Armed Forces Tournament,” Shortland said. “But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

With the title decided, Air Force came out relaxed the evening of Sept. 9 for its final game against Army. They took an early lead but found themselves down in the bottom of the seventh. But Flagg nailed a three-run to win the game, 15-12.

“Everyone would like to walk through a tournament, but the added drama does make it sweet,” Markey said. “We had to work, work, work and pick each other up. It was a total team effort.”

“It’s been incredible and a great experience for me,” Folds said. “We came together as a team in a short period of time and it was great.”

At the conclusion of the tournament, sports directors from each service named an all-tournament team and picked 15 players from all four Department of Defense services to represent the armed forces at the Amateur Softball Association's Men's Major Slow Pitch Tournament coming up in Johnson City, Tenn.

The players representing Air Force for the 2005 Armed Forces Men’s Softball Championships All-Tournament Team are:

-- Zach Turrissini from Hurlburt Field, Fla.

-- Tony Patrick from Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

-- Kevin Quigg from Offutt AFB, Neb.

-- Steven Folds from F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo.

-- James Flagg from Hill AFB.

-- Joshua Wiggs from Keesler AFB, Miss.

The players representing the Air Force for the 2005 All-Armed Forces Men’s Softball Tournament are:

-- Flagg.

-- Sherwin Lockridge from Patrick AFB, Fla.

-- Patrick.

-- Quigg.

-- Turrissini.

-- Wiggs.