Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson

By Mr Kevin Stabinsky (IMCOM)May 26, 2011

Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
1 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Palmetto Pride outfielder Sgt. Joseph Berendzen (in blue) hustles down the first base line hoping to beat out the fielder’s throw during a softball game between the Palmetto Pride and Wild Boars softball teams May 20 on Gammon Field at Fort McPherson... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
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Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
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Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
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Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
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Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
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Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
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Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
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Georgia, South Carolina guard units hold annual softball game on Fort McPherson
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The Palmetto Pride needed to end the game the way they started it, with a three-run inning. Unfortunately for the South Carolina Army National Guard (SCARNG) Joint Forces Headquarters (JFHQ) softball team, but much to the delight of the Georgia Army National Guard (GAARNG) JFHQ fans, the comeback never materialized.

Though the May 20 softball game between the Palmetto Pride and Wild Boars at Gammon Field on Fort McPherson ended with a 16-13 Wild Boar victory, the outcome was not always so certain. “I was a little scared there when we were down,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Howland, Wild Boars manager and S-1 for the GAARNG JFHQ. “They took off on us.”

The take off began just a few pitches into the game. Leadoff batter, Warrant Officer Candidate James Stroud, opened up on third base due to a field error, scoring on a sacrifice fly to right field by the next batter, Sgt. Robert Nelson. Two more runs came in on three hits and another error. Errors plagued the Wild Boars into the second inning as well. Although the Wild Boars bats answered in the bottom of the first, with Sgt. John Marple hitting a three-run inside-the-park home run, giving the team a 5-3 lead going into the second, fielding and throwing errors helped spark an around the batting order in the top of the second for the Palmetto Pride.

Eight hits, including doubles by Sgt. Joseph Berendzen, Sgt. David Erskine and Sgt. 1st Class Jason Fowler, gave the team an 8-5 lead. While the Wild Boar defense faltered, the Palmetto Pride’s defense shined, retiring the Boars in three batters in the bottom of the second. Over the next two at bats, the Palmetto Pride held the Wild Boars to four hits and one run. Offensively, the Palmetto Pride continued to add to their score. By the bottom of the fifth, the Palmetto Pride led 13-6. The bottom of the fifth saw a reversal for the Wild Boars.

A leadoff single by Spc. Brian Sexton started a six run drive. Singles by Chief Warrant Officer 3 James Higgins, retired Sergeant Maj. Ronald George, Capt. Gregg Koester and a two-run home run by Sgt. 1st Class John Jenkins closed the gap to one. “It just took us a little time to find our footing,” Howland said. “But when we came together we took off.”

Defensively, the Wild Boars shut out the Palmetto Pride in the top of the sixth, retiring them in four batters. Wild Boars right centerfielder Marple, who hit a hitting a three-run in the first, showed his skill on the other side of the field by making two of the outs. In the bottom of the sixth, Marple repeated his batting success with a two-run home run to reclaim the lead for the Wild Boars.

An insurance run based on singles from George, Koester and Staff Sgt. Shelton Williams brought the game to its final score. “They were a tough team. I’m proud of our guys,” Howland said. “It was a great game, a lot of fun and a bonus that we won. “ Although the Palmetto Pride lost, they took it in stride, showing sportsmanship and fellowship after the game with the victors and fans.

At the beginning of the game, Maj. Allen Gleaton, SCARNG JFHQ commander, said he hoped to be able to bring home the win for his command, but was pleased it was a close game. “You don’t want a blow out,” Gleaton said. What the team may want is a second game, something Howland said was possible. “We’ll try to get a game over there on their home field,” he said. Such a scenario is quite likely, given the history of the game.

Although this was the first time the two teams played each other, an annual softball outing is standard fair for the Wild Boars. For the past four years, the Wild Boars have hosted such an event around Armed Forces Week, said Maj. Jon Roscoe, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment commander, GAARNG JFHQ. The time was chosen because Armed Forces Week is one of the less solemn Army observances, he said, making it a good fit for a time for fun and fellowship. As for why softball was chosen, Roscoe said it is a competitive, but not too physical, sport both men and women can both play.

Although the Wild Boars have previously only taken on challengers with the GAARNG and the Georgia Naval Reserve, this year the team wanted to look out of the state for competition. Gleaton said he received the call in November. “They threw us the challenge and we accepted,” he said. Though his unit did not have an official team, a call went out to the entire SCARNG JFHQ and its eight subordinate commands, Gleaton said. “We’re a rag tag group of hopefuls,” Gleaton said of the Palmetto Pride team, adding that the team still had plenty of athletes on it, some of whom had played softball previously in local Army leagues.

The team practiced together for roughly a month, Gleaton said, and despite the short time, created a cohesive team. Cohesion was a major reason the challenge was accepted, he added. “Anytime you build relationships it is good,” Gleaton said.

The relationships the game builds doesn’t just apply to Soldiers. Merideth Bell, wife of Maj. Scott Bell, South Carolina National Guard state historian, said it brings Families together. “You get to know people in a social environment and develop relationships with people you’ll spend time with when your husband deploys before you need them,” she said. Meredith, who brought up her son Preston, 13, and daughter Abby, 11, to watch their father play, said she and her Family enjoyed the outing. “It was a lot of fun. It looks like everyone had a good time,” she said. In the future, the goal is to expand that fun, Howland said. “We hope to build it up between states, bring in Tennessee, Alabama and Florida,” he said.