FORT SILL, Okla. -- The All Army men's and women's teams opened the 2012 Armed Forces Softball Championship with mixed results against their Air Force counterparts Sept. 16.
Michael Dochwat's three home runs and a single, good for five runs-batted-in, led the men as they built a big, early lead and cruised to a 16-10 victory. Dexter Avery launched a pair of home runs and Lee Diaz added three hits and three RBI.
"The first game is always tough trying to get over the jitters and relax, but we came out of the gate fast and hit a lot of home runs," said Victor Rivera, Army men's team head coach. "Normally you don't do that, trying instead to put a few runners on base before hitting one out, but we were able to build a big early lead. This forced the Air Force to play catch up and put the pressure on them."
Army fielders defended their turf well keeping the Airmen grounded and unable to mount a big scoring threat until their final at-bat.
Three Soldiers went yard in the top of the first inning as Avery and Thomas Fuss each hit solo shots, and Dochwat plated two with his drive. The Army's Marshall Woods and the Air Force's Mitch Commet traded solo shots in the third as the Army held a 5-1 lead. The lead swelled to 9-2 after three when Avery connected again and Diaz plated a couple with a single.
In each of the next two innings the Army put up crooked numbers scoring three in each frame. David Moore got on the highlight reel with a two-run homer for the Army. The Air Force answered with a three-spot in the sixth inning on two RBI doubles and a single.
Their final at-bat started with some patience at the plate as Marcus Flores worked a walk and Jason Hopper ran the count full before stroking a single that sent Flores over to third base. Travis Wollison then blasted a three-run dinger, but the Airmen got away from their plate patience losing a couple runners to easy outs. Chris Markey did plate two more with a homer to close the scoring.
Alyson McWherter paced the Army women with two RBI hits, both times tying the game. Her second RBI came during a final at-bat, two-out, two-run rally. But, the Air Force women plated a run in the bottom of the seventh to win Game 1 in the tourney.
Early on the Army looked more the "air force" as batters hit high arching drives to the outfield ... for outs. Then the Soldiers began to find holes in the Air Force defense as they clawed their way back into the game.
"That's a testament to the kind of players we have out here -- we never give up, battle at the plate and move runners around," said McWherter. "I believe we didn't play to our potential, but as this tournament goes on, the underlying truth will come out and show we're the best team."
The lady Airmen dropped a deuce on the scoreboard in the first inning as Brandi Jackson hit a double and Tonya Welms blasted a triple over the head of the Army left fielder. Before the inning was over the Airmen held a 2-0 lead.
McWherter tied the score in the third with her first single, but Joyce Wells sent the Air Force back in front in the fourth inning as she drove in Lindsay Ciullo with a single. Jacquelyn Cullen's sacrifice fly boosted the Air Force lead to 5-3 as Jenn Lake crossed home plate in a bit of foreshadowing of the game's final play.
Army outfielders, McWherter and Lindsey Gerheim collided in the bottom of the sixth inning on an Air Force fly ball. Both women sprawled on the turf as the umpire sprinted out to confirm McWherter held the ball for the inning's final out. McWherter said she would probably sport a bruise the following day but wasn't feeling any adverse effects after the game.
"That's how we play ball, we were both trying to make the play, and I'm just glad one of us came up with it. We were both calling for the ball, but it was a windy day and hard to hear," she said.
Waiting until two outs, the Army donned their rally hats in the seventh inning. Shannika Taylor and Jenna Martin reached on singles. and then the team caught a break on an infield error that scored a run. This set up McWherter's second game tying hit. On the play the Army lead runner attempted to reach third base, but a strong throw right on the third base bag allowed Lake to apply the tag to the sliding Army runner.
Heroine on defense, the same on offense. Lake led off the bottom of the seventh with a base hit and later touched home on a single off the bat of Lorenda Wong to give the Air Force the 6-5 winner.
Kenneth Fairley, Army women's head coach, commended his players for their heart and drive to come back late in the game. However, he added sloppy defense contributed to the loss.
"If we eliminate those errors and get some hits from my better hitters in key situations we'll be OK," he said. "I know we will play better, I believe it was just some nervousness, but once you get that out of the way, you roll from there."
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