|
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2000 – The Air Force women's 2-1 record against the Army proved the winning edge in the 2000 Armed Forces Women's Softball Championship Aug. 1-3 at Sportsplex USA in Poway, Calif.
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., played tournament host. The four teams of service all-stars played each other once a day, every team playing three games a day.
Air Force and Army went neck-in-neck the first two days and used the Navy and Marine squads as cannon fodder. Air Force went into the third day undefeated 6-0 with the Army standing at 4-2 -- with the two losses being tidy 7-3 and 8-6 Air Force wins. Army brought the airmen back to Earth by handing them a 5-2 loss on their first match of the final day.
The Army's earlier losses, however, proved the winning difference. Both squads ended the tourney by drubbing the sea services. The Navy fell 11-1 to the Air Force and 11-2 to the Army. The Army nipped the Marines, but with a scare. The Marines trailed by 14 runs going into the bottom of the seventh, but they rallied with a slugfest and drove the score to 17-16 before running out of gas. Air Force then closed their card convincingly by bombing the Marines 16-4.
"When I first saw the team, I wasn't sure how well we would gel," Air Force coach Jesse Knight said. "After a few practice games, we began to play together as a unit. The team has a lot of heart. They don't give up."
Immediately after the tourney, 15 players were selected to the Armed Forces Women's Softball Team. They will compete Aug. 11–13 at the Amateur Softball Association National Softball Championships in Auburn, Ala.
As they did at Sportsplex, Air Force players dominated the all-star roster. Berths went to Airman 1st Class Peni Delapons, Monthan-Davis Air Force Base, Ariz.; Staff Sgt. Laurie Doughty, Pope AFB, N.C.; Senior Airman Monica Everett, Robins AFB, Ga., Tech. Sgt. Karen Perrault, Keesler AFB, Miss.; Staff Sgt. Traci Tippins, Maxwell-Gunter Annex AFB, Ala.; and Senior Airman Karrie Warren, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
Army copped four slots for Cpl. Heather Carr, Yongsan, Korea; Spc. Angela Carroll, Fort Gordon, Ga.; Army Staff Sgt. Lucy Geidner, Camp Red Cloud, Korea; and Staff Sgt. Mary B. King-Espinal, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Lt. Lisa Ignasiak, NLSO Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va.; Petty Officer 3rd class Stephanie Minix-Renner, USS Tarawa, San Diego; and Petty Officer 2nd class Danielle Anderson, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, are the team's Navy presence. Marine Corps all-stars are Lance Cpl. Nicholette Bolte, Camp Butler, Okinawa; and 2nd Lt. Carrie Miller, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Air Force 1st Lt. Dina Quanico, Randolph AFB, Texas, and Army Capt. Terri Andreoni, Fort Hood, Texas, were named to the team but will not be able to compete because of injury or military commitment.
Coaches are Air Force's Jesse Knight and Master Sgt. Mark Asbury.
Standings
Air Force, 8–1
Army, 7–2
Navy, 2–7
Marine Corps, 1-8
Game scores:
Aug. 1
Army 3 vs. Air Force 7
Navy 9 vs. Marines 15
Army 10 vs. Marines 9
Air Force 6 vs. Navy 5
Army 6 vs. Navy 5
Air Force 13 vs. Marines 12
Aug. 2
Marines 10 vs. Navy 11
Air Force 8 vs. Army 6
Navy 9 vs. Air Force 10
Marines 3 vs. Army 20
Marines 9 vs. Air Force 12
Navy 8 vs. Army 16
Aug. 3
Navy 15 vs. Marines 2
Army 5 vs. Air Force 2
Air Force 11 vs. Navy 1
Army 17 vs. Marines 16
Air Force 16 vs. Marines 4
Army 11 vs. Navy 2
(From the Armed Forces Sports Office.)
|
