All-Army infielder SSG Maikeld Quarles of Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., displays softball in glove after applying a tag to All-Marine Corps SGT Christopher Aldape of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., during the 2012 Armed Forces Softball Championships at the Cannoneer Complex on Fort Sill, Okla. U.S. Army photo by Tim Hipps, IMCOM Public Affairs

FORT SILL, Okla. – A new pitcher and a rookie slugger helped the All-Army men end All-Air Force’s mini-dynasty at the 2012 Armed Forces Softball Championships played Sept. 16-20 at the Cannoneer Complex.

Outfielder SFC Thomas Fuss, a 33-year-old rookie from Fort Polk, La., batted a team-high .771 with 13 home runs and 26 RBI as the Soldiers went 7-2 and won two of three games against the three-time defending champion Airmen (7-2).

All-Army won the tournament by virtue of a head-to-head tie-breaker with All-Air Force. All-Marine Corps and All-Navy both went 2-7 in the triple round robin tournament.

SFC Clayton Shaw, 32, of Fort Campbell, Ky., moved from the outfield to pitch the All-Army team to seven victories. He hit .611 with six homers and 18 RBI, including a three-run walk-off homer that clinched the gold medal with a 26-10 win over the All-Marine Corps on Wednesday night.

All-Army co-captains SFCs Dexter Avery (.719, 13 HR, 28 RBI) of Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and Michael Dochwat (.719, 10 HR, 24 RBI) of Fort Shafter, Hawaii, were reliable as ever, as was veteran infielder SFC Lee Diaz of Fort Huachuca.

“It’s amazing,” Diaz said of Avery, a 14-time All-Army and 11-time All-Armed Forces performer. “Every year, it seems like he’s hitting them further and further, and he’s getting older and older.”

The older Soldiers, however, needed someone to push them past the Airmen.

“It isn’t the veterans that win gold medals, because they are supposed to do what they are supposed to do,” said Dochwat, 38, a nine-time All-Army performer and three-time Armed Forces gold medalist. “It’s those rookies and one-year guys who set the tone and get you the gold.”

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