Justin Trammell, catcher for the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade, misses the throw home as Joe Mandarich of Naval Information Operations Command, Maryland slides in to score a run during the post championship intramural softball game Aug. 9 at Donahue Field. NIOC defeated 704th twice, 12-2 and 14-4, to claim the championship. (Photo by Brendan Cavanaugh)
One year ago, the 704th Military Intelligence hoisted the post softball championship trophy as players from Naval Information Operations Command, Maryland saw a strong season slip through their fingers.
It was a long off-season for the NIOC team that had two chances at being named post champions. This year, the players weren’t going to let the 704th take them down again.
“This is revenge,” said Robert Vatcosky, the player-coach for NIOC.
With the challenge of defeating the 704th twice in one evening, NIOC ended the 704th’s two-year hold on the post championship title on Aug. 9. Dominating hitting displays and solid defense led NIOC to the championship trophy after securing two victories, 12-2 and 14-4.
The two rivals clashed three times during the regular season with NIOC winning twice. The 704th coach Axel Gonzalez said the teams are evenly matched and every game could go either way.
“It’s up and down,” he said. “It’s softball — round ball, long stick. You never know, it could be the best game for them or the best day for us.”
Riding the momentum of its postseason success, the 704th trotted onto the field for the championship game sporting an 11-5 regular season record and a 4-0 record in the tournament. The team swept through the playoffs, defeating the 34th Intelligence Squadron, the Defense Information School, U.S. Army Signal School Detachment (the Division III champions), and NIOC.
The playoff run carried the 704th into the championship game without a blemish. Gonzalez said players were comfortable in the championship game, as they’ve been there the past two years.
“This is the game we look forward to every year,” Gonzalez said.
NIOC entered the playoff tournament with a third-place 10-4 record in the regular season. Early in the tournament, the team met very little resistance and defeated the first-place Coast Guard and the second-place 902nd Military Intelligence Group.
In the semifinals, NIOC was defeated 10-5 by the 704th. As a result, NIOC needed to defeat the 902nd in the losers’ bracket to move to the championship game.
Due to the double elimination format of the tournament, NIOC needed to defeat the 704th twice in the championship round. Vatcosky said his team was prepared for the daunting task of winning under pressure. The 704th had a little security heading into the games, but players were ready to take it to two games if needed.
“We’re just going to take one game at a time,” Gonzalez said. “If we have to play two games, we’ll play two games.”
NIOC forced the second game, as the team racked up 12 runs while holding the 704th to only two.
Vatcosky, Joe Hake and Jerry Velez led the dynamic offensive attack, as each hit 2-run homers. Stephen Duperre’s two home runs accounted for all of the 704th’s scoring.
Vatcosky walked four batters while 704th’s Kurt Schomaker walked three.
NIOC carried its hitting power into the second game. In the first inning, NIOC put up four runs as Vatcosky and Tony Garcia each drove in one runner and Chuck Warner singled in two. Duperre, once again, carried the 704th with a solo home run to make the score 4-1.
In the second inning, the 704th defense briefly cooled down NIOC’s bats and didn’t allow any hits. Curtis Andreas cut the 704th deficit in half with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning.
Up 4-2, the NIOC bats once again caught fire in the top of the third as Vatcosky and Hake hit back-to-back solo home runs to increase the team’s lead to 6-2.
The top of the fifth provided more offensive success for the NIOC team, which put up two more runs. A sacrifice fly by Hake allowed Joe Mandarich to score, and Garcia jogged home after 704th pitcher Schomaker walked a batter with bases loaded.
The 704th batters relied on sacrifice-fly balls to score runners in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the deficit to 8-4.
The 704th shut NIOC down in the sixth inning, but was unable to do so in the seventh. Hake started the seventh inning with a two-run homer that brought in Vatcosky. Pedro Ramos doubled in Garcia and a sac-fly eventually brought in Ramos for a 12-4 lead. Velez’s final triple brought in two more runners to increase the score to a 10-run lead that the 704th was unable to overcome.
The 14-4 victory was led by Hake’s three RBIs and Vatcosky’s strikeout and walk. The 704th’s Schomaker struck out one and walked four batters. NIOC outfielder Mandarich was named the tournament MVP.
“It’s an honor,” he said. “There’s a lot of good players out here, so to be named the best on the base is a real honor.”
Mandarich said it was “bittersweet” to get revenge on the 704th, which defeated them twice last year.
The championship was Mandarich’s last game with the NIOC team as he is being stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. He said he is happy to leave on a “high note.”
For Mandarich, who has won two championships during his eight years with the NIOC team, said this year’s victory is just as sweet as the first.
“It never gets old,” he said.
This Fort Meade Live Blog was written by Brandon Bieltz, Fort Meade SoundOff staff writer.
