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108th places 1st, 2nd at ANG national tourney, wins JB MDL men's championship

  • Published
  • By Marcie Montalvo
  • Jersey Girl's Pitcher
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Several members of the 108th Air Wing participated in the 45th Annual Air National Guard softball tournament Aug. 12 through 14 in Florida after winning the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst championship. Both the Men's and Women's Open teams placed, bringing home hardware for 1st and 2nd place finishes respectively. Several members also received all-tournament honors for their efforts.

The teams arrived in Panama Beach City, Florida late Wednesday afternoon. Everyone was greeted and welcomed by host Tyndall Air Force Base personnel, as team coaches met for rules and roster information. Due to a tropical storm battering the Gulf, weather was predicted to be questionable throughout the duration of the tournament. Rising early each day to tropic-like winds and rain, the start of each day appeared in doubt. However, everything cleared up quickly and "Play ball!" was announced. Numerous teams representing Air National Guard units throughout the country started slugging away early Thursday morning to fight their way to the championship games scheduled to take place a mere 48 hours later on Saturday.

Throughout the tournament, hits were flying everywhere and the appetites of gators in the right field swamp were quite fulfilled from homeruns hit that way. After Day One, the Men's and Women's Open teams and the 108th Co-ed team were sitting pretty as they were undefeated. Play on Friday and Saturday became interesting as puddle-laden infields and slip-n-slide conditions in the grassy outfields challenged the players. Teams continued to battle incredibly tough defensive play, and the hot bats were alive and well. After two days of play, both the 108th Men's and Women's Open teams were headed to Saturday's semi-final brackets.

Much to the surprise of everyone, teams were awakened Saturday to inclement weather as Mother Nature sent heavy rain to the area. The rains delayed the start to the remaining games as the ground crews tried to make the fields playable. At last, the games were started and the remaining teams began to duke it out to claim the prized title of "champions." Throughout the day, battered and bruised players of all ranks and ages were slugging it out to get to the championship games. One by one, teams were eliminated and sent packing. However, both NJ Open teams survived and earned their opportunity to play for first place.

The women faced teams from New Hampshire and Missouri, before facing the women of Ohio, the 2009 champs. The Jersey Girls brought their best as they went back and forth against Ohio, inning after inning. Finally, after a hard-fought battle and one broken thumb, the women were able to get three straight outs in the bottom of the 7th to send Ohio home with third place. There was some justice as the Jersey Girls had lost two heart-breaking games to Ohio last year, finishing second. Now they faced Missouri, to whom the women had lost by one run in the last inning the day prior. After a grueling battle of fantastic defenses and offensive explosions (and one very bad call at home plate in the last inning), the Jersey Girls succumbed to the Missouri women and retained their second place defense. Thanks go out to Atlantic City and Maryland for their players who joined the Jersey Girls.

The men faced very talented teams from powerhouses like Tennessee, Texas and Maryland. Game after game, they went the distance and came out victorious. Some games were blow-out victories where 10, 12 or 15-run rules were implemented while other games were sheer nail-biters to the end, ending with the 108th victorious. The seasoned veterans were able to take it easy and sit a few innings as the young guns stepped up to the plate and showcased their skills. Finally, at around 11 p.m. or so, the Jersey guys found themselves in familiar territory as they faced the No. 1 team from Georgia. The boys from the south have claimed the national championship the past few years. Mid-way through the game, the N.J. men found themselves down a bunch of runs and things looked grim. Through grit and grin, Team Jersey started battling their way back to stay in the fight and pulled within a few runs after six innings of hitting galore. It all came down to the last inning. A phenomenal double-play ended the dry-spell for the Jersey crew as they reclaimed the national championship trophy after a 10-year drought.

The Men's base team also enjoyed success again this year by clinching the coveted Base Championship trophy in extra innings on Dix. All summer long, they have faced challenging teams from various organizations from the joint base. This is the 14th time in the last 17 years that the 108th Men's team has taken home this championship.

Both the tournament and base teams displayed tremendous teamwork, pride and an insurmountable display of never-give-up attitude the entire season. Whether someone was playing or cheering from the dugout or bleachers, every person contributed to the overall success each of the 108th teams enjoyed this year. The never-ending, incomparable talents of the seasoned veterans and incredible athleticism of the rookies were consistently on display. Even in the close games where it looked to be over for the 108th, the players remained calm and confident as they got the job done to be victorious at games' end. Thanks to the men and women softball players for proudly representing the 108th and New Jersey.