Clean sweep for Air Force – men and women win

(Above) Air Force leading hitter Katherine Braun at bat during the 2009 Armed Forces Men’s and Women’s Softball Championship game held Sept. 19 -25 at Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla. (Left) Air Force Joshua Wiggs blasts another home run. After a slow start, the Air Forces Men’s Softball Team went on to dethrone the Army in the 2009 Armed Forces Men’s Softball Championship held Sept 19-25 at the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Fla. Both teams finished the Championship with identical 7-2 records, however; two one-sided Air Force victories over the Army in the two final rounds gave the “Men in Blue” the edge in the Championship tie-breaker. After blasting the Marine Corps 18-3 in their opening game, the Air Force dropped back-to-back contests to the Army (18-17) and the Navy (37-16). With hot bats and outstanding defense, the Air Force easily defeated all opponents in their final six games. Joshua Wiggs from Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida powered the Air Force with 13 home runs, tying him with Dexter Avery, a Soldier assigned to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., who also had a Championship leading 13 home runs. Zachariah Turissini from Tyndall AFB helped the cause with 26 runs batted in.

Courtesy Photo The Army won the Armed Forces Men’s Softball Championship in 2007 and 2008.

The situation was a little more complicated on the women’s side. The Air Force, Navy, and Army all finished with identical 6-3 records. In the end the, it was the Air Force winning gold based on the total runs tiebreaker. The Army finished second and the Navy had to settle for third.

All eyes were on Navy earlier in the championship after they won their first four games. Coach Cheryl Trapnell and the “Sky Ladies” kept their poise after dropping back-to-back games early in the championship to the Navy and Army.

Following the two set-backs, the Air Force went on a four game win streak before falling to the Army 6-5 in their final game. Air Force Katherine Braun from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and Lindsey Ciullo from Ramstein AFB in Germany batted .448 and .438 respectively and led the Air Force to victory. Both players were voted on to the All Tournament and All Armed Forces teams.