Mustangs take third in softball tournament

by Senior Airman David Owsianka
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

5/30/2014 - OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea  -- The Osan men's softball team took third place during the 24th Annual Pacific Wide softball tournament at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, Republic of Korea, May 23 to 26.

The tournament began with 18 teams playing six round-robin games to determine which seed the teams would be placed in to start the tournament.

The Mustangs went 6-0 during the round-robin games giving them the first-place position for their division. Osan defeated teams from USAG Daegu, ROK; Shanghai, China; North Carolina; Misawa Air Base, Japan; Yokota AB, Japan; and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Osan faced the Yongsan team during the first round of the tournament.

The Mustangs jumped to an early 6-2 lead after the first inning. Osan struggled in both hitting and fielding during the second and third innings allowing Yongsan to take a 10-7 lead.

Ben Whitehead, 7th Air Force, led off with a single to help the Mustangs start a comeback in the fourth inning. The team also hit three home runs helping them take a commanding 18-10 lead. Continuing to add to their lead, Osan defeated Yongsan 22-12.

After defeating Yongsan, the Mustangs came out swinging against the hard hitting Joint Task Force team from Hawaii hitting three home runs in the first inning leading 4-2. Both teams battled back and forth throughout the game fighting to take control.

JTF led 20-19 going into the final inning of the game. The Mustangs swung away in the last inning putting 14 runs on the board to take a 33-20 lead. Allowing only two runs in the bottom of the inning, Osan advanced to the quarterfinals to face the Legion team.

The Mustangs continued their hot hitting in the first inning as Justin James, 51st Logistic Readiness Squadron, knocked a three-run home run out of the park to start the game. It was followed by three home runs to take a 7-6 lead at the end of the first inning.

Osan struggled offensively over the next four innings only putting up four runs allowing Legion to take an 18-11 lead going into the sixth inning. The Mustangs found life in the top of the inning hitting two home runs and putting up eight runs to take a 19-18 lead.

Unable to keep Legion from scoring, the Mustangs fell short losing 29-19. The loss put the team into the loser's bracket to face the JTF team again.

JTF came out swinging during the first two innings hitting seven home runs to take a 10-4 lead over the Mustangs.

After stopping JTF from scoring any runs in the third inning, the momentum of the game began to change to Osan's favor. The Mustangs scored five runs before the first out, and regained the lead 11-10 before the end of the inning.

The Mustangs defense continued to make it tough for JTF to score as they put up three runs over the final four innings as Osan won the game 20-13.

In the next game, Osan faced Legion in the semi-finals for the second time.

Osan struggled to score during the first two innings with Justin James' home run being the only run scored for the Mustangs. Legion had a 5-1 lead to start the third inning.

The Mustangs rallied off of two home runs in the top of the third to take an 8-5 lead. Legion responded with nine runs to regain their lead. Unable to add any more runs, Osan lost the game 19-8 to take third place in the tournament.

"Coming in third place is a great accomplishment considering the skill level of the teams we played against," said Robert Waddle, 51st Medical Support Squadron.

Waddle is proud of what his players have gained from playing in the tournament.

"The players have learned that there is more to softball than just hitting and playing defense," Waddle said. "They have a better understanding of how to play and work as a team, and pick each other up when someone makes a mistake.