Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Littlejohn | The Fort Bliss Commander’s Cup softball team champions assigned to Headquarters and...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas - First Armored Division Artillery Soldiers assigned to 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment proved to be the most elite team as they demolished their competition en route to earning the championship trophy during the Fort Bliss Commander’s Cup softball championship here at Omar Bradley Field, Aug. 13.
From mid-June through early August, Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery competed against post and division softball teams, ending with a winning record of 18-3.
Copying the “Bad News Bears” theme, the team decided not to wear matching uniforms, hoping to psych out the competition with their lack of uniformity, said Staff Sgt. Tyler W. Dinges, 4-27 FA pitcher.
“The other teams had their fancy uniforms,” said Staff Sgt. Franky Bunch, team catcher. “There were times during the season that we thought about getting shirts, but as we progressed and got better, that whole rag-tag identity just became a part of the team.”
Not having much time to practice, the team wasn’t sure of their odds of winning the competition, but as the season progressed they were able to come together and defeat more than 50 post and division softball teams, said Bunch.
“We were just having fun and not panicking,” said Staff Sgt. Derrick C. Davis, team left fielder. “Our defenses were killing it, the errors stayed to a minimum and we were having fun.”
As the competition progressed, the team went on to a four-game winning streak, resulting in more support from the unit and game attendance spiked. From the lowest ranking private all the way to the company commander, the team was celebrated and morale was boosted throughout the battalion, said Davis.
“Things around the battalion aren’t as tense as they were before we won,” said Davis. “We laugh a lot more. When we started winning, our battalion started coming out to the games and that kind of eased it up for everybody. First sergeant and the commander were excited for us, and we wanted to win for them.”
Between daily tasks and ongoing field exercises the Soldiers were overwhelmed with work, but with everything going on they still managed to pull out a win, said 1st Sgt. Juan C. Vasquez, from HHB, 4-27 FA. He said the unit has a sense of accomplishment as they celebrate the team’s victory.
Because of the team’s win, the battalion commander is hoping for more championship trophies from future Fort Bliss Commander’s Cup competitions, said Dinges. He said he and his team will try to uphold their winning streak from here on out.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2015 16:53 |
| Story ID: | 173788 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 165 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 4-27 brings Commander’s Cup softball championship home to DIVARTY, by SFC Jessica Littlejohn, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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