Fireworks capped the annual Military Appreciation Night with the USA Patriots amputee softball team Sept. 16 at Toyota Field in Madison.
The USA Patriots beat Team AUSA, from the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army, 17-9 in nine innings. The Association of the U.S. Army Young Professionals, USA Patriots, and Intrepid presented the event along with sponsors from the community.
“It’s a blessing to come here,” USA Patriots third baseman Brent Nadjadi said. “Huntsville puts on a great show for us every year. The brotherhood and camaraderie of our team keeps us motivated and inspired and that keeps us moving forward.”
Nadjadi went 4-for-4 with a walk, one run batted in and a run scored. This was his sixth visit. Nadjadi, 35, from Bath, New York, lost his legs in an improvised explosive device blast in 2010 in Afghanistan. He medically retired as an Army staff sergeant in 2013.
Manny Del Rio and winning pitcher Randy Tedder had three hits apiece. Josh Wege, Saul Monroy, Andrew Peden and Noah Rasnake had two hits apiece. John Mitchell hit a home run.
Del Rio, an outfielder, lost his right leg below the knee when crushed by an F-18 jet in 2005 near Yokosuka, Japan. He medically retired as a Navy airman in 2007. At 35 he resides in his native Los Angeles.
“I think we got lucky being able to play in the first place because of the (earlier) rain,” Del Rio said. “We were lucky to start playing and end our season with zero injuries and many runs.
“A big thank you to all of the sponsors, Trash Pandas and their staff and everyone that supported the AUSA organization.”
Wege, 33, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, lost his legs in southern Afghanistan in 2009 to an improvised explosive device blast. The retired Marine lance corporal has played every game here since the first in 2012. The USA Patriots were formerly known as the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team.
“I think there’s no better place to finish up our year as USA Patriots than Huntsville,” Wege, an outfielder, said. “There aren’t many places that we go every year but Huntsville is one of them. Most of the time it’s every other year. But Huntsville it’s been such a solid event, it’s a cool place to end the year.”
The USA Patriots will start their next season in January in Lakeland, Florida. They played about 15 events this year, including tournaments, and placed second at the Pot of Gold tournament in Anchorage, Alaska, and third at the McQuade charity tournament in Bismark, North Dakota.
“It’s always good to end the year on a positive note,” Kai Schjang, USA Patriots coach for the last three years, said. “We hit the ball well, played good defense and most of all we had fun. Huntsville is always a good time.”
Ryan Thomas hit a two-run homer and Kenny Adams had a solo shot for AUSA. Adams, Jacob Kosiba and Chris Tortoris had two hits apiece. Thomas pitched the first two innings and took the loss.
“It was a great night,” AUSA coach Rob Griffin said. “They’re a good team and we love coming out and playing with these guys.”
An estimated 500 people attended. The All Veteran Group parachute team, from Raeford, North Carolina, jumped in before the game. Future Soldiers Tyler Best-Livermore and Matthew Rodriguez took the oath of enlistment from Army Materiel Command Chaplain Col. Stanton Trotter. Best-Livermore, who just graduated from Bob Jones High, and Rodriguez, a Bob Jones senior, were recruited by Sgt. 1st Class Jarod Small of the Huntsville Army Recruiting Company. Bob Jones JROTC cadets presented the colors.
AUSA (0-1)
AB R H RBI
Travaris Dale 3 1 1 0
Paul Finley 3 0 1 0
Kenny Adams 2 1 2 2
Ryan Thomas 3 1 1 2
Jeremiah Johnson 3 1 1 0
Tanner Finley 3 1 1 0
Chris Jeacock 3 1 1 0
Jim Albert 3 0 1 0
Jacob Kosiba 3 1 2 2
Michael Molina 3 0 1 1
Donnie Earls 3 1 1 0
Chris Tortoris 3 0 2 1
Trenton Shultz 3 0 0 0
Randy Welcher 3 0 0 0
Sangwey Walker 2 1 1 0
Totals 43 9 16 8
Pitching
IP AB H R ER
Ryan Thomas (loss) 2 13 6 6 4
Randy Welcher 2 13 9 7 7
Jim Albert 4 19 8 4 3
USA Patriots (1-0)
AB R H RBI
Scotty Fura 6 2 1 1
Manny Del Rio 5 3 3 4
Josh Wege 5 1 2 1
Saul Bosquez 4 3 2 1
Brent Nadjadi 4 1 4 1
Saul Monroy 3 0 2 4
John Mitchell 4 1 1 2
Randy Tedder 3 3 3 1
Andrew Peden 3 2 2 0
Noah Rasnake 4 1 2 2
Jessica Bosquez 2 0 0 0
Brian Gentilotti 2 0 1 0
Totals 45 17 23 17
Pitching
IP AB H R ER
Randy Tedder (won) 9 43 16 9 8
R H E
AUSA 0 2 0 1 2 0 3 0 1 – 9 16 4
USA Patriots 2 4 5 2 2 0 2 0 x – 17 23 5
| Date Taken: | 01.03.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 01.03.2024 13:07 |
| Story ID: | 461238 |
| Location: | HUNTSVILLE, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Amputee softball team finishes year on high note, by Skip Vaughn, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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