ROOTERS NEWS SERVICE (Norfolk, Virginia) J9 successfully defended its softball crown at this year's annual U.S. Joint Forces Command "Family/Sports Day". By soundly defeating J3/J4 in the final game, there is no doubt that J9 is the new "softball dynasty" of USJFCOM. With three softball titles over the past four years, they are the team to beat. The day's diamond action began with J3/J4 hosting the eventual Sports Day Champ, J7, on Field 1; J02HQ/CMSA squared off against perennial softball powerhouse J6 on Field 2. J9's first round began an hour later against a combined JBC/J2/J5/J8 team (even though they claimed that they were solely a JBC team -- saying "J2/5/8 doesn't exist."). They came well prepared, with matching jerseys and a portable cabana which they set up behind their dugout. They must have expected to be at Field #1 for a while.... J9 began slowly, scoring just one run in each of the first two innings. JBC's defense was tight, and they exploded for five runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 6-4 lead. This would be the only half-inning that J9 would be trailing, though. With four unanswered runs in the fourth, and three more in the fifth, J9 led 11-7 going into the final inning. Solid "D" (including a 3-4-6 rally-killing putout off of Steve Janushkowsky's shin) squelched the bats and the pride of JBC, and had them packing up their cabana less than an hour after they had put it up. After a short break, J9 squared off against J1/JRU (who had a first- round "bye" and were playing their first game of the day). However, J9's momentum from their earlier win proved decisive -- with the defending champs batting through the lineup in the first inning and racking up nine unanswered runs. The "ten-run" mercy rule was invoked after just 2-1/2 innings of play. The championship game, with no time limit and a guarantee of seven innings, began at 11:00am at Field #1. J3/J4 had shut-out J7 (the 2001 softball champs and eventual 2003 Overall Sports Day winner) in Round One, then defeated J02HQ/CMSA to advance to the finale. J3/J4 won the coin toss to determine home team, letting J9 start with their bats instead of their gloves. Joe "O.T." O'Toole led off with a sharp single into left-center, but a 6-3 double play erased it. Both teams were "blanked" in the first inning, while J9 could only muster a single run in the second inning (after another J3/J4 double play). After three complete innings of play, J9 led by a scant three runs to one. But the top of the fourth saw the J9 bats truly come to life -- batting around the order with six runs crossing the plate. After four more runs were added in the sixth, and a J3/J4 rally squelched by poor base- running and solid J9 "D", J9 had a comfortable 13-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh and final inning. A lone single being all J3/J4 could muster, J9 won their third softball title in four years of USJFCOM Sports Days. Notable stats and figures in the J9 lineup: - 11 different J9 players got a hit, scored at least one run, *and* batted in at least one run. - Joe "O.T." O'Toole led the team with a .875 batting average and a 1.500 slugging percentage (i.e., an average of three bases per each two at-bats). Many pundits are wondering if the power came from that Elmo tank-top he wore (Ed. note: I hope you start wearing Elmo to the Monday night games! :-) - Van "I haven't played for a year since I went to the Naval War College" Garraghty was second with an .857 average. - IT2 Brian "Tron" West, a J63 loaner to EE, scored seven runs. - COL Tony "Jefe" Tata led the team with six RBIs. - YN1 Arnie "Thor" Heigaard pitched three jewels and logged eight (yep, 8!) strike-outs -- including three against J3/J4. - Ron "Strike" Batdorf, MMCS(SW) Dean "Senior" Lacy, Steve "Rock" Weir and YNC(ret) Bruce "Batman" Britton braved the verbal abuse of fans and players alike, providing consistent ump'ing. Special thanks go to Col Vic Janushkowsky and Ms. Bonnie Graham, who let their sons join the team and play in the tournament. There can be no doubt that this team is capable of moving mountains and besting any opponent. Three games, three tough challenges, the composure to always remain focused, and three stellar victories. CONGRATULATIONS J9! Now if we can just get a basketball team together, we can win the 2004 Sports Day -- instead of settling for second-place overall. For full details and stats, visit http://www.deichman.net/softball/j9/ <21-Aug-03>