LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
The 802nd Force Support Squadron had a ball that Cinderella would have donned her glass slippers for. The 802nd FSS's fiesta ball concluded with a crystal trophy presentation after it defeated 59th Radiology 13-1 in four innings, becoming Joint Base San Antonio's first softball champions July 21.
In the semi-finals, FSS and Radiology defeated Randolph's Air Force Personnel Services and Air Force Recruiting Services, respectively.
Radiology's performance in the JBSA championship was the antithesis of its play in the intramural softball championship, as FSS pitcher Eddie Blake allowed just four hits.
Radiology and FSS finished one-two in the Competitive League, respectively. The JBSA champs were the only team to hand the 59th team three losses this season, including the JBSA final.
"It felt great," Blake said about giving Radiology its only losses.
Blake said the psychological advantage they held over beating Radiology twice during the regular season helped the team immensely in defeating them.
Right center fielder Brett Cannon and left fielder Danny Ayon hit outside and inside the park home runs, respectively, to end the base champions season on a sour note.
Ayon's speed, running around the bases on his way to home in rapid fashion after hitting a double in the third, made second baseman Mike Richardson come up with the names "speed demon" and "conductor" for the conductor's hat he wears out on the field.
For FSS to be the lone team standing out of all the teams from Lackland, Randolph, and Fort Sam that participated in the JBSA tourney is "awesome" to Ayon.
"Having the first JBSA tournament here and than us coming out on top is pretty awesome," he said.
Enrique Saucedo scored Radiology's only run in the third inning.
Not only did FSS win the game on the diamond but also the psychological battle with Radiology's mental accumen.
"Tonight it was evident," Ayon said. "We had their number, they knew it, and we came out on top."
Cannon said Radiology asked for this matchup, and the FSS simply obliged.
"They said they wanted us, and we gave it to them," he said.
Cannon's homer in the second inning brought in Roy Sanders, who hit a triple. The right center fielder knew that they had to start swinging from the get-go.
"We needed to get on top of Radiology because we know how good they are," Cannon said. "We knew we had to get on top and stay on top."
When their line-up is hitting on all cylinders, he said there is no stopping the new JBSA softball champs.
"Once FSS is up, there is no giving up the lead," he said. "We have the best outfield, infield, and Eddie Blake pitches a good game so throughout the whole lineup, it's pretty nasty," he said.