Marines Storm Hickam

Story and photos by Randy Dela Cruz
Contributing Writer

The U.S. Marine softball team from Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), Kaneohe, flexed its muscles to blast through a competitive field of nine teams and win the 1st Annual Firecracker Softball Tournament at Hickam softball fields, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, on July 10.

The tournament was organized by Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Ballard and welcomed squads from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Federal Fire Department.

In the championship game, the Marines rode the fortunes of a nine-run outburst in the first inning to put away Throwdown, a team of Navy personnel, by a score of 12-4.

Throwdown fought back from the loser’s bracket and beat the Marines, 7-5, in the previous game to force a winner-take-all showdown.

Although Throwdown overcame a four-run deficit in its win over the Marines in its first matchup, the Navy team couldn’t bounce back from the nine-run hole in the title contest.

Third baseman Cpl. Alex Shaver, who stroked two singles in the title game, said that the early lead was a key factor in the Marines’ win over Throwdown.

“It was very important, ” Shaver pointed out. “That really got us u p and put them (Throwdown) really down.”

After losing to Throwdown once, Shaver said that the team decided to change its approach in the batter’s box, as it prepared to square off with the Navy squad one final time.

“We’d been hitting home runs all day, but with the wind coming in, we realized that we couldn’t do that,” Shaver said. “So we hit it on the ground and made them make a play.”

The Marines worked their strategy to perfection as the team stroked seven singles and crushed four more hard-hit balls that induced errors from Throwdown infielders in gaining the huge advantage.

While the Marines failed to put away Throwdown in the teams’ first meeting, pitcher Daniel Gambill, a civilian playing for the Marines, stepped up his efforts on the mound to prevent another meltdown from happening.

Through the game’s first four innings, Gambill kept Navy hitters in check by allowing only five hits and two runs.

Throwdown third baseman Lt. Maury Castaneda said that the combination of too many consecutive games made the large deficit insurmountable.

“It was rough after coming out of our fourth straight game and they go out and put up a nine-run inning,” Castaneda noted. “That’s a hard mountain to climb after we’ve been climbing mountains all day long.”

While Throwdown did avert a loss via the 10-run mercy rule by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the deuce was too little, too late.

Cleanup hitter Lance Cpl. James Hines, who provided much of the Marine’s firepower in the early games by crushing three home runs, said that even with the stepped up competition in the tournament, he felt that the team had a good chance of winning it all.

“We all work together and have good communication,” Hines said. “And pretty much everyone on this team can hit.”

Meanwhile, Shaver said that the title win should provide solid momentum for the team, as it gets ready for its post-season at MCBH.

“This was very satisfying,” Shaver claimed. “We got our playoffs coming up back on base, so this gives us a little boost going into that.”