Road that makes champions Published Aug. 7, 2009 By Irvin Gourdine 43rd Airlift Wing, Public Affairs POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Winning the Southern Softball Association of America State championship just wasn't enough for the Pope Softball team. Most recently, they took home the SSAA World Championship. With that, Team Pope was able to accomplish what has never been done before in SSAA's 25 years: win both the SSAA State and World Championships in the same year. The road to win the world was not as easy as it was to win the state. Pope dominated the opposition throughout the tournament at Cherry Point, N.C., winning all five games played. This past tournament in Peters Creek, N.C., was a lot tougher, finishing with a record of five and two. In the first game of the tournament, Team Pope lost 22-21 against Bolling Air Force Base, D.C., despite Mike Johnson going four-for-four at bat with four home runs. The loss placed Pope in a lower bracket of the tournament. Their second game against New River didn't start as well as they wanted. Pope trailed most of the game but kept the score close. At the start of the game, New River scored six runs in the first inning. Pope came back to score four runs of their own. By the top of the seventh inning, they scored three runs to give them the one-run lead. As the home team, New River had one last chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh. Pope's defense held New River scoreless, giving them the 18 to 17 victory. Jason Bender hit two home runs that game. Jay Cortez was four-for-five batting, Scott Adams and Greg Taylor both went four-for-four. In game three, Pope proved reminiscent of the state tournament by dominating Fort Lee: the same team who defeated them in last year's tournament. That wasn't the case this time around. "We jumped right on them and the game was over after the third inning," said Joe Renteria, Pope's team coach. Pope scored 10 runs in the first inning and their offense never let up the rest of the game. The final score was 18 to 2. Not only was Pope's hitting tremendous that game, but their defense held Fort Lee to only two runs. Todd Petzel went two-for-two hitting with one home run. Both Bender and Adams were three-for-three, and Ben Mooring and Steve Bermudez were two-for-two. The next day Pope moved back up to the winner's bracket. Their first game was against the Blue Falcons of Camp Lejeune. This was another back and forth game until the sixth inning when Pope pulled away. Going into the sixth inning, the score was 15 to 14. They scored 10 runs in the sixth and seventh innings, winning the game with a final score of 25 to 14. Cortez was five-for-six batting, Petzel was three-for-five, Mooring was three-for-four, and Jude Landry and Bender both went four-for-five. Johnson also added two home runs that game. The second game of day two was against the tournament favorites: Just Enough, an Army team from Fort Bragg. Like the last game of day one, Pope dominated their opponents. Petzel had the big bat that game going four-for-four with three home runs. Cortez also went four-for-four at bat; Bender, Mooring and Randy Newby- all went three-for-four. This win put Pope in the driver's seat and the championship game. A well-rested Team Pope found themselves in the finals against the same team they had just defeated, Just Enough. The tables seemed to turn in the first game of the finals as the Army team from Fort Bragg jumped on Pope from the start and never let up. Just Enough gave Pope a little payback, beating them 19 to 8 and forcing a second game in the finals. "We were well rested waiting for everybody to come through the losers' bracket, so fatigue wasn't the problem," said Mr. Renteria. "We just didn't have our sticks that game. So we regrouped and came out strong for the next game." The second finals game was close. "It seemed like we could never pull away from them," said Bender. "It felt like we were up by 20, but we were only up by five and eventually they tied us." By the fifth inning, Just Enough tied Team Pope at 19 and took the lead in the sixth inning. With only one out, Pope had a chance to win in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and Bender at bat. Unfortunately, home runs are limited in slow-pitch softball, and after a team hits the total amount allowed, any home run after is considered an out. That's exactly what happened when Bender slapped one over, ending a chance to win the game. The game was tied into the eighth inning and both teams held the other scoreless, forcing a ninth inning. With one out, a Just Enough batter slapped one to the fence bringing in a runner and giving them the run advantage. They tried to go up two runs, but Steve Wall, outfielder, relayed the ball from the fence to Petzel, pitcher, who threw the ball to home plate, where Bender, catcher, tagged the runner for the second out. Going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Pope was down one run. Bryan Fooshee led the ninth with a hit; Cortez followed with a hit up the middle; Petzel was then walked, loading the bases for Bender once again. Hoping he wouldn't hit another one over the fence to force an out, Bender smashed a line drive down the first base line, bringing in two runs to capture the SSAA World Championship. Six players were named to the All World Tournament team: Jay Cortez, Scott Adams, Jason Bender, Jude Landry, Todd Petzel and Joe Renteria. Joe Renteria was awarded SSAA coach of the year and Todd Petzel was named the tournament MVP. Other outstanding players of Team Pope Softball are Mike Johnson, Ben Mooring, Steve Bermudez, Bill Dorofy, Randy Newby, Greg Taylor, Dave Heilman and Bryan Fooshee. "Softball is a team sport, no game is won or lost by one play," said Petzel. "It's an accumulation of 11 ball players giving it 110 percent throughout the game by doing the right thing all the time and doing the extra things. You can't give a team four or five outs an inning and expect to win, so you have to minimize your mistakes." Next up for Team Pope is the USSSA Military World Series Aug. 14 at Panama City, Fla., where they finished in second place last year. Pope may just bring a third title of the year back home.