Things learned, observed on Day 3 of 24th Pac-wide softball tournament Unusual pool-play scores, new uber-talented open teams, five-man infields, more masks at more positions and other things. Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts from the Lombardo Field Four-Plex on Yongsan Garrison’s South Post at the 24th Pacificwide Open Interservice Softball Tournament: Given the results of the men’s open division the last three years, with Scrapalators beating American Legion in each, chances are folks were probably expecting more of the same in Monday’s final between the two teams laden with All-Service talent from the States. Those two better make room, because even more teams with just as much talent have made their way to Korea for what many there say they consider the best interservice softball tournament in the world, next to All-Armed Forces. From the States, Joint Task Force and SNAFU, each from Hawaii, and the Minnesota North Stars traveling club team have come aboard. More locally, Osan Air Base of South Korea won its pool-play division for the first time since 2002. How well are they playing? Consider Osan beating the three-time defending champion Scrapalators by run-rule 34-23, and Joint Task Force downing American Legion by run-rule 13-3. It could very well be that Scraps and Legion are front and center on what’s forecast to be a sunny Monday. But for the first time in awhile, they’ll have their work really, really cut out for them. *** So, why do folks migrate from as far away as Dover, Del. (Chadd Malin of Legion) to play in a tournament in Korea when they could just as easily – and far less inexpensively – play a tournament in the States over Memorial Day weekend? “This is the biggest stage for a military player,” said Calvin Oliver, 36, a master sergeant from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington who attended Air Force tryout camp in 2011 and would like a shot again this year. He plays for Korea’s Area I. “If you come out here and produce, it shows you’re capable of playing at a higher level.” A goodly handful of players who’ve already played All-Armed Forces ball or are hopeful of doing so mirrored Oliver in journeying from other parts of the Pacific as well as the States to play Pac-wide. One of them was Chad Agustin, an Army captain stationed at Tripler Medical Center in Hawaii and originally from Aiea. “First time here. I’m definitely excited,” Agustin said, echoing Oliver’s thoughts about the benefits conferred on players at Pac-wide. “It’s in the Pacific, it’s a tournament dedicated exclusively to the military. And it’s competitive ball,” Agustin said. “Past All-Armed Forces players can help educate you and pass on the history of the All-Armed Forces. You can’t get that at stateside tournaments.” The Scrapalators’ men’s team has many a player who qualifies for those roles. So, too, does the Scrapalators’ women’s team, attending Pac-wide for the first time and loaded top to bottom with All-Service talent from all four Armed Forces. One of them, A.C. Camp, is a six-time All-Navy and four-time All-Armed Forces player who says she understands her role as both a representative of her team, but also her service and her country. “I’m an ambassador and I’m comfortable in that role,” she said. The Pac-wide is “comparable to a large majors tournament in the States,” said Camp, a petty officer first class and an equal-opportunity advisor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The Birmingham, Ala., native says it’s “nice to see different teams and reconnect with folks I’ve not seen in a year.” *** The North Stars are a collection of mostly civilians, but include in their number former All-Army player Jimmy Perez, a Minnesota National Guardsman who used to play at the Pac-wide when he was stationed in Korea. Most noticeable about the North Stars are how they utilize a five-man infield, something coach Zach Nelson says is quite common in the States, as are catchers masks and chest protectors being worn by position players as well as pitchers concerned with safety in the field. “It’s very rare to see a team that does not play a five-man infield” in the States, said Nelson, 29, of Anoka, Minn. “It goes on in the States everywhere.” Asked what it was like to play at his first Pac-wide, Nelson called it a “lifetime opportunity. We play all over the country, but never outside the States. Being in this atmosphere and around these teams, this is amazing.” *** Adding a company-level division for men in the Pac-wide continues to pay dividends for the tournament and its participants. For one, no longer is it enduring forfeit after forfeit when company-level teams that are winless go up against the open-class wolves late during pool play, see that it’s hopeless and simply not bother showing up. There was not a single forfeit in pool play this year. For another, it gives the “little guys” a chance to share in title glory and brings honor and prestige to those companies represented in the Pac-wide, be it the Embassy or 2-2 Assault. And some of those company-level teams are pretty good when playing against their own. *** The tournament’s longtime organizers Bennie Jackson and his boss, Paul Robinson, have been residing and working in Korea since seemingly before time. Robinson, the U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan director of family and MWR, has been in Korea since serving a three-year enlistment in 1956-59 and taking a job as a 20-year-old in 1959 in recreational programs. Now 79, Robinson, originally from Chester, Pa., plans to retire in October and head Woodbridge, Va., where his daughter lives. Jackson, 72, is a retired Army sergeant first class who has run the Pac-wide since its inception in 1991, assuming its helm after a more than two-decade run as the San Miguel Invitational in the Philippines. Robinson says he met Jackson in 1976, when the latter was an admin clerk, and “we’ve been together since.” Jackson hails from Perry, Ga., and has worked for Yongsan MWR since 1980. Jackson plans to retire sometime in December. Tim Higgs, another MWR official and tournament organizer,, said they have dedicated the 24th Pac-wide to Robinson and Jackson.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 21:51:54 +0000
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