MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Team Iwakuni took first place after beating team JelFix of Hiroshima 12-7 in the 2009 Japanese and American Modified Fast Pitch Softball Tournament held at the Penny Lake softball fields here Aug. 29.
Team Iwakuni went undefeated in the tournament posting a 6-0 record as they took home the first place trophies.
JelFix put up a good fight, never really letting Team Iwakuni put away the win.
JelFix opened the game with consistent hitting but was only able to bring in a single run during the top of the first.
On the other hand, Team Iwakuni came out swinging, bringing in six runs before they were retired for the inning, but not before they jumped to a 6-1 lead.
Team Iwakuni brought in four more runs in the second while JelFix only brought one in leaving themselves with a 10-2 deficit to overcome.
Team Iwakuni’s strategy during the tournament was to bring in as many runs as possible and not to give mercy to any team due to the way the tournament was conducted.
“The tournament was based on a point system. It went off runs scored,” said Team Iwakuni second baseman Rodney Buentello. “If all teams lost one game, it went off who scored more runs.”
Buentello proved to be a valuable asset for Team Iwakuni during the championship game. He made a couple of key diving saves during the second and third innings preventing JelFix from bringing in many runs or advancing their players into scoring positions.
“Defensively, our team did awesome. The fast pitch tournament brings out a better game in all of us,” said Team Iwakuni pitcher Clinton Massengale.
The third inning, despite being another good defensive inning for Team Iwakuni, was the turning point of the game for JelFix. JelFix brought in two runs and held Team Iwakuni to two runs as well ending the inning 12-4.
“Japanese people are phenomenal on their fundamentals of baseball,” said Buentello. “We were stronger physically, but they were not too far behind.”
Team Iwakuni just took second place in the Far East Regional Softball Tournament at Camp Foster, Okinawa, in early August and has proven they can play softball, but modified fast pitch softball is a different story.
“Modified fast pitch softball is almost like slow pitch, but your arm comes up a little bit higher and your now thrusting the ball at a waist level,” said Buentello.
Making it more difficult, the ball was tough to field because the type of rubber it was made of caused irregular bounces.
“It’s different because if you don’t hit this ball directly in the middle, it’s either going straight up or straight down,” saidBuentello.
JelFix slowed Team Iwakuni down in the third, and in the fourth inning they stopped Team Iwakuni right in their tracks. JelFix brought in three runs and held Team Iwakuni ending the inning down 12-7, but the title was still within grasp for JelFix.
The championship game was scheduled for only 50 minutes or five innings, which is 10 minutes longer than the rest of the games held that day. But at the end of the fourth, there were only about 10 minutes left to play a final inning.
The officials called the game due to lack of time left to play, and that was all she wrote for JelFix’s comeback hopes.
With a score of 12-7, Team Iwakuni proved they could adapt to a new style of softball and play among some of the best Japan had to offer.
“This is our last tournament as a base team,” said Buentello. “So to close it out as champions from the harsh struggles of previous tournaments, it was an exciting win for us to end on a top note.”