FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. –
The sun was out and the field was ready for the start of the 2021 Armed Forces Women’s Softball Championship held at the South Sports Complex at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica Knapp, first female leader of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), threw out the first pitch during the opening ceremony. After the ceremony, teams from Army, Navy (including Coast Guard), and Air Force (including Space Force) faced each other on the first day of the three-day tournament.
Navy defeated host Army 10-5 in the opening game. Navy broke the 4-4 stalemate scoring six runs in the sixth inning. Army was unable to score more than one run in the seventh as Navy sealed the deal with sound defense.
In game two, Air Force overcame a 4-2 deficit scoring consistently in the fifth and sixth innings, followed by a nine-run ninth inning to earn the win. Final score: Air Force 16, Army 5.
To complete the day, Air Force and Navy found their bats and put on a scoring clinic.
Despite two home runs from Seaman Patsy Erwin of Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Air Force fought out of a 22-16 hole to win the game 37-27.
Air Force currently sits in first place with a record of 2-0, followed by Navy going 1-1 and Army trailing 0-2.
Day two will begin at 2:00 pm CDT on August 12th.
In 2019, Air Force captured their third consecutive gold medal finishing with a record of 7-2 in the triple round robin tournament. Army took silver with a record of 6-3, followed by Marine Corps (3-6) in third and Navy (2-7) in fourth.
With the 2020 Championship cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Armed Forces Women’s Softball Championship follows the 2021 Women’s Rugby Championship held in June as the first two events since operations were paused in February 2020.
Teams held training camps around the country to select the top players from their Service branch. With the Marine Corps opting out of competing this year, the tournament format features the triple round robin as in past tournament, but will now feature a championship game between the top two teams from the round robin.
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