GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Members from Goodfellow Air Force Base and the city of San Angelo enjoyed the 95 degree afternoon to compete on the softball field. In the first San Angelo versus Goodfellow softball game, each team chose their best players to compete against each other during the event hosted on base, July 31.
“Ever since I played ball here when I was in college, I have wanted to come back and start a tournament between the base and the city,” said Col. Ricky Mills, 17th Training Wing commander. “This is just another way that the city and the base can come together just to have some good traditional fun.”
After Patriotic Blue sang the national anthem and the Goodfellow Honor Guard presented the colors, the game was underway. Visiting Texas Congressman Mike Conaway, had the honor of throwing the first pitch to start the game. Before the game, Conaway was able to converse with Goodfellow’s international students and talk about how important it is to have involvement in the community.
“I appreciate that this is a way we can tie the base to the community and show our students the celebration of community partnerships with the base,” said Capt. Jacob Ewing, officer in charge of international training at Goodfellow. “It is awesome for them to be able to see this and show their support as well.”
Representatives from all over base were able to take part in the game with the city all-star team. Goodfellow’s team consisted of members from multiple branches.
“It was fun. This is the first time the city team has played the base team and I found it more competitive than some of our intramural games that we have had,” said Staff Sgt. Cody Hawkins, 17th Communications Squadron network supervisor. “It was a great chance for the Goodfellow team to realize how supportive but competitive the city can be.”
Though both teams worked hard, the San Angelo All-Star team took the win with a score of 23-6.
“This is something that we are excited to coordinate with the city,” said Chief of 17th TRW Plans, Charles Rehburg. “We hope that this is the first of many games that the base and the city get to play together.”