Air Force takes 1st at Armed Services Classic

BOWIE, Md. -- Micah Kellogg spent about three seasons in the Tigers' Minor League system, dreaming of playing in the Majors.

But Kellogg only made it as far as Class A Advanced, so the Flagler College product walked away from baseball in 2015 and joined the Air Force. Now, Kellogg is one of the many Air Force active-duty members who'll live their childhood dream next month by playing in a Major League ballpark.

Air Force finished first in the inaugural All-Star Armed Services Classic presented by T-Mobile, which concluded Saturday, and the top two teams will compete in a championship game at Nationals Park on July 13 during MLB All-Star Week. Army placed second, but it may not advance because at least one of its players was involved in a fight during a game

"This is a big deal for active-duty military," Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Watson said. "A lot of us, we put all of our time towards our jobs and our careers to where we can't put a lot of effort toward sport. This is our shot to play on the big stage."

The two-day competition featured a round-robin tournament with coed softball teams from each of the five military branches -- Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The squads were comprised of 16 active-duty members from each branch.

The final preliminary round of the event was scheduled for June 3, but due to a rainout, it was rescheduled for Saturday at Jericho Park. Many of the teams' members also play softball with each other in various leagues during the weekend, which helped foster mainly a friendly competition Saturday.

"A lot of folks here on our team -- Marines, Army, Coast Guard -- have been through some bad things in their career and seen some bad things," said Air Force Technical Sgt. Larry Russell, a Nationals fan. "When you deploy overseas … you create a bond that's inseparable, and then you get here and you all play ball together, and it's the same kind of bond."

Tickets to the championship game on July 13 will be distributed among military branches and service organizations, and the event will be open to the public. MLB and the Nationals will also invite government and military dignitaries to the game, which will be the first major ballpark event of All-Star Week. After the game, one member of each military branch will compete in a home run contest for a chance to participate alongside Major League players during the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on July 16.

While some Air Force members are excited to meet Major League players, they agreed the biggest honor is representing and bringing awareness toward the Air Force on a large stage.

"It's a fantastic way to touch with [civilians] to give them a little bit of a glimpse of what the military is like," retired Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Kasper said. "We can put down our uniforms and put on this uniform and just be able to play a game we all love. We watch TV, you see airmen deploying and you say you support them and everything, but … when you can see that person, that makes it very personable."