Email   Print   Share By Gloria Montgomery, WTB Public Affairs

Facebook Digg Delicious July 12, 2012 | Sports

Texas Ranger pitcher Scott Feldman and his wife, Kelli, shake hands with WTB Soldier Sgt. 1st Class Charles Armstead, who was chosen to throw the first pitch during a softball game between the WTB and Texas Rangers Legacy Alumni that was held July 1 during pre-game activities between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland A’s at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Gloria Montgomery, WTB Public Affairs

Staff Sgt. Kennetta Gunns hit a line drive between second and third, but was thrown out at first base by former Ranger first baseman Dave Hostetler. Gloria Montgomery, WTB Public Affairs

WTB catcher Sgt. Mark Tsatsos shares a laugh with Texas Ranger alum Kevin Mench, who played outfield for the Texas Rangers during the early 2000s. Gloria Montgomery, WTB Public Affairs

ARLINGTON - Childhood fantasies turned into a dream come true for a group of Fort Hood wounded warriors recently when they walked onto the plush infield of the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, home to the Texas Rangers, Major League Baseball’s 2010 and 2011 American League champs.

Gloves in hand, donning camouflage T-shirts lettered with the words “Feldy’s Faces of Freedom,” the eager Soldiers from the Warrior Transition Brigade’s 1st Battalion were ready to play ball with the Texas Ranger legends, thanks to the generosity of Scott Feldman and his wife Kelli. The couple invited the WTB team to Arlington to kick off the inaugural Faces of Freedom softball game, part of the pre-game activity before the July 1 game between the Rangers and the Oakland Athletics.

“To stand on this field,” said Staff Sgt. Timothy Pope, a self-described Ranger fan since birth, “was a childhood fantasy of mine. To have my dream come true is amazing. I never thought I’d be here in the outfield and to be able to see the ballpark and the dugout from the player’s view. It’s pretty awesome.”

For Staff Sgt. Kennetta Gunns, an avid MLB fan who was secretly rooting for her Oakland A’s, it was the first time she had ever set foot in a major league ballpark. She got her wish as the A’s later went on to beat the Rangers, 3-1.

“Oh my gosh, it’s huge,” Gunns said. She added that she was star-struck just seeing the names on the back of her opponents’ jerseys.”

The Texas Ranger Legacy Alumni team included Mike Bacsik Jr., Rusty Greer, Jose Guzman, Dave Hostetler, David Hulse, Mike Jeffcoat, Mark McLemore, Kevin Mench, Pete O’Brien, Jeff Russell and Bump Wills.

“I grew up watching them play,” said Gunns, who has played softball for most of her 36 years, minus the last few years when an injury pulled her out of the game. Normally an outfielder, she was selected to play second base during team tryouts for the softball event.

“After I heard other wounded warriors were trying out, I decided to go out and see what I could do,” she said, adding that she couldn’t stop smiling thinking about playing ball on one of America’s grandest ballparks. “I just kept thinking how proud my dad would be, that he’d think this was pretty cool.”

Gunns said her only disappointment was that rain cut short the scheduled three-inning game, which only gave the WTB team one inning at bat.

“I was disappointed that the game ended so early because some of the other team members didn’t get a chance to play,” said the slugger, who hit a line drive between second and third, but was thrown out at first.

For Feldman and his wife, hosting the softball game event was a way to recognize the military for all they do.

Altogether, the wounded warrior player team of 13 has earned four Purple Hearts and combined for 32 deployments. The team also included three additional members who served as coaches and a general manager.

“They say they are humbled meeting us,” David Hulse, who played outfield for the Rangers in the early 1990s, said. “It shouldn’t be that way. These people serve our country and give us freedom to do these kinds of things. Without them, who knows what kind of country we’d be in? I’m proud to be an American and have these people serve us. It’s humbling for us to come out and play with them.”

Although the final score was 3-1 at the end of an inning and a half, Hulse preferred to just call the game “a tie.”