The final roster for the All-Army men's softball team has been set, and the players are here practicing as they go for the Army's seventh consecutive title at the Armed Forces Men's Softball Championship, Sept. 18-21, at Pensacola, Florida.

Four players from Joint Base Lewis-McChord made the final roster: Sgt. 1st Class Jeramy Aponte, Sgt. Jedon Matthews, Sgt. Andrew Renaud and Staff Sgt. Bobby Wilkins.

Fort Sill is well represented as its head coach, assistant coach, trainer, and two players are all permanent-duty soldiers here.

"I feel that I have the team that can win the gold medal for the seventh straight time," said head coach Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Sonnenburg, A Battery, 1st Battalion, 78th Field Artillery. Sonnenburg knows about winning gold -- he did it in 2010 and 2012 as a player.

Assistant coach Sgt. 1st Class Andre Amantine, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 4th Field Artillery, coached the All-Army Women's softball team from 2011-2013. In his years there, they took two golds and one silver medal.

Twenty-five players from a pool of about a hundred applicants of all ranks Army-wide sent in electronic resumés to be considered for the tryouts. Sonnenburg and Amantine evaluated the applicants for experience, and then invited 25 soldiers for the tryouts, which began Aug. 27.

The final roster of 16 players, including nine veterans of the team, was made Sept. 9.

"That was the hardest decision for me -- who I had to send home," said Sonnenburg, who is an Advanced Individual Training instructor for the Multiple Launch Rocket System course.

Each day, players begin their own workouts at the fitness centers at 6:30 a.m., Amantine said. After breakfast, they hit the Dinges Sports Complex at 9 a.m. For about two-and-a-half hours they practice infield and outfield drills, situational hitting, and batting practice. After lunch, for about 90 minutes, there is physical training. In the evenings they play double-headers, and sometimes three games against local teams.

"We've played teams from Oklahoma made up of conference players to give us the best look possible," Amantine said.

Staff Sgt. Leonardo Aviles, Cowan Dental Clinic noncommissioned officer in charge, is a veteran of the team, having made it in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018, said he likes Army's chances for bringing home the gold.

"We have a lot of veteran players, and some of the first-time guys have been to camp before so they know what it takes to compete at this level," Aviles said. "I'm looking forward to representing Fort Sill, the Army, and bring home the gold medal where it belongs -- with the U.S. Army, Hooah!"

2018 All-Army Men's Softball Roster

Players:
Sgt. 1st Class Jeramy Aponte, Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Staff Sgt. Leonardo Aviles (team captain), Fort Sill
Sgt. 1st Class Dominic Fielder, Army Garrison, Hawaii
Capt. Joshua Godwin, Camp Henry Daegu, Korea
Staff Sgt. Keith Harding, USAG Hawaii
Master Sgt. Benjamin Kahalehoe, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
Spc. Anthony Mastrogiovanni, Fort Stewart/Hunter Air Field, Georgia
Sgt. Jedon Matthews, JBLM
Sgt. Andrew Renaud, JBLM
Spc. David Romero, Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Sgt. 1st Class James Segrue (team captain), Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Staff Sgt. Eric Sessom, USAG Hawaii
Capt. Rashad Shelton, Fort Sill
CW3 Richard Westmoreland, Fort Meade, Maryland
Staff Sgt. Bobby Wilkins, JBLM

Coaches/Staff:
Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Sonnenburg (head coach), Fort Sill; Sgt. 1st Class Andre Amantine (assistant coach), Fort Sill; Pvt. Mario Cerpa (athletic trainer), Fort Sill;
CW2 Rodrigo Contreras (officer in charge), Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Civilian Sarah Galon (service representative), Joint Base Fort Sam Houston, Texas