- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,170,330
- Reaction score
- 59
Tom Heath Field was buzzing all week as young girls and longtime community members came out to watch the OKC Spark make its debut in a professional softball league.
But the loudest fan in attendance on Thursday’s series finale was not in the stands.
The emergency medical technician who was pacing back and forth down the left field outside the team lounge, clinging on to the gates and yelling out for every player, was the OKC Spark's biggest cheerleader as they chipped away a three-run deficit to beat the Texas Volts in a 5-4 walk-off victory.
“The Spark's biggest fan,” Spark founder Tina Floyd said next to the dugout.
John Armer saw the first softball shifts on the American Medical Response calendar during opening week of the AUSL and picked it up for the last two games of the series.
“It was probably one of the most exciting shifts I've been on,” Armer said on Thursday. “It's probably a lot to say for EMS.”
More: OU softball legend Tiare Jennings brings 'calming factor' to Volts in AUSL
Armer was standing by the common staff side entrance at the start of the game. By the fifth inning, Armer could not stand still beside the dugout, clapping and cheering as if he had a personal stake in every player and pitch.
But he did not. It was only his second-ever softball game.
“Today was absolutely insane,” Armer said, unable to stop smiling. “It was an emotional roller coaster. And then they pulled it out for the W, and I couldn’t be more happy for them.”
His rambunctious chants of “Let’s gooooo!”, “C’mon!”, “Go, Go Go!”, and “Yeahhh!” drew chuckles and smiles from the media and staff next to him.
“I saw 48 make that crazy grab, and I was like ‘No, you actually just pulled it out the ground like that,’” Armer said.
Left fielder Bubba Nickels-Camarena, No. 48, showcased her elite defense throughout the game, making spectacular catches in key moments that halted any potential rally from the Volts.
“When I slid into the fence, I did hear someone,” Nickels-Camarena said, smiling.
Center fielder Maya Brady continued her dominant series at the plate, averaging .666 over the series and reaching the base in three of her four plate appearances on Thursday.
More: Former OU softball star Sydney Romero savors facing sister in AUSL season debut
“You got Maya over there vibrating, slacking that ball out of the ground, and I’m like ‘Dude, no way bro, she’s insane,’” Armer said. “Just built different.”
With two Volts runners on base in the top of the seventh inning, Jessie Warren made a quick reaction play, snagging a line drive and firing the ball to Sydney Sherrill to complete a crucial double play and end the threat. That play set the stage for the Spark's walk-off victory.
“It was emotional,” Armer said of the double play. “It was the most excitement I felt probably this entire week.”
The EMT’s excitement mirrors the momentum behind professional softball across the country during AUSL opening week.
In its second season, the AUSL has already made milestones expanding its reach through national broadcast partnerships and competition in six permanent home markets.
For the OKC Spark, in its first year in the league, the opening-series victory offered a glimpse of what growth of the game could look like locally.
With Oklahoma City set to host softball at the 2028 Olympic Games, and several Spark players in the national team pool, the momentum is expected to carry forward.
Armer did not know OKC had a professional softball team before he stumbled upon it at work. Like many others who experience the softball community in this city for the first time, he does not want to miss a moment.
“I’m going to try to sign up for all the Spark games.”
CARLSON: OKC Spark No. 1 overall pick Maya Brady is new face of AUSL entering 2026 season
Amanda Avila is a sports intern for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Amanda? She can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @avilaonair. Support Isa's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Meet OKC Spark's 'biggest fan' at AUSL debut, an EMT hooked on softball
Continue reading...
But the loudest fan in attendance on Thursday’s series finale was not in the stands.
The emergency medical technician who was pacing back and forth down the left field outside the team lounge, clinging on to the gates and yelling out for every player, was the OKC Spark's biggest cheerleader as they chipped away a three-run deficit to beat the Texas Volts in a 5-4 walk-off victory.
“The Spark's biggest fan,” Spark founder Tina Floyd said next to the dugout.
John Armer saw the first softball shifts on the American Medical Response calendar during opening week of the AUSL and picked it up for the last two games of the series.
“It was probably one of the most exciting shifts I've been on,” Armer said on Thursday. “It's probably a lot to say for EMS.”
More: OU softball legend Tiare Jennings brings 'calming factor' to Volts in AUSL
You must be registered for see images
Armer was standing by the common staff side entrance at the start of the game. By the fifth inning, Armer could not stand still beside the dugout, clapping and cheering as if he had a personal stake in every player and pitch.
But he did not. It was only his second-ever softball game.
“Today was absolutely insane,” Armer said, unable to stop smiling. “It was an emotional roller coaster. And then they pulled it out for the W, and I couldn’t be more happy for them.”
His rambunctious chants of “Let’s gooooo!”, “C’mon!”, “Go, Go Go!”, and “Yeahhh!” drew chuckles and smiles from the media and staff next to him.
“I saw 48 make that crazy grab, and I was like ‘No, you actually just pulled it out the ground like that,’” Armer said.
Left fielder Bubba Nickels-Camarena, No. 48, showcased her elite defense throughout the game, making spectacular catches in key moments that halted any potential rally from the Volts.
“When I slid into the fence, I did hear someone,” Nickels-Camarena said, smiling.
Center fielder Maya Brady continued her dominant series at the plate, averaging .666 over the series and reaching the base in three of her four plate appearances on Thursday.
More: Former OU softball star Sydney Romero savors facing sister in AUSL season debut
“You got Maya over there vibrating, slacking that ball out of the ground, and I’m like ‘Dude, no way bro, she’s insane,’” Armer said. “Just built different.”
With two Volts runners on base in the top of the seventh inning, Jessie Warren made a quick reaction play, snagging a line drive and firing the ball to Sydney Sherrill to complete a crucial double play and end the threat. That play set the stage for the Spark's walk-off victory.
“It was emotional,” Armer said of the double play. “It was the most excitement I felt probably this entire week.”
The EMT’s excitement mirrors the momentum behind professional softball across the country during AUSL opening week.
In its second season, the AUSL has already made milestones expanding its reach through national broadcast partnerships and competition in six permanent home markets.
For the OKC Spark, in its first year in the league, the opening-series victory offered a glimpse of what growth of the game could look like locally.
With Oklahoma City set to host softball at the 2028 Olympic Games, and several Spark players in the national team pool, the momentum is expected to carry forward.
Armer did not know OKC had a professional softball team before he stumbled upon it at work. Like many others who experience the softball community in this city for the first time, he does not want to miss a moment.
“I’m going to try to sign up for all the Spark games.”
CARLSON: OKC Spark No. 1 overall pick Maya Brady is new face of AUSL entering 2026 season
Amanda Avila is a sports intern for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Amanda? She can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @avilaonair. Support Isa's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Meet OKC Spark's 'biggest fan' at AUSL debut, an EMT hooked on softball
Continue reading...
