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Fairfax, VA —
Today marked the beginning of what could be a new summer pastime in the Washington area, the introduction of the Washington Glory, a member of the National Pro Fast Pitch League that features five other teams and standout players such as pitcher and USA Gold Medal Winner Jennie Finch. The “Glory” nickname was chosen from a list that originally included about 220 possibilities. The three finalists were the Glory, the Shock and the Quake. Glory owner, Paul Wilson has a passion to bring a fan friendly and winning team to the Washington area. With this team it looks like Wilson has gotten a jump start on a team that will be competitive from day one. “It’s been a very busy couple of weeks solidifying our roster and preparing for the NCAA draft which occurred last week. We have one of the best pitching staffs in the league if not the best and we are surely going to give them something to talk about during our inaugural season here in Washington. Leading the way for the Glory will be Carie Dever Boaz, who comes from a winning program in the University of Virginia, where she spent two seasons as an assistant coach under UVA head coach and USA Olympic Team coach Karen Johns. Boaz’s coaching experience runs deep as she was the head coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks who posted a 46-29 record in 1999 and were the runner-up’s in the SEC Tournament that season. She is graduate of Fresno State where she helped the Bulldogs reach the College World Series four times in 1988, 1989 and 1990. As for the players on this team, since the Glory has taken over the franchise from the Connecticut Brakettes, they certainly do not start as most expansion teams might and this roster as Wilson described to us is one of the strongest in the league. Highlights of the team include as follows:
Desiree Serrano: Pitcher– Debuted in 2006 in the NPF with the Arizona Heat after an impressive career at Arizona State. She posted a 1.41 ERA in her Senior Season ad led them to a 17-7 record. She pitched an amazing 24 shutouts and recorded 63 complete games during her four years in Tempe. Sara Pauly: Pitcher– Possibly the strongest asset to the Glory team is the 2006 NPF Pitcher of the Year. She was tied for the most wins in a season with 15 and was second in strikeouts at 138. She is a 2005 graduate of Texas A&M Corpus Christi where she was the Division 1 All American in 2005. She led her team to three straight NCAA Regional Playoffs. Monica Abbott: Pitcher–The Washington Glory Draft Pick from the University of Tennessee recently broke Cat Osteman’s strikeout record with 2,271 career strikeouts. Abbot who hails from Salinas California also broke the NCAA career victory record of 152 earlier this season. She went 40-2 this season and has 179 career victories. Kelly Kretchmann: Outfielder–She knows softball and possibly will be the leader on the field for the Glory. Kelly hit a league-leading .410, and had a .566 on-base percentage, 35 walks, nine doubles, and was in the top ten in slugging, runs scored, and hits. Kelly is also on her second tour of duty with Team USA and won a gold medal at the 2004 games in Athens, Greece. The former Alabama All-American also won an NPF Championship in 2005 with the Akron Racers.
Nichole Thompson: Infielder– A excellent infielder and the best the league might have defensively. Nichole earned an at-large spot on the All-NPF Team last year as a member of the Arizona Heat for her outstanding work at the plate. Thompson ended the season second on the team with a .317 average. She finished the year leading the NPF in both hits (46) and runs (26). Thompson also ranked second in at-bats (145), fourth in RBIs (24) and eighth in batting average. Oli Keohohou: Infielder– Possibly a pitchers worst nightmare at the plate. She has a monstrous swing and she sent 8 balls for home runs last season and had 28 RBI’s in the 2006 season for the Akron Racers. Washington kicks off their 2007 season with an exhibition game on May 26th and then they open their season on May 31st at home against the New England Riptide. All home games will be played at George Mason University. There are 500 VIP seats for the games and 1,500 general admission tickets available for each game. Team and Group packages are available for each game as well. For more information and to purchase tickets call 703 889-8870 |
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in Other Sports, Sports