Oxford, AL – Under the direction of former Alabama star Kretschman, USSSA Pride holds Oxford’s Smash It Sports Vipers to just two hits, throws 15 batters to take a 6-1 win.
By Joe Medley
Kelly Kretschman smiles about the modern reality of professional speedpitch softball players in Alabama.
The head coach for the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league’s USSSA Pride is left to wonder what it might have looked like if it’d been in existence after she completed her record-breaking college career at Alabama. University of Alabama.
“When I had a chance to play, I would’ve been possible to play in Alabama. Alabama,” she said on Sunday. “It’s exciting.
“Once people begin to come more often and seeing it at a professional level, I’m sure they’ll be enthused.”
At the moment the moment, the Oxford Smash It sports Vipers are still struggling. Pride Pitcher Hope Trautwein tossed four innings of no-hitting and the Pride hit 15 times to defeat Vipers Vipers 6-1, on the Sunday afternoon in Choccolocco Park.
The Pride clinched an 8-3 win against the Vipers in the opening game of the three-game series. As we head into the third game on Monday the Vipers are at a 2-10 mark during their first season in Oxford and are in last place within the 4-team WPF.
The Pride (4-9) are third.
One game remaining prior to a week-long break and the Vipers are in the midst of shedding their current tan.
“I think it’s just tough for us right now, if we take a look at how we’ve done,” said left fielder Tatyana Forbes who drove in the Vipers one run on Sunday through a fifth-inning hit. “Once we’ve gotten at minimum one more win I’m sure we’ll continue to build off this.
“We only have to be at ease and relieve that stress off our shoulders.”
The Vipers’ coach Gerry Glasco, who was removed from the field on Saturday attempts to keep things moving.
“We’re unhappy,” he said. “I’ve never had a coach with a 2-10 record. professional, college, never. I’m not sure what I should do. Try to remain with them Let them know we are there for them and hopefully, we will discover a way to be successful.”
Nothing much changed to improve confidence in the Vipers’ confidence on Sunday.
Amber Fiser, the pitcher who was the winner in both their victories, walked out of the circle in the Pride’s five-hit and three-run fourth innings when the Vipers losing 5-0.
Annie Willis, who pitched four solid innings of relief in a 3-1 loss against the Oklahoma City Spark on Thursday she threw seven pitches at two batters before directing coach Randy Beason to the circle. Glasco said it was the “arm injured.”
“I’m I’m not planning to talk about much,” he said. “It’s an arm injury and we’ll check it out.”
Karly Heath pitched for the rest of the game, only she allowed one run in the seventh inning on Delaney Spaulding’s hit however the Vipers have probably had their most memorable moments of the game. Shortstop Mikayla Allee hit her home to force out with bases full, catcher Mary Iakopo picked off Casidy Chaumont on third base, and Forbes was able to flag the ball down Kelli Godin’s liner for field end the threat.
Too little, too late.
“For us it was good to have a good amount of hits, and also simply try to fight and be good at batting,” Kretschman said. “I think we hit around 22 good at bats today, out of 30, which is an improvement for us.
“We’ve struggled early in the year to get hits in the right order and tonight we were able to do it.”
Trautwein started for the Pride with no hits allowed. Trautwein pitched with four strikeouts, and two walks in four innings before handing over for Ellen Roberts in to start the fifth 5th.
“She did an excellent job,” Kretschman said. “We’ve attempted to make our pitchers attack in the early innings and throw strikes, which gives us excellent opportunities to strike their outs. The pitcher did this tonight. She also gave us an opportunity to give other people work too.”
Kretschman was the 4 times All-American at Alabama between 1998 and 2001 and also helped her team Crimson Tide make its first College World Series appearance as an undergraduate. She graduated with school-record records for average, RBIs home runs, triples doubles, hits runs, walks stole bases, slugging as well as on-base percent. She holds records for hits home runs doubles, triples, runs, and slugging.
She was a participant during the 2004 and the 2008 Olympics and her efforts to play for Team USA brought her back to play in Alabama. She was appointed Head Coach of the Pride in 2022. In the following year, the Pride played a series of exhibition games in the competition against Team USA, Australia and Japan between July 5 and 6 at Choccolocco Park, ahead of the last season’s World Games in Birmingham.
This weekend’s match will bring Kretschman home to Alabama to oversee Choccolocco Park’s famous field once more.
“Maybe we can convince many more Alabama girls to join the league, and then increase interest,” she said. “This facility is fantastic.”
