Alabama Softball Alums Ready for NPF Championship in Hoover
8/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league will host its 2015 championship tournament in Hoover, Ala., this weekend at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium beginning on Friday, Aug. 14. Alabama alums Kelly Kretschman, Kelley Montalvo and Molly Fichtner will be among the former college all-stars competing for a title.
The top four seeded teams will play in two best-of-three series (#1 vs. #4 and #2 vs. #3) starting on Friday to determine the two championship participants, who will battle in another best-of-three championship series beginning on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 3 p.m. CT. Every game over the weekend will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network. Information about the NPF Championship, including a schedule, ticket packages and prices, can be found on their official website: championship.profastpitch.com
Kretschman, a 2001 graduate of Alabama, is in her 10th season in the NPF and is the starting center fielder for the USSSA Pride, hitting .338 with 22 RBI in 46 starts. At Alabama, Kretschman was the program's first four-time NFCA All-American, setting career school records for runs (288), hits (368), doubles (65), triples (16) and home runs (60) that still stand today. She is currently an assistant coach at Texas State alongside USSSA Pride teammate and former Texas Longhorn superstar pitcher Cat Osterman, who is playing in her final professional season.
Montalvo posted a .333 career average at Alabama from 2006-09, earning NFCA First Team All-American honors as a junior. That season, she hit a personal best .373 with 63 hits and 54 RBI, helping guide Alabama to its furthest postseason run up to that point, posting a 2-2 record in Oklahoma City. A stellar defender at third base, she owns a .971 career fielding percentage and the second most career assists in Alabama history at 441. She is in her sixth season in the NPF playing with the Akron Racers and has started every game this season.
Fichtner is in her first season with the NPF, playing with the brand new expansion Dallas Charge team where she has appeared in eight games so far. Fichtner played her first two collegiate seasons at UT-San Antonio before transferring to Alabama as a junior in 2013. Over the next two seasons, Fichtner was the primary starting catcher for the Tide, hitting .330 with 89 hits and 68 RBI. As a senior in 2014, she was named Second Team All-SEC after leading the team with a .391 average in conference play while also throwing out a league-leading seven runners caught stealing. Fichtner was a volunteer assistant for Alabama in 2015 and will serve as an assistant coach at Dartmouth starting this fall.
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