Ashburn, VA – The Washington Glory, the new National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) women’s softball expansion team, announced today that it has signed ten players to contracts for its 2007 inaugural season.
“It’s been a very busy couple of weeks solidifying our roster and preparing for last week’s NCAA draft,” said Paul Wilson, owner and general manager of the Washington Glory. “Our incredible roster of elite players is going to give the rest of the league a run for its money. It will be our inaugural season and we’re certainly going to give them something to talk about.”
The list of signed players in the Glory’s arsenal is:
Pitchers: Sarah Pauly & Desiree Serrano
Catchers: Germaine Fairchild, Callie Piper and Christa Dalakis
Infielders: Oli Keohohou, Nichole Thompson, Stephanie Best and Sara Larquier
Outfielders: LaDonia Hughes
(A complete dossier of each player follows after this press release.)
Wilson continued, “The Glory will sign all of our 2007 draft picks shortly after players finish their college seasons this spring. The final roster spots will be filled by free agency signings and through an open tryout to be held in Northern Virginia at a date to be announced in the near future.”
About National Pro Fastpitch
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL).
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Pitchers
Sarah Pauly - Sarah completed her first professional season in dominating fashion. She was not only an All-NPF selection, but also the league’s 2006 Pitcher of the Year. Her stats for the 2006 NPF regular season schedule found her first in the league in ERA (1.22); tied for the most wins (15) and second in strikeouts (138). She pitched 143 innings for the Connecticut Brakettes, giving up just 94 hits and 36 walks. She graduated from Texas A&M Corpus Christi where she was an NCAA Division 1 All- American in 2005 and led her team to three straight NCAA Regional playoffs. Sarah ranks in the top 10 in three Division 1 statistical career pitching categories. Additionally, she was named three times as the Big South Conference Most Valuable Pitcher while in college and was an All-State pitcher while attending high school in Phoenix, Arizona.
Desiree Serrano - Desiree debuted in the NPF last season with the Arizona Heat as their anchor pitcher. She signed with the Heat following the conclusion of the 2006 Arizona State season that saw the Sun Devils reach the College World Series. Desiree was instrumental in the Sun Devils success, posting a career low 1.41 ERA in her senior season to go along with a 17-7 record.
Desiree ended her time with the Sun Devils with one of the most impressive pitching careers in school history. She finished a combine 63-41 record with a 1.90 ERA and 786 strikeouts in 726.2 innings pitched. Her 63 victories were good enough for fourth all-time at ASU and her strikeouts currently rank third in school history. Serrano also pitched 63 complete games in her four years with 24 being shutouts.
Catchers
Germaine Fairchild - Germaine comes to the Washington Glory via the Brakettes organization where she had a very strong 2006 campaign. After only five years with the Brakettes, Fairchild recorded unbelievable offensive numbers to rank in the Top Ten in many career totals. The Boulder, CO, native hit .388 with a record-tying 15 home runs and 81 RBI’s in 2005. She also had 30 extra base hits and scored 44 runs, while winning the team batting title for the third time (also in 2001 and 2003). A Second-Team ASA All-America last year, she recently played for the 2004 champion New York Juggernauts. Her first pro stint came in
1998 with the Virginia Roadsters of the Women’s Professional Softball League. Her most memorable event came when she hit game-winning home runs in consecutive games to defeat the eventual champion Tampa Bay Firestix. Now in her sixth year as the head softball coach at Quinnipiac University (Hamden, CT), Fairchild played six different positions with the Brakettes. A graduate of Tulsa University, Germaine was a member of the All Missouri Valley Conference Academic Team from 1993-95. She completed her college career in style, hitting .326 (42-for-129) with 14 doubles and 29 RBI during her senior year in 1995.
Callie Piper- In her three-year career with the Stratford Brakettes, Callie Piper put up solid offensive numbers, but it was on defense where she continued to excel. An outstanding catcher at Florida Atlantic University Piper’s versatility was very evident as she played first base, third base and outfield in addition to her talents behind the plate for the Brakettes. The 5-foot-11 Piper, a native of Wichita, KS, played four years at FAU as the Callie dominated the Atlantic Sun Conference and earned four NCAA tournament berths. She posted a .311 average with the Brakettes as she came through with many key hits. Defensively, she threw out nearly 65 percent of the runners attempting to steal a base. She earned two First-Team ASA All-America berths with the Brakettes. At Wichita Northwest High School, Piper was a basketball and softball star.
Christa Dalakis - Catcher and outfielder, Christa is a local stand out who graduated from George Mason University. This will be Christa’s first professional season. Dalakis is also on the Greek National Team that will be vying to play in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. She is also a founder and owner of Tyson’s Corner based Breakaway Fitness.
Infielders
Oli Keohohou - Oli was the first of two at-large selections for the All-NPF team playing for the Akron Racers last season. She blasted eight home runs and batted in 28 runs in 2006. She walked 21 times. She led the team in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage and is now third on the all-time homerun list for the Racers with 14. Prior to her NPF career, Oli had a fantastic college career where she was honored as an NFCA First-Team All-American for two consecutive seasons.
Nichole Thompson - 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.
She led the Heat in several offensive categories, including hits, runs, RBIs and total bases (56). Her 12 game hitting streak set a franchise record and she also added an eight game hitting streak. She currently holds the Heat career records in hits (94), runs (57) and doubles (18).
Stephanie Best - Stephanie joins the Glory following two strong years in the NPF where she played for the New England Riptide and the Connecticut Brakettes. Stephanie had an accomplished career at the University of Central Florida. She was named A-Sun Player of the Year for two straight seasons, and led A-Sun in slugging, runs scored, home runs, total bases, and walks in 2004. Best has a lifetime batting average over .400, a UCF record. She was a member of the national champion Stratford Brakettes team in 2004.
Sara Larquier - Sara is coming off of a season with the Akron Racers where she was nursing an ankle injury most of the year. Now that she is back to 100%, we feel she’ll be back to the level of play she showed as a University of Virginia standout. Sara was Virginia’s 2006 team captain, the 2005 ACC Player of the Year, a 2004 third-team All-American
Outfielder
LaDonia Hughes - LaDonia hails from Farmville, Virginia and 2007 will be her fourth season in the NPF. LaDonia has put up very strong offensive numbers and provided great defense in centerfield every year she’s played in the league. LaDonia played her collegiate ball at Louisiana State University, after transferring from Lake City Community College. At Lake City CC, she led the team to the 2001 NJCAA National Championship, while hitting .415. After transferring to LSU, LaDonia started every game for the Tigers in the Outfield, and did not
commit an error in her career. During her senior season, she received NFCA Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors..
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