As continued WPBL coverage is a little outside of Purple Row\u2019s usual beat, the same note from yesterdays game thread bears repeating once more:<\/p>\n
We realize that Purple Row is a Colorado Rockies site, and none of that will change. But we do want to provide a discussion space for those who want to follow this new league, so we\u2019ll be pinning a discussion thread on our homepage to facilitate fan discussion and support this new league in its early days.<\/p>\n
The Firebells have named Kelsie Whitmore<\/a> \u2014 arguably the most well known US born player in the WPBL \u2014 as their team captain. The first overall pick in the WPBL draft, Whitmore is a two-way player.<\/p>\n Whitmore played for the United States in the 2014 and 2018 Women\u2019s Baseball World Cup and college softball for the Cal State Fullerton Titans. She won the Big West Conference\u2019s softball player of the year in 2021. In recent years Whitmore has played for a mixture of independent league teams and was the first woman to be in a starting lineup for an Atlantic League game. Most recently she has been playing Banana Ball for the Savannah Bananas since August of last year.<\/p>\n The Hunters will be led on the field by their own team captain, Alli Schroder<\/a>. Selected fifth overall in the WPBL draft, Schroder won bronze medals in the 2018 and 2024 Women\u2019s Baseball World Cup as a pitcher for Canada. Just this past June, Schroder became the first woman to play in the Grand Forks International<\/a> baseball tournament. Outside baseball, Schroder has worked as a firefighter with the BC Wildfire Service since 2021.<\/p>\n The game is set to begin at 5:30 pm.<\/p>\n