Thunder Series Preview
July 8, 2008 - National Pro Fastpitch (NPF)
Rockford Thunder News Release
After a nearly two-week break, the Rockford Thunder will take the field again beginning Wednesday night at Philadelphia. The Thunder come into the series in a tie with Chicago for fourth place in the NPF standings, while the Force will start in second place.
The Thunder are on a two-game winning streak, while Philly most recently dropped three games of a four-match series against the Akron Racers.
Rockford started the season strong, compiling eight wins in their first eleven games, but began fading a little in a four-game set against world-class power Team Canada. They also dropped their first two to New England on the road before taking the last two games to earn the series split. The Force also started with a bang, but have since faltered and lost their first-place standing to the Washington Glory after Philly's series loss to Akron.
The Thunder have proven the top of their batting order is among the speediest in the NPF, with Kristen Zaleski and Audrey Rendon both in the top five in stolen bases in 2008. Rendon also leads the league in triples, a rare hit in professional softball due to the small field size. The team as a whole has batted well with less than two outs, and is the only team in the NPF that has yet to ground into a double play in 2008. The most notable Force star is Kellie Wilkerson who is currently hitting .489, an entire 100 points above the next highest player in the NPF.
Opening Pitching Matchup
ROC: RHP Serena Settlemier (0-3, 3.68 ERA)
After missing the start of the 2008 season because of a prior commitment to pitch for an Italian team, Settlemier has at times pitched extremely effectively. Her ERA is inflated due to a couple bad outings, but has also had some outstanding no-decisions. Among these, she did not give up a single earned run against Canada in four and two-thirds innings on June 21, and allowed just one run against New England on June 26.
PHI: LHP Katie Burkhart (4-2, 1.48 ERA)
Burkhart has pitched very efficiently in 2008, and had thrown an impressive six complete games in just seven starts. Among these six complete games are two extra-innings performances, including a nine-inning affair against the Chinese Taipei national team.
Players to Watch
ROC: Kristen Zaleski started the season slow, but has exploded recently, and is now third on the team with a .279 batting average, first with seven stolen bases, second with eight walks, and third with six runs scored. All of this comes with shortened playing time, due to her appearances with Team NPF, an all-star team that plays mostly against elite national teams.
PHI: Kellie Wilkerson leads her team in a number of categories, including hits (23), batting average (.489), runs batted in (17), home runs (3), slugging percentage (.766), and on-base percentage (.564). She is also second in doubles (4), and walks (8). Defensively, she has not committed an error all season.
Tickets
Tickets can be obtained by calling the Philadelphia Force box office at 1-800-919-6272, or visiting their ticketing website here. General admission tickets at the Force's stadium in Allentown are $10.
Up Next (Pitching Probables)
-Thursday: Thunder (RHP Cassidy Scoggins, 3-4, 2.65 ERA) vs. Force (RHP Megan Gibson, 4-0, 0.70 ERA)
-Friday: Thunder (RHP Allison Kime, 4-2, 3.09 ERA) vs. Force (RHP Margo Pruis, 3-1, 2.94 ERA)
-Saturday: Thunder (RHP Megan Brown, 3-1, 2.45 ERA) vs. Force (RHP Amy Harre, 3-2, 2.94 ERA)
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National Pro Fastpitch Stories from July 8, 2008
- Upcoming Force Promotions for July - Philadelphia Force
- Thunder Series Preview - Rockford Thunder
- Thunder Players to be Seen on ESPN - Rockford Thunder
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