Watch: USWNT star Whitmore notches 1st hit in indy ball
Here's a look at Kelsie Whitmore's first hit as a professional. #history #trailblazer pic.twitter.com/tMg9FhJ0ai
— Sonoma Stompers (@SonomaStompers) July 20, 2016
History was made at a small California ballpark Wednesday afternoon.
Kelsie Whitmore, a member of the United States national women's baseball team - and one of three women to sign with the independent Sonoma Stompers earlier this year - collected her first professional hit against the San Rafael Pacifics.
HISTORY! @KelsieWhitmore singles through the right side for her first professional hit!!! #IfYouCanPlayYouCanPlay pic.twitter.com/W8f9NR9WDe
— Sonoma Stompers (@SonomaStompers) July 20, 2016
Whitmore was denied a chance to run the bases as a teammate was gunned down trying to score on the play, ending the fourth inning. Still, the moment wasn't lost on the 18-year-old, whose parents were in attendance for what was just her third game of the season.
"A lot of the guys were asking why I wasn't jumping up and down," she told Michael Clair of MLB.com. "My thought process was 'That's just one hit. I need more.'"
Whitmore added that a teammate quickly retrieved the baseball, and it's now safely in her possession.
Whitmore and fellow U.S. women's team member Stacy Piagno joined the Stompers in June, becoming the first women to play in a professional men's baseball league since 2012. A third member of the national women's team, catcher Anna Kimbrell, announced on Twitter last week that she'll also be joining the Pacific Association club.