Washington Glory
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| Washington Glory | |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Ballpark | Westfield Sports Complex |
| Based in | Chantilly, Virginia |
| Colors | navy blue, red |
| League | National Pro Fastpitch |
| Head coach | Carie Dever-Boaz |
| General Manager | Paul Wilson |
| Championships | 2007 |
The Washington Glory is a women's softball team based in the Washington, D.C. area. Since the 2007 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. Many of the players on the inaugural Washington Glory roster came from the Connecticut Brakettes after that team folded.
The Glory won the 2007 NPF championship, defeating the Rockford Thunder in the final game of the championship series. Pitcher Monica Abbott was named series MVP.
The Glory featured several top players in 2007 including Most Valuable Player Amber Jackson who hit several tape measure home runs for the Glory, the 2006 Rookie of the Year Catalina Morris, All-NPF selctions Oli Keohohou and Nicole Thompson, the 2006 pitcher of the year Sarah Pauly and 2007 pitcher of the year Desirée Serrano who earned the nickname "Wild Thing" due to her last name combined with her jersey number 99. Right from the start, the same version of "Wild Thing" that graced the entrance of Rick Vaughn in the movie Major League was played whenever Serrano took to the circle.
Looking forward to 2008, the Glory added another top-level pitcher with the the sixth pick in the draft by taking Taryne Mowatt who pitched against Abbott in the 2007 College World Series and was honored with several post-season accolades. Her teammate and catcher from the University of Arizona, Callista Balko, will also join the Glory in 2008. Management's desire to maintain a home-town feel to the team was expanded from just having players move to the area, to drafting one of their own. Courtney Bures, originally from Haymarket, Virginia, was selected 16th overall in the 2008 draft and graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School. The Glory also drafted Cambria Miranda from Oregon State University while signing free agents Lisa Ferguson from Baylor University and Bianca Cruz from Arizona State University.
The team was bolstered off the field as well with a group of young men from George Mason's ground staff earning the nickname "The Glory Men" for their antics during the game that included their own dances between innings, their spot on the "K-deck" keeping track of strikeouts by Glory pitchers and the signs they made for several of the players.
Fans who followed the Glory were dubbed "Glory Nation" and that extended to the team's internet broadcasts from the NPF World Series as games were broadcast on the Glory Nation Radio Network and one fan even brought a hand-drawn Glory flag with "Glory Nation" written under the Glory logo.
The team's mascot, Gloria the K9 (actually spelled with a backwards K) is also integral to the game. Her antics with a cowbell on the dugout, participating in musical chairs or winking her eye at adoring fans quickly made her a fan favorite among DC area mascots.
It was truly a magical season in 2007 as the Glory won both the league regular season title and the league championship, the first team in the NPF to accomplish the feat. With many on-field accomplishments by the players, coaches and front office, the Glory even pulled off a successful wedding proposal on August 3 in a game against Rockford. The game came to a halt as several players came on the field to watch what was going on, then Kelley Kretschman gave the soon-to-be husband and wife a gift by hitting a home run. It was the deciding run in the Glory's 3-0 win over Rockford en route to a four-game sweep.
Though Philadelphia is the closest rival to the Glory, a rivalry quickly formed between the Glory and Rockford that extended into the post season. In all, the Glory played Rockford 10 times in 2007, going 8-2, winning all four at home and two in the playoffs.
The team opened the 2008 season with an exhibition against Team USA at Prince George's Stadium in Bowie, Maryland on May 10. The game proved to be a tight one, a rarity for the national team, with Team USA winning 2-0. Fans and sportswriters were impressed with the Glory's performance, as they had not played together as a team since August of 2007.
Records fell for the Glory in 2007 as the team broke the league record for home runs in a season and will look to smash the mark again in 2008 as they move to the smaller Westfield Sports Complex. Seating will be more traditional for the fans with seating along the baselines instead of one big grand stand behind home plate. The Glory move to Westfield for 2008 while the George Mason Softball Complex undergoes renovations and should be ready by the 2009 season.
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