Last year Cat Osterman won most valuable player honors by helping wrap up the National Pro Fastpitch Cowles Cup as she led the Rockford Thunder to a championship series win over the expansion USSSA Pride, who played its home games in Osceola County.

This summer the Pride are entertaining crowds at both the UCF Softball Complex and ESPN Wide World of Sports. And Osterman, a gold-medal winning softball player while with the U.S. National Team, is now playing her pro softball in Florida, helping the Pride get out to 7-2 record in the four-team league to start the season.

With the Thunder since moving to Tennessee over the offseason, the other softball rivals in the NPF are Chicago and Akron, Ohio.

This weekend the Pride hosts Tennessee at UCF with games on Friday and Saturday starting at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 12:05 p.m. They then hit the road for a lengthy stretch before returning for games at Disney against Tennessee (July 22-25) and Chicago (July 29-31).

The final home series of the season takes place at UCF when Akron pays a visit Aug. 19-22.

–– Pride Stat Leaders ––

Entering this weekend’s series, Osterman leads the Pride with a 3-0 record and one save from inside the circle. She currently has an earned run average of 0.90 through 23.1 innings of work. The former University of Texas hurler has struck out 29 batters and allowed just 14 hits and three earned runs.

Outfielder Kristin Schnake leads the team in batting with a .556 average through five games. The University of Georgia alum went 2-for-3 at the plate on Saturday in Tennessee and has scored three runs on the season.

Olympic gold medalists Jessica Mendoza and Kelly Kretschman are each hitting .407 through nine games on 11 of 27 at-bats this summer. Mendoza, out of Stanford University, has scored seven runs, hit four doubles and drove in six while Kretschman (University of Alabama) has drove in seven, scored three times, hit two home runs and two doubles.

Among the names on the USSSA roster is University of Florida’s Francesca Enea along with others from colllege programs such as Tennessee, Arizona, Arizona State, Oklahoma, UCLA, Louisville and Marshall.

–– Did You Know? ––

– On May 30, 1997 the first professional softball game was played between the Virginia Roadsters and Durham Dragons. The Roadsters prevailed 2-1 for the first-ever win in what was then known as the Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) league.

– On July 1, 1997 the Orlando Wahoos clinched the WPF first-half title with a 10-0 win over the Tampa Bay FireStix. Orlando would go on to win the WPF Championship Series played Aug. 26-31, 1997 over the Roadsters.

– On July 31, 1997 the first no-hitter in league history was thrown by Gabby Guerrero as the Roadsters defeated the Dragons 2-0.

– On Aug. 1, 1998 the first perfect game in league history was thrown by DeeDee Weiman as the FireStix defeated the Carolina Diamonds 2-0.

– On Aug. 25, 1998 the Wahoos earned a return trip to the championship series by winning the second-half title with a 25-8 record. Orlando went on to sweep the Diamonds for the title a week later.

– On November 6, 1998, Women’s Pro Fastpitch suspended operations of the team in Orlando and assigned its players to the Akron Racers.

– On Dec. 5, 1998 the league changed its name to Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL).

– On June 14, 1999, Crysti Bustos of the Akron Racers became the first player in league history to make the USA Softball Women’s National Team. Bustos and Michelle Venturella would be named to the 2000 U.S. National Team on Sept. 6, 1999.

– On July 7, 2000 the single-game strikeout record is set when Ohio Pride pitcher Heather Compton retires 17 batters in a 2-1 win over the Racers.

– On Feb. 27, 2001 the WPSL suspends operations before emerging with plans to revise the league as the newly minted National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) on Nov. 21, 2002. Six teams are introduced for the 2004 season on March 21 of that year, including the return of Akron, along with franchises in Arizona, Texas, Massachusetts, New Jersey and California.

– In 2009, professional softball returns to the Central Florida area as the Washington Glory become the USSSA Pride, who play its home games in Kissimmee.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –