COCOA, Fla. - The 2021 Women's National Team Development Program (NTDP) wraps up on Thursday with game four between the Stars and Stripes at the Launch Pad Sports Complex in Cocoa, Florida. The Stars got their first win of the series in game three on Wednesday after the Stripes took games one and two to start the week. In the finale, the Stars will look to finish with a series tie while the Stripes are battling to earn a series victory.

Kelsie Whitmore (Temecula, Calif.) will get her second start of the series for the Stripes in the series finale after earning the win with a three-inning scoreless start in game two. Naomi Ryan (North Chesterfield, Va.) will get her second appearance of the series and first start for the Stars after tossing 2.1 scoreless innings of relief in game two.

The Women's National Team program takes the field for the first time since 2019 at the 2021 Women's NTDP. In 2019, Team USA went 7-0 in the COPABE Women's Pan-American Championships to win the program's first gold medal since 2015. The 2019 Women's National Team outscored its opponents 124-20 in the tournament, held a cumulative .500 batting average, and hit a record 11 home runs en route to the gold. The dominating performance also earned the squad USA Baseball Team of the Year honors for 2019.

Five-time Team USA alum Veronica Alvarez, who became the first woman to be named USA Baseball’s Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year after leading the 2019 Women’s National Team to the program’s first gold since 2015, will serve as the 2021 Women’s NTDP Field Coordinator. She will be joined on staff by Team USA alum Alex Oglesby, who served as an assistant coach for the Women’s National Team in 2019 and will manage the Stars team in 2021, and seven-time Women’s National Team alum and two-time USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year Tamara Holmes, who will lead the Stripes squad.

Additionally, Lou Colon and Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medalist Mike Kinkade will serve as roving instructors and assistant coaches at the event, joined by Jorge Correa (Correa Pitching Academy), Jenny Dalton-Hill, Jarend Jones, USA Baseball Director of Player Development Jim Koerner, and Reynol Mendoza (Eagle Pass High School; Eagle Pass, Texas) as additional evaluators and coaches during the event.

Notable Information

• The Stars got their first win of the Women's NTDP series in game three with a 6-3 defeat of the Stripes on Wednesday.
• The Stripes lead the 2021 Women's NTDP series 2-1 after earning a walk-off 10-9 win in game one and a 6-1 victory in game two.
• The Stripes can clinch the Women's NTDP series with a win in game four on Thursday.
• Hugo hit the first home run of the series on Monday, launching a walk-off homer over the left field fence to secure the Stripes' win.
• Albayati leads the Women’s NTDP with a .600 batting average (3-for-5) and four walks.
• Gortarez is pacing both teams in hits at the Women’s NTDP with five through three games.
• Schaber has a Women’s NTDP-leading four RBIs so far this week, followed closely by Albayati who has racked up three.
• The 2021 Women's NTDP roster was announced on Saturday, October 9, and features 38 of the best women's baseball players in the country.
• The 38 members of the 2021 Women's NTDP represent 19 different states across the country.
• The Women's NTDP roster features two previous USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year honorees, including 2015 winner Malaika Underwood (San Diego, Calif.) and 2019 recipient Alex Hugo (Olathe, Kan.).
• Eight members of the 2021 Women's NTDP roster were selected from the first ever USA Baseball Girls Camp that took place October 7-9 in Cocoa, Florida.
• The roster also features 12 athletes that have suited up for the red, white, and blue in previous years and 10 who have played for Team USA multiple times in their careers, including 10-time alum Underwood.
• The Women's NTDP coaching staff also features four Women's National Team alums, including seven-time alumna and two-time Sportswoman of the Year (2012, 2016) Tamara Holmes.
• Current ESPN college softball analyst Jenny Dalton-Hill is a member of the 2021 Women's NTDP coaching staff and also played for Team USA in 2010.
• Women's NTDP Field Coordinator Veronica Alvarez played on the Women's National Team five times in her career and every team she played on medaled in international competition, including the 2015 U.S. team that won gold at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.

Social

• Stay tuned to @USABaseballWNT on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the Women's National Team program.