COCOA, Fla. - Behind a stellar start from Kelsie Whitmore (Temecula, Calif.) in which she did not allow a hit or a walk in four innings, the Stripes shut out the Stars, 4-0, to clinch the 2021 Women’s National Team Development Program (NTDP) on Thursday at the Launch Pad Sports Complex in Cocoa, Florida. The Stripes finish the week with a 3-1 advantage over the Stars in the four-game series.

The Stripes scored first for the fourth time in the series with two runs in the second inning and added another in the fourth for an early 3-0 lead. Whitmore held the Stars hitless and scoreless through the first four innings with just three batters reaching base on three Stripes errors. In the fifth, the Stars threatened to break onto the scoreboard with the bases loaded and one out but the Stripes were able to escape the jam with no damage before adding one more run in the seventh to clinch the 4-0 victory and the series.

The Stripes were led at the plate by Jade Gortarez (Riverside, Calif.), who went 2-for-4, and Jill Albayati, who finished 1-for-3 with three RBIs. In addition to her dominant performance on the mound, Whitmore also collected a hit and scored a run for the Stripes in Thursday’s victory. Skylar Kaplan (Baltimore, Md.) and Ashton Lansdell (Marietta, Ga.) were responsible for the Stars’ two hits in the contest.

With her four perfect innings of work, Whitmore earned the win while Naomi Ryan (North Chesterfield, Va.) was tagged with the loss after allowing two hits, two runs, and three walks in her second start of the series for the Stars.

Key Moments

• The Stripes took the first lead of the game in the top of the second when Albayati hit a bases-clearing double to right that made it 2-0.
• Two innings later, Albayati collected her third RBI of the game when she brought in Elizabeth Greenwood (Amherst, N.H.) with a groundout for a 3-0 Stripes lead.
• A Kaplan single, a Stripes error, and a walk loaded the bases for the Stars in the bottom of the fifth but the Stripes’ Paloma Benach (Washington, D.C.) induced two fly outs that ended the inning and kept it a three-run game.
• Whitmore hit a single in the top of the seventh for the Stripes and advanced to third with a stolen base and a Gortarez single before scoring on a Sarah Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) sacrifice fly for the final 4-0 score.

Notable Information

• With Thursday’s victory, the Stripes claim the four-game 2021 Women’s NTDP series, 3-1.
• Lansdell finished the series with an event-best .625 (5-for-8) batting average.
• Albayati led the way in RBIs with six while Gortarez’s seven hits paced both teams at the Women’s NTDP.
• Albayati collected the most walks of anyone in the series with four in four games.
• Whitmore finished a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen bases and led the event in wins with two in her two starts on the mound and innings pitched with 7.0 throughout the week.
• Peyton Coria (Perris, Calif.) led the event in strikeouts, tallying eight in 4.1 innings of work.

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