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Compiled and Copyright © 1997-2018 by Marco Stoovelaar

(Story by Marco Stoovelaar) (Photos by Univ. of South Carolina; Univ. of California at Berkeley; Fred Versluis; James Madison Univ.; Chico State; Univ. of Albany; Univ. of Virginia; Seattle Univ.; Stanford Univ.; Idaho State Univ.; Gulf Coast State College; Eckerd College) New additions Golden League-teams Nederlands ENSCHEDE / HAARLEM / MOERGESTEL / SANTPOORT-ZUID (Neth.) - With the opening of the new season approaching, the rosters are shaped up and foreign players are arriving to join their new teammates and make their debut in this year Golden League, the highest league in Dutch softball. In the off-season, several new additions already had been announced, but some names have been confirmed only recently. One-and-a-half-week ago, Roef! and Terrasvogels were the first two Golden League-teams to get into action, participating in the annual Pre-Season Tournament in Moergestel. This event mostly is being played indoors due to cold weather conditions, as was the case this year. The two teams faced each other in the Final with Terrasvogels winning 11-6. Last weekend, the first outdoor-games were played. Roef! then played two more games against Silver League-team Hoofddorp Pioniers. Terrasvogels had a game scheduled against Sparks Haarlem, but that was canceled due to some injuries and sickness in the team of Sparks Haarlem. Coming weekend, all six Golden League-teams will get into action. Reigning champion FysioOlympia Haarlem, DSS, Roef!, Sparks Haarlem and Tex Town Tigers wil participate in the J.C.J. Mastenbroek Tournament at the site of Tex Town Tigers in Enschede. Terrasvogels participates in the Haarlem Series at the site of Onze Gezellen in Haarlem. A week later, the annual Jan de Wit Tournament is scheduled at the site of Olympia Haarlem. The regular season then opens on Saturday, April 14. So, with the new season approaching, let's see which foreign players have been added so far. (March 28) Scores Exhibition Season Complete Schedule Exhibition Season & Regular Season Golden League Rosters 2018 Related Articles: Roef! plays double-header against Hoofddorp Pioniers. (March 24) Terrasvogels wins Pre-Season Tournament of Roef! (March 17-18)

DSS Haarlem-based DSS has added American righthanded pitcher Jessica Elliott and Australian righthanded pitcher Stephanie Trzcinski, but also British infielder Chiya Louie. The team is led again this season by Head Coach Norman Ames, who will be assisted by Nick Tieman. ...Stephanie Trzcinski... (© Photo: Univ. of Calif., Berkeley) Australian righthander Stephanie Trzcinski also can play as an infielder. In 2015, she was a member of the Australian Under-19 National Team. With the National Junior Team, she won the bronze medal at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Candada. She was named Best Australian Junior Pitcher of the Year in 2012 and 2013. In January, she was one of 24 players named to the preliminary roster of the National Team of Australia. In 2014-2017, she pitched for the Golden Bears, the team of the University of California at Berkeley. In her four seasons in Berkeley, she was 34-29 with a 3.91 ERA. In 379 2/3 inning, she struckout 217 hitters and walked 140. After going 8-15 in her first year, she was 15-6 in 2015, pitching in 33 games (16 starts, 7 complete). Hereafter, she was 4-1 and 7-7 in her next two seasons. Stephanie Trzcinski will start the season with DSS, then will play in the National Pro Fastpitch (USA) from May 19 on. In this professional league, she will play for the Aussie Spirit, the National Team of Australia, that will play a full 48-game schedule in the NPF. Some years ago, the Netherlands National Softball Team also got an opportunity to play a full season in the NPF, but that fell through. ...Jessica Elliott... (© Photo: Univ. of South Carolina) Jessica Elliott will replace Stephanie Trzcinski in May. She pitched for Chipola College in 2014-2015 and was named NJCAA National Division I Pitcher of the Year in 2015. In that year, she led the team to the National Championship and was MVP of the Championship-tournament. In 174 2/3 inning, she struckout 229 hitters and closed with an 0.80 ERA. She then pitched for the Gamecocks, the team of the University of South Carolina. In her first year (2016), she pitched in 47 games (36 starts) and was 18-10 with a 2.77 ERA. In 179 1/3 inning, she struckout 117 hitters, but also walked 112. In the next season, she appeared in 40 games (19 starts) and led the team with 107 strikeouts in 132 2/3 inning, while closing with a 2.80 ERA and a 16-9 record. She walked 94 hitters. British infielder Chiya Louie, who is a member of the National Team of Great Britain, will also join DSS this season. Earlier, she was on the roster of Olympia Haarlem for the 2015 season. She then played in only one regular season-game for the team. Initially, DSS also added Japanese outfielder Tomohiko Goda after last season when she played for FysioExpert Olympia Haarlem. But she will not play for the team, as she will play in Japan this year.

FysioExpert Olympia Haarlem Reigning champion FysioExpert Olympia Haarlem has six foreign players on its roster. New additions include American righthanded pitcher Ally Costa, American righthanded pitcher Alyson Spinas-Valainis and Australian/British utility player Tahli Moore. ...Alyson Spinas... (© Ph: Fred Versluis) Returning are British catcher Stephanie Pearce and Polish infielder Emma Wójcik. Also on the roster is righthanded American pitcher Micaela Whitney, who last season pitched for Terrasvogels. However, while she will be on the roster, as of now, she will not pitch for Olympia Haarlem this year. New Zealander Stanley Doney will be the Head Coach again this year, while Inge Duin-Consent and Sandra Gouverneur return as his assistants. New in the coaching staff is former Netherlands Men Softball Team-pitcher Henk van Zijtveld, who will work with the pitchers of the team. Alyson Spinas-Valainis played basketball for Bradley University in 2011-2014. For the same school, she was a pitcher for the Braves in 2014 and 2015. In her first year, she threw in nine games and earned two saves. In the following season, she was the pitching ace, throwing in 41 games. She then led the team in ERA (4.14), wins (11) and strikeouts (111) and was named Co-MVP. After her college-career, she continued her career pitching in Europe and New Zealand. In the Czech Republic, she pitched for SK Joudrs Praha with whom she won the National Championship-title in 2016. Last year, she participated with Joudrs in the European Premiere Cup in Haarlem (Netherlands), finishing in third place. ...Ally Costa... (© Photo: Eckerd College) Ally Costa joins the team somewhere in May. The righthander is currently pitching in her first season for Eckerd College, where she has pitched in ten games so far for the Tritons. She is 1-3 with a 3.95 ERA and struckout 19 hitters in 33 2/3 inning. As a hitter, she bats .136 with one double and a homerun. Before coming to Eckerd College, Ally Costa pitched for Jupiter High School, where she was selected in the All-Conference Team. She was the Pitcher of the Year in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, she was 24-4 with an 1.04 ERA and 232 strikeouts. In the next season, she was 23-3, struckout 237 hitters and closed with an 0.95 ERA. ...Tahli Moore... (© Photo: James Madison Univ.) Australian/British utility player and switch-hitter Tahli Moore played for James Madison University in 2014-2017. She has played for the National Junior Team of both Great Britain and Australia. With the British Team, she participated in the World Junior Championship in 2013 in Canada and the World Championship in Haarlem (Netherlands) in 2014. In her first season (2014) for the Dukes, she batted .250. She then increased her batting average to .368 the following season. During the 2017 season, she missed several games due to an injury. In her career at James Madison, she was selected for several All Star Teams. Since September last year, Tahli Moore was the playing coach of Ghajnsielem Redcoats, one of the softball-teams in Malta. In December, she won the championship-title with this team, beating favorite Mellieha Curves 11-10 in a deciding game. In this game, she was the starting pitcher, striking out nine hitters. With this win, the team won the MABS Women's Fastpitch Softball Tournament for the second consecutive year. After the Maltese season, she played for New South Wales Firestars in the Australian Championship Tournament in January.

Roef! Roef!, which last year made its dedut in the Golden League, has added two foreign players. Joining the team are American righthanded pitcher Haley Gilham and American catcher Elizabeth Snow. This year, Jeroen Swers will be the Head Coach again of the team. Assistant Coaches Nathan van der Reijden and Marcel Swarttouw and Pitching Coach Karen Marr all also return this season. New in the coaching-staff is Suzanne Poelgeest, who last season was the Assistant Coach of Silver Team-squad HCAW. ...Haley Gilham... (© Photo: Chico State) Haley Gilham pitches for Chico State (California State University at Chico) since 2015. In her first season (2015) with the Wildcats, she won 16 games, lost 11 and also earned two saves. The next year, she was 17-7 and struckout 115 hitters in 166 innings. She also was credited with three saves and closed with an 1.90 ERA. In 2017, Haley Gilham set a school-record with 23 victories. She lost only eight games, struckout 144 hitters and finished with a 1.31 ERA. In 2017, she was named CCAA and West Region Pitcher of the Year. She also was one of 25 finalists for the NFCA Player of the Year Award. During her career, she was also chosen to several All Star Teams. ...Elizabeth Snow... (© Photo: Univ. of Albany) In the current season, which ends somewhere in May, Haley Gilham is 15-2 at the moment with 100 strikeouts in 120 1/3 inning. Catcher and Utility Player Elizabeth Snow played for the University of Albany in 2014-2017. She was the American East Rookie of the Year in her first season and also was named to two All Star-teams. In her second season, she was the second-best hitter of the team with a .404 batting average, recording 55 basehits, including nine homeruns. In her Junior-season (2016), Elizabeth Snow again was named to several All Star-squads. She led the America East Conference with a .452 average and broke the school-record with 56 runs batted in. She also hit 14 homeruns. In her Senior-year, she again was productive, batted .423, led the Conference with a .527 on-base average and was named Player of the Year of the America East Conference. In her four seasons with the Great Danes, she set records with 171 RBI's, 42 homeruns, 62 doubles and a .394 batting average. She won 18 AEC-awards in her career. At the moment, Liz Snow is playing in New Zealand.

Sparks Haarlem Sparks Haarlem has added two new foreign players to its roster for the 2018 season, being American catcher Katie Park and American infielder Lisa Maulden. The latter also has a Hungarian passport. Returning to the team from abroad are outfielders Kingsley Avery and Kehli Washington, who respectively have the New Zealand and Swedish nationality. Initially, American righthanded pitcher Monica Perry also was on the roster, but she will not play for the team this year. The team will be led again by Head Coach Peter van Dalen, who will be assisted by Erik Vrugt and Edward Franka. ...Katie Park... (© Photo: Univ. of Virginia) Katie Park played four seasons for the University of Virginia (2014-2017). In her third season (2016), she batted .314 with seven homeruns and 38 runs batted in. Hereafter, she was the leading hitter of the Cavaliers in her final season (2017), hitting .382. She also led the team in runs scored (34), basehits (68) and doubles (12). Her batting average was the sixth highest in the Conference and she was chosen to several All Star Teams. Last year, Katie Park participated with Therwil Flyers from Switzerland in the European Premiere Cup in Haarlem (Netherlands). She batted .333 (8-for-24) with two homeruns. She hit one of these homeruns on the first day of the event against her new team Sparks Haarlem. That game was a narrow escape for the Haarlem-squad, as it win only 7-6. Sparks Haarlem trailed twice, but led 7-4 after four innings. Katie Park then led off the fifth inning with a towering homerun. ...Lisa Maulden... (© Ph: Seattle Univ.) Lisa Maulden, who can play at first and third base and catcher, also participated in the European Premiere Cup in Haarlem last year. She played for Brasschaat Braves from Belgium. In six games, she batted .250 (4-for-16) with a triple and batted in three runs. The lefthanded hitting Lisa Maulden played for Seattle University in 2012-2015. In her first season, she batted .279 and led the team with 21 runs scored. She was second-best with 20 RBI's. In her third season, she was the second-best hitter of the Redhawks with a .359 batting average with 12 doubles, seven homeruns and 33 runs batted in. In her final season, she batted .300 with 42 basehits, including five homeruns and 29 runs batted in (second-best in team). She was chosen in several All Star Teams. After her college-career, she played for Crazy Chicklets in the Austrian Softball League in 2015, hitting .462.

Terrasvogels Terrasvogels added righthanded New Zealand-pitcher Nyree White to its roster during the off-season. Her addition already was announced in early November. Returning to the team this year are righthanded pitcher Claudia Volkmann and infielder Katharina Szalay, both from Germany. Volkmann pitched for the team in the early part of last season, while Szalay was a leading hitter of the team. Both are members of the National Team of Germany with whom they participated in the European Championship last year in Italy. ...Nyree White... (© Ph: Stanford Univ.) Terrasvogels is one of the two teams that will be led by a new Head Coach, as Ferenc Jongejan took over from Nick Braakman. Last year, Jongejan made his debut as a softball-coach and then assisted Braakman. Jongejan will be assisted this year by Joris van Ballegooy and Rob Boersma, who both will make their debut in the Golden League. Nyree White, who also plays at first base, grew up in Oregon (USA) and pitched for Stanford University in 2013 and 2014. She broke several pitching (strikeouts, ERA, wins) and hitting (homeruns, RBI's) records at Marist High School, before pitching for Stanford. There, she pitched both as a starter and reliever for the Cardinals and was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshmen Team and the Pac-12 All-Academic Team. After finishing her college-career, Nyree White plays for Ramblers in Auckland in the New Zealand softball-competition. In July last year, the pitcher made her debut in the White Sox, the National Softball Team of New Zealand during a 14-day tour of Japan, where 16 games were played. The righthander also was selected for the national squad in 2013, but then had to withdraw. In 2010-2011, she was a member of the USA National Junior Team with whom she won the Pan American 18-Under Games (2010) in Bogotá (Colombia) and World Junior Championship-title (2011) in Cape Town (South Africa).

Tex Town Tigers Tex Town Tigers has five new foreign players on its roster for this season. They are Australian righthanded pitcher Jessica Tolmie, German infielder Lisa Marie Köllner, French outfielder Eloïse Tribolet and Utility Players Nita Hickey (New Zealand) and Amy Wells (Great Britain). The additions of Köllner, Tribolet and Wells already were announced early December. Also new is the team's Head Coach, as Robert Kovačević will led the team this year. Last season, he coached Hamburg Knights in Germany. He will be assisted by Rick Tuck, while Rob Hassink will assist during practice-sessions. ...Jessica Tolmie... (© Photo: Idaho State Univ.) Jessica Tolmie pitched for Temple University in 2013 and then was 2-0 in ten appearances for the Owls, striking out 28 hitters. Before coming to Temple, she won the National Australian Championship Under-19 with New South Wales. She earned several Most Valuable Player Awards while playing in Australia before going to play college-softball in the USA. ...Eloïse Tribolet... (© Ph: Gulf Coast State College) In 2014, she pitched for Idaho State University. In 26 games for the Bengals, she was 8-5 and finished with a 3.84 ERA. With Victoria Titans, Jessica Tolmie played in the Australian Championship-tournament the past few years. Infielder Nita Hickey played for the National Team of New Zealand in several events in the past few years. In New Zealand, she played for Otahuhu Softball Club with whom she played in the Auckland Fast Pitch Competition. German infielder Lisa Köllner, French outfielder Eloïse Tribolet and British Utility Player Amy Wells last year all participated with their National Team in the European Championship in Italy. Köllner also played in the New Zealand-competition. Wells also played National Youth Teams of Great Britain. Eloïse Tribolet, who plays for a French National Team since 2010, attended Gulf Coast State College in Florida in 2014-2016, where she led the Commodores with 77 basehits and 52 stolen bases in 53 games in her second season. Before coming to Florida, she played one season in Canada. With France, Eloïse Tribolet participated in the 2016 World Championship in Canada. With the National Team, she participated in four European Championships. In 2017, she then played for the Herd, the softball-team of Marshall University. There, she batted .288 with 34 hits and scored 30 runs. While at Marshall, she won several awards.

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