FULLERTON, Calif. – Incoming freshman Kelsie Whitmore inked her second contract since November as she signed with the Sonoma Stompers Professional Baseball Club cementing her place as a trailblazer for the advancement of women in baseball. The signing comes seven months after she signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play softball at Cal State Fullerton beginning in 2017.
Whitmore's signing with the Stompers will not affect her plans of playing collegiate softball with the Titans as baseball and softball are two different sports and she will still fall under the required amateur status in the sport of softball.
The Sonoma Stompers, an independent professional baseball team located in Sonoma, Calif., have been actively searching for the best women baseball players in the United States to join the team and help with the recruitment, development and advancement of women in baseball. In addition to signing 17-year old pitcher and outfielder Whitmore, the Stompers also signed 25-year old pitcher and infielder, Stacy Piagno. The duo will begin play with the Stoppers on Friday, July 1 when Sonoma takes on the San Rafael Pacifics at 6 p.m.
"I am honored and blessed for this opportunity that the Stompers have given me," Whitmore said. "Signing [a professional contract] was amazing and I am very excited to start my professional career. This is just the beginning. I am focusing on taking each day at a time so that I can become a better baseball player and get to the next level."
Whitmore was signed last November by the Titans softball program after playing high school baseball at Temecula Valley High School. Additionally, the 5-foot-6 Whitmore was a two-time USA Women's National Baseball Team gold medalist at the 2015 COPABE Pan American Game qualifier in La Vega, Dominican Republic and at the 2015 Pan America Games in Toronto, Canada.
She also helped the USA Women's National Baseball Team to a silver medal at the 2014 WBSC Women's World Cup in Miyazaki, Japan. Whitmore went on to earn a Gold Glove in baseball as well as the Victory with Honor award in both baseball and soccer.
Cal State Fullerton softball head coach Kelly Ford gives Whitmore her full support as she said, "I am so excited about this opportunity for Kelsie. She has a great baseball mind and that will be an asset to our program. Her skills are great and her mental game is even better.
"There are a lot of similarities between baseball and softball and there are also a lot of differences. Kelsie's different experiences will help make us better. Her training of the game within the game will make an immediate impact on Titan Softball."
The versatile Whitmore, who has aspirations of playing on the 2020 USA Women's Baseball Team, will continue to keep her skills sharp on the diamond while at Cal State Fullerton as she will do some training with the Titan baseball team under the tutelage of Rick Vanderhook.
According to the Stompers, which are part of the Independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, the ball club will be the first co-ed professional baseball team since the 1950s when Toni Stone, Mamie "Peanut" Johnson and Constance Morgan achieved the distinction of becoming the first women to play alongside men in the Negro Leagues.