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Area softball players headed to China for exhibition
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Several years ago, Richard Duncan attended a meeting in Chicago to discuss the possibility of a professional women's fast-pitch softball league in the United States.
A local softball enthusiast and trustee of the Miami Valley XPress club program, the Centerville resident met a player from the Chinese national softball team who was touring the country and also attended the gathering. From that introduction, a group of local players will be heading to China.
Recent Carroll High School graduates Kirsten Gersch and Emily Stegeman are members of Miami Valley XPress club softball team, which will play in Beijing, China, this week.The XPress, an 8-year-old program founded by the Miami Valley Sports Foundation, formed a team that will leave today to participate in a series of exhibition games to promote the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 11 players, who were either seniors in high school or freshmen in college this past season, will play against Chinese teams with the blessing of the International Softball Federation.
"We're ready for this," said Megan Lee, who recently finished her freshman season at the University of Dayton. "Even if we don't win, it will be such a great experience."
The team will play six games, including two in the Beijing Olympic softball stadium, before returning June 21. It is the only non-Chinese club playing in the event, which Chinese officials hope can spur interest in the sport for next summer's games.
"It's not just softball for us," said Emily Stegeman, a recent Carroll High School graduate who will play for UD next season. "We get to see another culture."
