Trinity Schlotterbeck winds up for the pitch in the Texas Monarchs game against the Texas Smoke. The Monarchs are playing their first season in San Marcos as part of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league under general manager Alex Powers.
Submitted photo by Peter Vives
,
Emily Hott beats the tag at home plate to score a run for the Monarchs in their game against the Texas Smoke.
Submitted photo by Peter Vives
The Texas Monarchs are one of the two professional teams playing in San Marcos and now look to make a splash in their first season of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch league under new general manager Alex Powers.
For Powers, a former softball pitcher for the Florida State Seminoles and the USSSA Pride of the National Pro Fastpitch, this was an opportunity to not only grow the sport but also allow collegiate players to continue their dreams of playing softball professionally.
“I’ve played softball both collegiate and professional,” Powers said. “To see the sport continue to grow is my biggest passion and mission. I want to give great athletes [a chance] to continue their careers past college. To see these girls on the field, I feel personally connected with all of them and it means a lot. I’m [both] proud and excited for them.”
Powers played for the Pride from 2017 to 2021 before retiring. Powers recently was both a softball and baseball analyst for the ACC Network.
With WPF undergoing new leadership during the offseason, they reached out to see if Powers was willing to lead the Texas Monarchs in their first season.
“I knew the owner through some work previously,” Powers said. “I had a career change early this yea,r and he reached out to me to see if I was interested in growing [the league]. That is where I came from with my previous work. I love the sport of softball so much that it just made sense.”
The Monarchs enter their first season of the WPF in a four-team league featuring the Texas Smoke, Coastal Bend Tidal Wave and the Hub City Adelitas.
With the Monarchs, Tidal Wave and the Adelitas all starting their inaugural seasons and the Smoke entering their second season, WPF is undergoing a major transitional year.
Seeing the league from both sides, Powers wants the sport to continue growing while also wanting people to see the value of softball at the professional level.
“It’s always about investment and funding and where that money is coming from,” Powers said. “Ownership wise, we want to continue seeing people want to grow women’s sports and invest in the game. In the sport of softball itself, we are trying to bridge a lot of gaps. We have different things going on in the WPF and we have other leagues doing their own thing. If we can all work together and come in as one, that is going to be automatic growth.”
One of the changes for the league was making San Marcos the home of both the Monarchs and the Smoke.
While the Smoke are still based out of Austin, the Monarchs are San Marcos’ home team.
Though having two teams in the same location may raise a few eyebrows, it was the right for both Powers and other leadership within the WPF.
“It made a lot of sense logistically,” Powers said. “For us, having both teams in one location [aligned] with what we are doing. … When the owner and other leaders came on site, they were blown away by the participation of Texas State staff. They have been helpful and supportive from the very beginning. It just makes sense to give our athletes the best of the best.”
As the league is off to a great start, the obstacles ahead still remain with Powers mentioning it was going to take everyone on board to navigate the new season.
“The hardest part is the unknown,” Powers said. “Sometimes every day presents a new obstacle to overcome. But the biggest thing I have seen is transparency, honesty and openness. Having those conversations and giving insight to the other teams who are going through the same things. If you guys face an obstacle, you can prepare someone else who will have that same obstacle, which helps everyone. That is how this sport grows.”
Despite dropping the opening series to the Smoke, the Monarchs bounced back with a four-game sweep of the Adelitas.
But the Monarchs face one of their biggest challenges yet–going on the road and playing away from the friendly confines of Bobcat Softball Stadium.
“I think I’m going to have some challenges too,” Powers said jokingly. “It’s a new environment, and feel. This is the first time [the team] is going on the road and being in a hotel together. Logistically, those are going to be some of the hardest things.”
What Powers is not worried about is the Monarchs’ chemistry, which has flourished over the past two weeks.
“What I’m most proud of is how this team is gelling,” Powers said. “I’m proud to see them win on the field, of course but how they are interacting with each other, the coaches and the staff here at the facility has been what I love most. I don’t foresee that being an issue seeing how the team culture is really good.”
The Texas Monarchs are set to play in a four-game series on the road against the Coastal Bend Tidal Wave.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
Most Popular
Comments / 0