With the NPF opening another season of softball this past Wednesday, several firsts have taken place for a few with Hokie ties as Rockford hosts Akron in a five-game series.

On Wednesday, in Rockford’s 3-0 win, former Hokie Jenna Rhodes (right) got her first start, stole a pair of bases and scored a run. In the opposite dugout sat former Hokie catcher Kelsey Hoffman, who got her first professional start behind the plate. On Thursday, current Tech assistant coach Barb Sherwood got her first victory as a head coach as her Akron team won 4-0. In that game, Rhodes picked up her first professional hit and swiped two more bases, giving her four in two games.

The series is being played without Akron ace Angela Tincher, who is finishing up the first half of the Japanese Pro League with LeoPalace 21 and will return to the States on Sunday for a tryout in Chula Vista, Calif., with the U.S. National Team June 8-12. She is expected to join the Racers next Sunday at the end of next week’s five-game series at home against Rockford (June 10-14), meaning all four Hokies in the NPF will be on the same field for the only time this year as it will be the last time Akron and Rockford meet.

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