[image id="9172" title="Olympic medalist Cat Osterman will be retiring after the 2013 fastpitch season. Photo Courtesy Corpus Christi Hooks" class=" wp-image-14924 " width="278" height="194" ] Olympic medalist Cat Osterman will be retiring after the 2013 fastpitch season. Photo Courtesy Corpus Christi Hooks

Catch professional softball pitcher Cat Osterman in her last competition in Texas June 13-15 at the National Pro Fastpitch Coastal Classic at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi. Osterman, who is an international softball icon, recently announced she will be retiring after the 2013 season.

The 30-year-old Osterman plays for the USSSA Pride, which competes against the Akron Racers in games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Single games on Thursday, June 13 and Friday the 14th begin at 7:05 p.m. Saturday’s doubleheader begins at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are on sale at whataburgerfield.com, cchooks.com and 361-561-HOOK (4665). The box office opens weekdays at 9 a.m. Reserved-seat tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children 12-and-under.

A line-up of star athletes

The Pride faced the Racers last year in front of almost 9,000 fans, who turned out to see a complete line-up of Olympic and world champions in fastpitch action. Fastpitch is the most competitive of three types of softball, which includes modified fastpitch and slowpitch. Fastpitch is the game played in Olympic, international and college competitions. Pitches reach speeds of up to 75 miles per hours for women.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball pitching coach Sarah Pauly also pitches for the Pride. Inducted into the Islanders Hall of Fame last year, Pauly won 112 games from 2002-05, including 37 as a senior. She was 8-2 with a 2.49 ERA last year and 2013 is her ninth pro campaign.

Center fielder and former Arizona Wildcat Caitlin Lowe is a 2008 Olympic silver medalist and two-time national collegiate softball fastpitch champion. The 2012 NPF Mizuno Player of the Year hit a league-best .440 to go with a .496 on-base percentage and 12 steals. Outfielder and Alabama product Kelly Kretschman is coming off a .373/3/24 performance.

The Pride shortstop is former UCLA star Natasha Watley (.382/2/17/11 steals), a four-time All-American, Olympic gold and silver medalist and College World Series softball champion. Former Lady Longhorn Megan Willis (.271/5/12) is back behind the plate.

Akron catcher Sam Marder, who played softball at Ohio State, topped the Racers in hitting last summer at .343/8/27 and was NPF offensive player-of-the-year.

The Pride-Racers series is one of two main planks in Corpus Christi’s June softball project. The United States Sports Specialty Association (USSSA) conducts the Texas State Tournament June 12-15 at various sites throughout the region. Age range of players is 7-18. These athletes compete during the day for the state championship and enjoy professional softball at Whataburger Field in the evening.