UPDATE: Kretschman invited to U.S. Olympic Team tryouts

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. | Former University of Alabama softball star Kelly Kretschman has been invited to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team next month.

The native of Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., is one of 32 players invited to try out for the U.S. team that will compete in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China.

Kretschman played on the gold medal U.S. team in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and was an alternate for the 2000 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in Sydney, Australia.

Kretschman started in right field and batted fifth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the U.S. won the Pan Am Games gold medal. Kretschman went 2-for-8 with one walk and one run scored. She was one of the U.S. team’s top hitters in the Canada Cup international tournament that served as a warm-up for the Pan Am Games.

A 2001 Alabama graduate, Kretschman was a four-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American. She led the nation in home runs and slugging percentage as a freshman and garnered a number of Southeastern Conference records in her career.

The selection camp for the U.S. Olympic team will take place Sept. 10-14 in Chula Vista, Calif.