Angela Tincher prepares to deliver a pitch in a game last year.
Former Virginia Tech softball pitcher Angela Tincher rewrote the record books during her four-year career as a Hokie.
She helped her team win back-to-back Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships in 2007 and 2008, took them to the 2008 Women's College World Series and was named the 2008 USA College Softball Player of the Year.
After making her pro debut with the Akron Racers last summer, the next step in Tincher's softball career will take her to Japan.
Tincher will play for LeoPalace 21, a real estate company in Tokyo.
"All the teams are owned by companies," she said. "They all have softball teams."
LeoPalace 21 is part of the Japan Pro League. Each team is allowed to have two foreign players.
"I heard about it for a while, about people going and playing there, so I knew it was a possibility," Tincher said.
Kirsten Butler, a catcher for the Racers and Tincher's roommate, recently finished her first season in Japan.
"So, just kind of through a connection that we had, I was able to try out for one of the teams and got the offer," Tincher said.
Tincher will receive salary pay and the company will also provide her with living accommodations while in the Japan.
"She gets a pretty good deal, pretty solid," said Tech head coach Scot Thomas. "It's a good opportunity for her to travel and play ball. She'll be playing a lot of ball this year."
Tincher, who has served as a graduate assistant coach with Tech softball, returned from training with her new team in Guam during the first week of March. She had brief a two-week stay in the United States until March 15 when she left for the first portion of the season. She will remain in Japan until the first week in June.
Along with Tincher, the other foreigner on the team is Australian catcher Natalie Titcume. Titcume has won Olympic medals with the Australian national team - the silver in Athens and bronze last summer in Beijing.
"She's really cool," Tincher said, "she's been in the league for a few years, so it's kind of nice that I had someone who knew what is going on."
"I only met her for a week during training, but it seems like it's going to be good," Tincher said.
Tincher will also receive an interpreter to help her manage the language barrier between her and her teammates.
"She's really good friends with us and she is really nice," Tincher said.
"The girls, they can't really speak English, but some of them know a word here and there that they learned in school," Tincher said. "We figure out funny ways to communicate when you need something, like motions or words, it's pretty interesting."
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