{"id":36926,"date":"2026-03-26T10:28:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T15:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/?p=36926"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:28:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T15:28:02","slug":"grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Grand Forks, ND \u2014 The Grand Forks Spitfires are proud to announce the first player signing in franchise history, officially welcoming Ally Hetzel to the inaugural 2026 roster.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hetzel, a catcher and utility player from the University of Washington, brings a strong competitive edge and impressive offensive production to Grand Forks. Originally from Snoqualmie, Washington, Hetzel posted an outstanding .415 batting average, showcasing her consistency and power at the plate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A freshman standing at 5-foot-5, Hetzel played her high school career at Mount Si High School and will arrive in Grand Forks ready to make an immediate impact both offensively and defensively. Known for her versatility behind the plate and in the field, she embodies the type of athlete the Spitfires are building their foundation around: driven, adaptable, and team-first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI\u2019m really excited to play for the Spitfires because it\u2019s an amazing opportunity to grow, compete, and be part of something bigger than myself,\u201d said Hetzel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the first player signing in franchise history, Hetzel represents an important milestone for the Spitfires as the organization builds toward its inaugural season. Her commitment marks the beginning of assembling a roster filled with elite talent from across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAlly is exactly the type of player we want in this program,\u201d said Roberto Lemus, General Manager. \u201cShe\u2019s competitive, hardworking, and brings experience from a top program. She represents the values we want this team to be built on, both on the field and in the community, and we\u2019re excited to have her be a part of our inaugural season.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Grand Forks Spitfires will begin their inaugural season on June 9, 2026, at Albrecht Field, delivering a new era of summer collegiate softball to the community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fans can follow along as more player signings are announced in the coming weeks and secure their seats for Opening Night through Spitfires ticket packages. To stay up to date on the latest player announcements, theme nights, promotions, and everything coming this season, fans are encouraged to visit\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">SpitfiresSoftball.com<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and sign up for the official newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grand Forks, ND \u2014 The Grand Forks Spitfires are proud to announce the first player signing in franchise history, officially  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":36929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History - Grand Forks Spitfires<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Grand Forks, ND \u2014 The Grand Forks Spitfires are proud to announce the first player signing in franchise history, officially [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grand Forks Spitfires\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-26T15:28:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/03\/Player-Announcement-Landscape-2-1024x576.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Bollinger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Bollinger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/\",\"name\":\"Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History - Grand Forks Spitfires\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/03\/Player-Announcement-Landscape-2.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-26T15:28:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#\/schema\/person\/c566d02b3983557ef7d0c59f38e36c63\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/03\/Player-Announcement-Landscape-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/03\/Player-Announcement-Landscape-2.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/\",\"name\":\"Grand Forks Spitfires\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#\/schema\/person\/c566d02b3983557ef7d0c59f38e36c63\",\"name\":\"John Bollinger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc9a74ec00a3cbf4dbb1aa45fdf00a1a1aafd9b483735dcd35c814e47925d7ee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc9a74ec00a3cbf4dbb1aa45fdf00a1a1aafd9b483735dcd35c814e47925d7ee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Bollinger\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/author\/jbollinger\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History - Grand Forks Spitfires","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History","og_description":"Grand Forks, ND \u2014 The Grand Forks Spitfires are proud to announce the first player signing in franchise history, officially [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/","og_site_name":"Grand Forks Spitfires","article_published_time":"2026-03-26T15:28:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/03\/Player-Announcement-Landscape-2-1024x576.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"John Bollinger","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Bollinger","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/","url":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/","name":"Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History - Grand Forks Spitfires","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/03\/Player-Announcement-Landscape-2.png","datePublished":"2026-03-26T15:28:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#\/schema\/person\/c566d02b3983557ef7d0c59f38e36c63"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/03\/Player-Announcement-Landscape-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.northwoodsleague.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2026\/03\/Player-Announcement-Landscape-2.png","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/2026\/03\/26\/grand-forks-spitfires-announce-first-player-signing-in-franchise-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Grand Forks Spitfires Announce First Player Signing in Franchise History"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#website","url":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/","name":"Grand Forks Spitfires","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#\/schema\/person\/c566d02b3983557ef7d0c59f38e36c63","name":"John Bollinger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-softball\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc9a74ec00a3cbf4dbb1aa45fdf00a1a1aafd9b483735dcd35c814e47925d7ee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bc9a74ec00a3cbf4dbb1aa45fdf00a1a1aafd9b483735dcd35c814e47925d7ee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Bollinger"},"url":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/author\/jbollinger\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36930,"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36926\/revisions\/36930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/grand-forks-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}