 The US Olympic Softball team named Mentink as an alternate on the 1996 team, but she declined it to play for the Colorado Silver Bullets, the first women's professional baseball team since 1954.In 1995, her first year, she started 40 games for the Silver Bullets, hitting .221, and was paid $20,000 and unlimited Coors Light.In 1996, she hit .241, before retiring from her professional playing career.