Pride – 8
Diamonds – 7
Sulphur, LA – The regular season NPF Champion and defending Cowles Cup Champion USSSA Florida Pride and the NPF Diamonds opened their best of 3 series on Thursday night, but after 2 innings the game was postponed until Friday afternoon because mother nature decided to put on a magnificent lightning show at the National Pro Fastpitch Championship Series at McMurry Park. The game was stopped with the Pride holding a 4-0 advantage in what looked to be a dominating performance by the series number 1 seed.
Day 2 took on a different tone as the Diamonds were impressive in all aspects of the game, Kristen Schnake started the scoring out for the Diamonds with a solo blast to left center in the 5th followed by a 6 run 6th inning to take a 7-4 lead. The Diamonds faced 3 Pride pitchers, starter Danielle Lawrie was pulled in the 6th for Jordan Taylor who was later replaced by the NPF Co-Pitcher of the year Cat Osterman who pulled the Pride out of a jam. The Pride has their chances to score but Jami Lobpries robbed the Pride of a few runs with a diving catch with 1 out and the bases loaded to hold the Pride scoreless in the bottom of the 5th and give the Diamonds a great boost of confidence heading into the 6th.
Then in the bottom of the 7th the Pride showed the softball world that they were for real as Megan Willis drove in the game winning run as the Pride escaped Game 1 with an 8-7 win. Danielle Spaulding gave it all she had in the circle for the Diamonds in a losing effort.
The 2 teams tangle it up again at 6:20 in game 2 of their best of 3 series. Don’t miss a single pitch of the best softball in the world. Get your tickets to the Championship Series at www.profastpitch.com.
About USSSA Florida Pride:
The USSSA Florida Pride is a professional franchise in the National Pro Fastpitch League that is owned and operated by USSSA. The amateur organization of USSSA has multi-sport coverage and encompasses teams and players from the United States and abroad.
About NPF:
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL). NPF is the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball in the category of women’s fastpitch softball since 2002.
About USSSA:
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, USSSA is the World’s Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!
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