CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas softball team likely faced their toughest task of the 2011-12 season today as they squared off with the best that fastpitch softball has to offer—the National Professional Fastpitch All-Stars.
The NPF All-Stars is made up of players from the four National Professional Fastpitch teams—the USSSA Florida Pride, Chicago Bandits, Akron Racers and the NPF Diamonds.
The NPF All-Stars took advantage of some miscues in the field by the Bears and opened up a 7-0 lead before Kasey Britt recorded an RBI single for UCA in the bottom of the third inning.
The All-Stars closed with three runs apiece in the final two frames, giving them the 13-1 victory. Of the 13 runs, only five were earned by UCA pitching as the Bears were guilty of committing three errors on the evening.
Former Ohio State Buckeye and four-time All-Big 10 selection Jamee Juarez was the winning pitcher for NPF. Juarez tossed three innings and allowed a run on two hits while striking out two. Taryne Mowatt, former two-time national champion with Arizona, pitched two scoreless innings while striking out five to close out the game.
NPF did the majority of their damage offensively in the second inning when they plated five runs, all unearned. In the inning, the former Big East Player of the Year, Melissa Roth and former Olympic Silver Medalist from UCLA, Andrea Duran, each laced two-run singles.
The All-Stars added three more in the fourth inning when Angeline Quiocho, a former Mountain West Player of the Year from BYU, hit a three-run homer, making it 10-1.
That wouldn’t be all the fireworks, however, as former All-NEC First Team selection Bianca Mejia hit a two-run shot to centerfield before Jessica Backhora, an All-SEC selection while at Arkansas, capped off the scoring with an RBI single, which plated former three-time All-American from the University of Washington, Jenn Salling.
The day’s events kicked off four hours before the first pitch when UCA, along with the help of the NPF All-Stars, hosted some 58 kids for an all skills clinic at City of Colleges Park in Conway. The event gave instruction to girls between the ages of 6-18.
The Bears will wrap up their fall season next Saturday when they travel to Tulsa, Okla. for two games. UCA will play Tulsa at 11 a.m. before finishing up their exhibition season with a 1 p.m. start against Missouri State.
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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