Butler Powers Bandits to 5 -3 Win Over Pride

Kissimmee, Fl – The Chicago Bandits moved to 4-1 on the season vs. the USSSA Pride behind a 10 strikeout effort by ace Monica Abbott (8-1) securing first place.

The Bandits got on the scoreboard first as Megan Wiggins hit her NPF leading fifth homerun of the season off Sarah Pauly (4-3) to give the Bandits the early lead. Later that inning Amber Patton would single in the second run of the inning scoring Kristen Butler.

The Pride would answer back in the bottom of the first against the Bandits ace. Natasha Watley reached on a walk, while Caitlin Lowe singled to get aboard . With runners on the corners the Pride would take advantage of an Amber Patton throwing error to score their first run of the ballgame as Watley came into score.

In the 3^rd inning Kristen Butler would give Chicago their biggest lead of the ballgame. Yamada lead off the inning with a walk, then on the fourth pitch of the at bat Butler hit her third homerun of the season to left to give the Bandits a 4-1 lead.  Patton picked up her second RBI of the evening with a base hit bringing in Williams.

The Pride continued to battle against Abbot in the bottom of the inning. Watley and Lowe once again lead off the inning getting aboard. Abbott was able to get the next two striking out Kretchman and getting Sandberg to pop out. GiOnna DiSalvatore fought off eight pitch’s in her at bat before hitting a two RBI link drive single just over Bandits shortstop Tammy Williams to bring in Watley and Lowe.

The Pride would have one more opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the 7^th inning. USSSA had the bases loaded with two outs but Monica Abbott struckout GiOnna DiSalvatore for her tenth strikeout of the evening.

The Pride and the Bandits return to Osceola County Stadium for game two of the three game series Friday night at 7:05 ET. You can get your tickets online at dev.usssapride.com or watch a live stream in HD at USSSALive.com

GAME DATE: 07/11/2013
Chicago Bandits  5 AT USSSA Pride  3

                                 YTD                                   YTD
CHI                AB  R  H BI   AVG  USSSA              AB  R  H BI   AVG
M.Wiggins CF        3  1  1  1  .492  N.Watley PH,SS      3  2  2  0  .414
E.Yamada RF         2  1  0  0  .273   J.Salling SS       0  0  0  0  .125
A.Goler 1B          3  0  0  0  .322  C.Lowe CF           4  1  4  0  .317
K.Butler DH         3  2  1  2  .279  K.Kretschman RF     4  0  1  0  .340
T.Williams SS       4  1  2  0  .373  K.Sandberg DH       3  0  0  1  .281
A.Patton 3B         4  0  2  2  .226  G.DiSalvatore 1B    4  0  1  2  .365
K.Pohlman LF        4  0  0  0  .319  A.Duran 3B          3  0  0  0  .316
V.Galindo 2B        2  0  1  0  .258   H.Sakamoto 3B      0  0  0  0  .222
K.Watanabe C        2  0  0  0  .133  N.Williams LF       3  0  0  0  .344
                                      A.Charters 2B       3  0  0  0  .353
                                      L.Lappin C,PH       3  0  0  0  .222
                                       M.Willis C         0  0  0  0  .100
                   27  5  7  5                           30  3  8  3

CHI                  2 0 3   0 0 0   0 -  5  7  1
USSSA                1 0 2   0 0 0   0 -  3  8  1
2B--V.Galindo (3). HR--M.Wiggins (5), K.Butler (3). RBI--M.Wiggins (18),
K.Butler  2 (13), A.Patton  2 (5), K.Sandberg (12), G.DiSalvatore  2 (21).
E--A.Patton (1), N.Watley (3). 
LOB--CHI 8, USSSA 8. DP--A. Duran(3B) - G. DiSalvatore(1B), A. Duran(3B) -
A. Charters(2B) - G. DiSalvatore(1B). 
                                                                YTD
                                 IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR     ERA
 CHI
M.Abbott (W,8-1)                7.0   8   3   1   2  10   0    0.25
                                7     8   3   1   2  10   0
 USSSA
S.Pauly (L,4-3)                 3.0   6   5   5   3   1   2    2.91
B.Luna                          3.0   1   0   0   4   1   0    4.90
C.Thomas                        1.0   0   0   0   0   1   0    0.00
                                7     7   5   5   7   3   2
PB--L.Lappin. SO--E.Yamada, K.Butler, A.Patton, K.Kretschman 2,
G.DiSalvatore 2, A.Duran, N.Williams 2, A.Charters 3. BB--M.Wiggins,
E.Yamada 2, A.Goler, K.Butler, V.Galindo, K.Watanabe, N.Watley, K.Sandberg.
BF--M.Abbott 32 (212), S.Pauly 17 (194), B.Luna 14 (51), C.Thomas 3 (23).
P-S--M.Abbott 136-94, S.Pauly 51-35, B.Luna 46-22, C.Thomas 12-9. 
T--2:43.

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!