Bandits Stay in Sole Possession of First Place, Blank Pride 8-0

Megan Wiggins (Photo by Dina Kwit)

ROSEMONT, Ill. – August 15, 2013 — Coming off a devastating seventh-inning defeat last night, the Chicago Bandits responded with an 8-0 triumph to take back a two-game lead on the USSSA Pride in the National Pro Fastpitch standings.

If Bandits rookie pitcher Andi Williamson (9-2, 1.67 ERA) was intimidated by facing her veteran predecessor Sarah Pauly (9-5, 3.18 ERA) on Thursday night, one certainly couldn’t tell. Williamson pitched a complete game shutout while only allowing six hits and recording seven strikeouts.

The offense certainly helped Williamson as the Bandits lit up the scoreboard early, plating five runs off three hits in the second inning. Tammy Williams led off with a double and Amber Patton drew a walk to put a pair on for Kimi Pohlman. Pohlman’s infield chopper was mishandled at first base, which allowed Williams to score and give the Bandits an early 1-0 lead. That was only the beginning as Chicago went on to score four more runs sparked by Eri Yamada’s double, which scored Patton and Pohlman. Wiggins then stepped up to the plate and smacked her tenth homerun of the season to give Chicago a 5-0 advantage.

The Pride threatened in the third after Lauren Lappin reached on an error and Ashley Charters singled. However a sharp line drive hit to Patton at third allowed her to double off Lappin at second for the double play and keep the Pride scoreless.

Wiggins’ second homerun of the game highlighted the fourth inning as the Bandits plated two more runs. Yamada led off with a single and advanced to third on an error and passed ball. Wiggins then hit her eleventh homerun of the season as the Bandits took a comfortable 7-0 lead and forced the Pride to make a pitching change as Blaire Luna entered the game.

Chicago tacked on an insurance run in the sixth as Yamada recorded her third hit of the night with a single, she then advanced to third on an error and Vicky Galindo’s single scored her as the Bandits took an 8-0 lead.

The Pride tried to rally in the seventh after Jenn Salling hit a one-out double and advanced to third on an error. She was left stranded though as Williamson picked up two huge strikeouts to end the game and give the Bandits the 8-0 victory.

Chicago needs to win just one more game in this four-game set in order to secure a spot in the Championship while the Pride need to win the next two in order to force a tie-breaker for first-place.

The Bandits and Pride play game three tomorrow, Friday, August 16 with the first pitch set for 7:35 p.m. CDT at the Ballpark at Rosemont.

SITE: Ballpark at Rosemont

SCORE: Bandits 8, Pride 0

RECORDS: Bandits (35-11), Pride (33-13)

NEXT RACERS GAME: Friday, August 16 @ 7:35 p.m. vs. USSSA Pride

ATTENDANCE: 1,292

BOXSCORE: http://npf.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=142168

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!