Jami Lobpries
Kissimmee, FL-July 14, 2014-The USSSA Florida Pride return to national television tonight and tomorrow on CBS Sports Network as they take on the Akron Racers. First pitch is set for 7:00 PM (ET) at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. The USSSA Pride sit atop the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) standings with a record of 19-7 while the Racers are third with a record of 11-15. The Pride are a perfect 6-0 against the Racers in 2014.
Earlier this season, the NPF announced an 18 game package with CBS Sports Network, which tripled the league’s previous television coverage. A total of 14 regular season games and four post-season games, including every game in the best-of-three championship series, will be televised this season. CBS Sports Network will televise games on Monday and Tuesday in prime time. In the first two televised games on July 7th and 8th , the Pride split games with the Pennsylvania Rebellion dropping Monday’s game 1-0 and winning Tuesday night 5-0.
Eric Collins, a veteran play-by-play, and Barbara Jordan, an experienced softball analyst, will cover the televised NPF games on CBS Sports Network. Additional highlights include:
- After off-season hip surgery, veteran pitcher Cat Osterman may be having her best NPF season yet. The lefty is a perfect 9-0 on the 2014 season. In 54 innings pitched, she has struck out 84 while only allowing 25 hits and 2 earned runs. And to think Osterman almost retired after 2013!
- Another Pride veteran is having a career year in 2014. Third baseman Andrea Duran is hitting a team-leading .423, which ranks second in the NPF behind the Chicago Bandit’s Emily Allard. Duran has a team-leading 20 runs scored, 13 RBIs, 2 homeruns, and a .523 on-base percentage.
- Rookie Madison Shipman hit the ground running in the NPF. The 2014 SEC Player of the Year and Honda Sports Award winner for softball is hitting .368 after 26 NPF games. Her 4 homeruns are tied for the team lead with Kristyn Sandberg and Amanda Kamekona and her 16 RBIs are tied for the team lead with GiOnna DiSalvatore.
CBS Sports Network is the 24-hour home of CBS Sports and is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, and to access the CBS Sports Network channel finder, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.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
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