Pride Defeat Charge 3-1 in Game 2 of the Opening Series

McKinney, TX– June 7, 2015– The USSSA Florida Pride rallied late to beat the Dallas Charge 3-1 and take momentary control of this four-game series.

The USSSA Pride’s Chelsea Thomas got the win with four strikeouts and Jordan Taylor earned the save when she came in to relieve Thomas during the bottom of the sixth.

After a scoreless top of the first, Renada Davis came to plate to lead the Charge attack. With one swing of the bat, Davis sent a rocket into the left field bleachers to put the Charge up 1-0.  The Charge managed just five more base runners in the game, three hits and two walks. Pitching and defense would dominate the game from that point till the sixth inning, when the Pride bats came to life.

It was Amanda Kamekona hitting for Breja’e Washington that started it all of with a single up the middle.  Washington returned to run and promptly stole second.  Shelby Pendley then singled to advance Washington to third and then swiped second herself. With no outs Kelly Kretschman drove the ball up the middle to plate the two Pride runners and take the lead 2-1.  Madison Shipman then popped out to center and Andrea Duran singled to load the bases.   Stokes induced a ground ball back to the circle, the start of a 1-2-3 double play, the defense’s second twin killing of the game.  Lauren Chamberlain popped up in foul territory to end the frame.

The Charge mounted their only other serious threat in the bottom of the sixth when the home team loaded the bases with one out.  Singles by pinch hitters Nicole Morgan, Katilyn Richardson and Renee Erwin gave the new club a real chance to even the score.  Jordan Taylor relieved Thomas in the circle for the Pride.  She put out the fire, getting a strikeout and fly out to right to end the inning.

Brigette Del Ponte would then hit a leadoff homerun in the top of the seventh to push the lead to two runs and end the scoring. The Charge offense managed just one run on five hits, two from Renada Davis including her first career home run.

The final out of the game was a strikeout by Jordan Taylor, her fifth of the season, that shut down the Charge. After struggling offensively for most of the game the Pride finished with nine  hits, three runs and no errors. Kelly Kretschman went 2 for 3 following her strong offensive performance in game 1 against the Charge and Madison Shipman ended the night with 2 hits from her two appearances at the plate.

Will the Pride continue to dominate? Tune in tonight when the Dallas Charge host the USSSA Florida Pride again at 7 p.m. (ET) on CBS Sports or view live stats at www.dallascharge.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.