USSSA Pride
Bandits Steal Game One 1-0
By: Jarrod Johnson
The Hoover Met has been home to the NPF Championship Series for the past two years now.By: Jarrod Johnson
Hoover, Ala. – as most expected, Game 1 between the Chicago Bandits and the USSSA Pride was a pitching duel between Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman that lasted an hour and fifty-seven minutes in front of a crowd of 1,140. Neither pitcher disappointed as there were no clean hits during the entire game. Abbott got the complete game win going seven innings giving up two hits, five strikeouts and two walks. Osterman took the tough luck lost pitching seven innings giving up one unearned run on three hits while walking one and striking out eight.
Abbott struggled in the first inning walking Pendley to load the bases. Hot hitting Madison Shipman had an opportunity to put the Pride on the board but Abbott struck her out looking.
Both pitchers settled in and there was no threat to score until the bottom of the fourth when Pride batter Madison Shipman hit a deep fly ball to left field that was caught just a few feet shy of the left field wall. The game turned into who would blink first. That team would be the Pride. In the top of the fifth Tammy Williams singled and advanced to second on a throwing error Shelby Pendley. Zymkowitz singled to center and Megan Wiggins was unable to pick up the ball cleanly allowing Williams to score.
This would be the difference in the game as Abbott continued her season long dominance against the Pride. She retired fifteen in a row until giving up a walk to pinch hitter Amanda Kamekona with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. This was the first base runner for the Pride since the 2nd inning.
Abbott’s NPF tournament line is 2-0-1 during fifteen innings pitched giving up one run on five hits while walking four and striking out eighteen. Osterman’s tournament line is 1-1 with 12 1/3 innings pitched giving up zero earned runs while giving up four hits, two walks, and striking out thirteen batters.
Game 2 will be Monday night at 7pm at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The Pride will need to win to keep their championship hopes alive.
The total attendance for the first three days of the tournament is 4,953.
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.
National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. 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 and has been since 2002.
About USSSA:
USSSA is 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.