Kissimmee, FL—July 17, 2016—The USSSA Pride took game one against the Chicago Bandits out here at ESPN Wide World of Sports with a 6–1 final score. With the win the Pride improved to 20-7 and continue to lead the NPF standings.
Megan Wiggins kicked off the game with a lead off double that quickly put two on following a Kretschman walk. Sierra Romero then grounded out to into a double play that left Kretschman on second. Following a wild pitch, Kelly Kretschman advanced to third. Shelby Pendley then drew the walk that put two on with two outs as Hallie Wilson stepped into the box. Hallie Wilson capitalized for the Pride with two down and sent out a hard hit liner through the middle and scored runners Pendley and Kretschman to grab the early 2-0 lead.
Kelly Kretschman added to the lead in the bottom of the third with a solo home run, her seventh of the season. Sierra Romero drew her own walk immediately after Kretschman and advanced to third following a Shelby Pendley double that put runners on 2nd and 3rd but could not add to their 3-0 lead. The Bandits made a pitching change, Waldrop in for Foley that shut down the Pride offense.
The game was suspended in the top of the fourth due to inclement weather but continued at 5PM the next day. The Bandits managed to load up the bases but could not capitalize to kick things off on day two of the match-up.
The Pride continued to dominate and took advantage in the bottom of the 4th starting with pinch hitter GiOnna DiSalvatore who singled up the middle to lead things off. Courtney Ceo then grounded out to third but not before pushing GiOnna DiSalvatore over to 2nd. Megan Wiggins then stepped up to the plate and singled with one out. Both runners, DiSalvatore and Wiggins, advanced on the throw. Kelly Kretschman then singled up the middle to score both Wiggins and DiSalvatore to give the Pride a 5-0 lead. Romero added her own single to the carnage which was followed by a Pendley RBI single that scored Kretschman from third to open up the Pride lead to 6-0.
In the top of the 7th, Brown homered over the right field fence to put Chicago on the board but it wasn’t enough to lessen the Pride lead.
Starting pitcher Chelsea Thomas tossed seven innings and struck out 8 hitters to earn her fourth win of the season.
Game Two:
During game two, the Bandits jumped on the board early in the third. Kloss started things off for the Bandits with a walk but was thrown out on a fielders choice that granted Barrett first. Blank followed suit with an infield single that placed runners on 1st and 3rd. Blank stole second then brought up Cervantes who flied out to left but scored Barret for the first run of the game to put the Bandits up 1-0. Edwards added to the lead with a double down the left line over the head of Wilson to score Blank and put the Bandits up 2-0.
Megan Wiggins responded in the bottom of the third with a solo shot over the right field fence to cut the lead down to 2-1.
In the top of the fourth Brown added her second home run of the night to put the Bandits up 3-1. Carsone drew a walk that was followed by a Marshall single that put two on for Blank who managed a 2-out 2-RBI single up the middle to open up the lead 5-1. The Pride threatened a few times but could not come back and earned their eighth loss of the season.
Starting pitcher Jolene Henderson tossed three complete innings before being relieved by rookie Kelsey Nunley in the top of the fourth. Nunley struck out 3 hitters in 2.2 innings pitched before being relieved by Jordan Taylor in the 6th. In 1.1 innings pitched Jordan Taylor struck out three and kept the Bandits to one hit but it wasn’t enough to secure the win.
The Pride complete the series against the Bandits on Monday night at 7:00PM (ET) here at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Make sure to tune in to NPFTV for all of the action!
Final Score
Game One:
USSSA Pride: 6
Chicago Bandits: 1
Game Two:
USSSA Pride: 1
Chicago Bandits: 5
Box Score
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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 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.
About National Pro Fastpitch (NPF): National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), an Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball since 2002, provides elite female athletes with an opportunity to pursue a professional career in diamond sports beyond their collegiate success. The 2016 NPF season will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Coverage includes the NPF College Draft presented by Bownet on Thur., April 14, followed by 23 regular-season games, a Championship Series Preview Special and the 2016 NPF Championship Series. The NPF recently announced that the Scrap Yard Dawgs, located in The Woodlands, Texas, will join the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Dallas Charge, Pennsylvania Rebellion and USSSA Florida Pride for the 2016 season. National Pro Fastpitch players hail from the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand, representing the most accomplished and talented athletes in the sport of women’s softball
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