The USSSA Pride defeated the Canadian Wild 10-5 to close out the series and tally their first win of the season.
The Pride found themselves in a great situation to start the game, as the Wild’s Lauren Regula walked three batters before Jessie Warren sent them all home with a grand slam. Regula loaded the bases once again, before being pulled for Morgan Rackel with only one out in the first inning. Rackel gave up one more run on an Alex Powers single before getting out of the jam. The Wild loaded the bases themselves in the bottom of the first, but it only led to one run, leaving it 5-1 at the end of the first.
The Wild’s pitching woes and the Pride’s hot sticks brought more good fortune later in the game, as Samantha Show and Shay Knighten both hit home runs in the fourth to make it a 9-3 game. Jessie Warren added insult to injury as she hit another home run in the sixth to extend the Pride’s lead. From the mound, Jailyn Ford ended the game with a bit of trouble, letting up a 2 run homer. Ford was able to regroup and hold onto the lead and finish out the game with a final score of 10-5.
The Pride turned their three game losing streak around in extraordinary fashion, putting on a full game clinic to close out the series. They knocked the cover off the ball tonight, hitting four home runs which scored eight runs. This type of hitting was absent in the last three games, but it demonstrated what those other contests may have looked like had they taken advantage of runners in scoring position like in tonight’s game.
In addition to the hot hands, the Pride’s pitching core performed extremely well escaping two innings with no hits and four innings with no runs scored. While they did catch themselves in bad defensive situations, they were able to pull through this game and minimize damage instead of giving up the big play. This game was a perfect confidence booster for a squad who lost two hard fought games the night before and a great way to finish out the first of two road trip series.
The Pride look to build off this complete game performance as they prepare for their next meeting in Oklahoma City. The series begins on July 2nd against Team USA at Oklahoma State University.