Pride Stay Hot; Beat Bandits 9-0 in Disney Opener

The USSSA Pride continued their winning streak against the Chicago Bandits with a dominating 9-0 win on Thursday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista.

Pride pitcher Cat Osterman (5-4) had an outstanding outing, allowing only three hits and one walk in the shutout, and striking out seven.

Kelly Kretschman started the game off for the Pride with a sacrifice fly that brought shortstop Natasha Watley in. Jessica Mendoza kept it going in the next inning, hitting a 3-run double to solidify the Pride’s lead.

The offense didn’t stop there, though. Andrea Duran hit a homerun to start off the fourth inning and was followed up shortly after by Kristyn Sandberg, who hit a deep 2-run homerun, bringing the score to 7-0.

Ashley Charters scored the eighth run of the game after Watley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth.

The home runs continued into the sixth inning, when, on her first at bat of the game, Charlotte Morgan hit one deep into left field, bringing the score to 9-0.

The Bandits once again struggled with pitching, bringing in three different pitchers in the course of the game, each pitching about two innings before being yanked from the game.

 

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 News!

Nikki Nemitz (5-6) allowed four hits and four runs and walked three batters in the first two innings of the game before being replaced by Meagan Denny-White. It wasn’t much of an improvement, though, with Denny-White allowing five hits, four runs, and one walk in her two innings pitched before getting replaced by Michelle Moses, who finished out the game, allowing one run, one hit, and one walk.

The Pride and Bandits continue the series Friday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at 7:05 p.m.