Kissimmee, Fla. – After two series at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, the USSSA Florida Pride took to the field at the UCF Softball Complex to take on the Tennessee Diamonds in the season’s final series between the two teams before the NPF Championship Finals. In what remained a close contest throughout the evening, the Pride came away victorious in a 2-1 win.
Sarah Pauly started in the circle against Monica Abbott and took the win, allowing only one run on three hits and striking out five. Abbott shouldered the loss for the Diamonds, allowing two runs on three hits, also striking out five over the course of the game.
The Pride struck first in tonight’s contest, when Jessica Mendoza ripped a two-run home run past the center field wall in the bottom of the first, bringing in herself and Kelly Kretschman who had previously reached on a walk. The inning closed on a foul-out from Charlotte Morgan.
Chelsea Spencer responded for the Diamonds when she led-off the fourth inning with a solo home-run on the first pitch issued by Pauly. A double from Megan Gibson put the visiting team in position to score again but two quick outs from Chelsie Mesa and Loryn Johnson retired the side.
Throughout the final three innings, each team only recorded one additional hit; a single from Lauren Lappin in the bottom of the fifth for the Pride and a double from Gibson in the top of the seventh, but the Diamonds were unable to come back from the deficit.
The two teams take to the field again tomorrow night for game two of the five game series at the UCF Softball Complex. The game is slated to begin at 7:05 pm.
The USSSA Florida Pride joined the NPF as a franchise Team in November of 2009, operated by Florida Pride LLC. USSSA managed the Pride Team during 2009, culminating their inaugural season with a second place finish in the Championship Series. USSSA Florida Pride is sponsored by USSSA, the world’s largest amateur sports association, and is headquartered in Kissimmee, Florida.
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!