AKRON, Ohio (July 14, 2010) – The USSSA Pride mounted a two-out comeback atop the seventh inning to spoil Jamee Juarez’ shutout and claim the series opener as Akron fell, 3-2 in front of 1,663 fans at Firestone Stadium this evening.
Juarez (3-6) was an out away from a complete game shutout before the Pride bats got busy. Tonya Callahan drew a walk before advancing to second on a passed ball to jump start the action. A Racers’ error proved costly as a Megan Willis single to left was misplayed, enabling pinch runner Karli Hubbard to score from second. The comeback kid, Charlotte Morgan delivered the final blow with a two-run homer to left, providing enough cushion for the 3-2 Pride victory.
Akron drops to 12-10 with its fourth-straight loss while the Pride improves to 14-9 with tonight’s win. Juarez was saddled with the tough-luck loss in seven complete frames after scattering four hits and striking out six. Sarah Pauly (7-2) earned the win in seven innings, surrendering two runs (one earned) also fanning four batters.
Akron drew first blood and snapped a 23.1 inning scoreless streak in the third inning when Micaela Minner drove in Sharonda McDonald on a fielder’s choice, giving Akron a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest helped the Racers extend that margin to 2-0 on a solo shot to right, giving Akron the 2-0 advantage.
Unfortunately for the Racers, Pauly gained strength in the circle as the game moved along, as the right hander held the home team scoreless across the final three innings to secure the win.
The Akron Racers organization is currently hosting the USSSA World Series for the 11-under and 13-under age groups which held its opening ceremonies prior to tonight’s first pitch.
The five-game set continues tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. at Firestone Stadium. For more information or tickets, please visit www.akronracers.org. To follow the series from home, you can catch the action live on MLB.com with a $19.95 season-long subscription or view live stats via www.pointstreak.com.
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!