Kissimmee, FL-March 19, 2015-The USSSA Florida Pride will play their first home series of the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) season against the Dallas Charge on June 11th and 12th in Kansas City, KS. This marks the first time a NPF series will be played during the Top Gun Invitational youth tournament and in the Kansas City metro area.
The Kansas and Missouri area features a large fastpitch community as well as the Top Gun Invitational, one of the premiere youth fastpitch tournaments in the country that features over 110 youth teams. This hotbed for fast pitch softball provides the NPF and the Pride an opportunity to play in front of a large portion of their audience and it allows fans in the Midwest an opportunity to watch some of the greatest softball talent in the world. The Pride and Charge series will be played at the CommunityAmerica Ballpark, home of the Kansas City T-Bones, an affiliate of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.
The USSSA Pride are coming off of back-to-back NPF Championship Series titles. The Pride roster features some of the top talent in the game including Olympians Cat Osterman, Andrea Duran, Natasha Watley and Kelly Kretschman. Additionally, former University of Missouri great Chelsea Thomas will return to the Midwest. Thomas is the Tigers career leader in wins and strikeouts. Additionally, fans will get the opportunity to see Pride newcomer Hannah Rogers, the reigning Women’s College World Series (WCWS) Most Outstanding Player. Rogers, who won the 2014 National Championship for the University of Florida last June, recently signed a two year contract with the Pride. The four-time All-American went a perfect 4-0 in the WCWS as she carried the Gators to their program’s first National Championship.
The Dallas Charge are making their NPF debut in 2015 as the league’s newest expansion team. The Charge were announced in January of this year that they would become the fifth affiliate team in the NPF joining the Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, and Pennsylvania Rebellion.
The Pride’s 2015 NPF season kicks off June 6th in McKinney, TX with the Pride visiting the Dallas Charge. After a four game series with the Charge that ends June 9th, both teams will head north to Kansas City to take part in the two-game series.
For all information about the USSSA Pride and the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) season, visit the team website www.dev.usssapride.com and follow the Pride all season long on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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:
USSSA is 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!