Sulphur, LA – The 2011 NPF Battle of the Bats Competition concluded Wednesday night at McMurry Park in Sulphur, Louisiana at Fan Fest of the National Pro Fast Pitch Championship Series, and the results were the same as last year’s competition. The defending Battle of the Bats Champion, Charlotte Morgan of the USSSA Pride took home her 2nd B.O.B. title in as many years with a strong performance. Morgan who led after the 1st round of the night with 6 home runs, turned in 4 in each the 2nd and Championship rounds to seal the deal. Morgan, facing the Chicago Bandits Alisa Goler in the Championship round was down to her last swing, a home run wins it, and anything else takes it to a tie breaker. Number 34 for the Pride delivered with a smash to repeat as the B.O.B. Champion. Morgan also delivered the competitions longest bomb, a 333’ shot to left field.
The B.O.B. race was tight all season long and tonight was no different. Regular season leader Dorian Shaw of the Chicago Bandits came in to Sulphur as the favorite pounding out 15 in the regular season. Shaw failed to advance past tonight’s first round putting only 2 out of the yard. Crowd favorite and the regular season runner-up Hoku Nohara of the Akron Racers who entered the night having hit 14 home runs advanced to the 2nd round after her 5 home run 1st round performance, but fell short of advancing to the Championship round having hit 4 in the 2nd.
Earlier in the evening 30 NPF players joined on the field with 19 Southwest Louisiana youth of the Awesome Kids Association in the Friends of the Pro’s Game. The Awesome Kids Association offers sporting activities for physically challenged children and young adults and the NPF Friends of the Pros game proves to be the highlight of these children’s year.
The National Pro Fastpitch Championship Series begins on Thursday evening with Chicago Bandits facing the Akron Racers at 6pm, and the USSSA Pride does battle with the NPF Diamonds in the nightcap at 8:30. Visit www.profastpitch.com for tickets.
Below is the round by round results from tonight’s Battle of the Bats competition:
1st Round:
Charlotte Morgan (Pride) – 6
Hoku Nohara (Racers) – 5
Megan Wiggins (Bandits) – 5
Alisa Goler (Bandits) – 5
Samantha Findlay (Pride) – 4
Dorian Shaw (Bandits) – 2
Jessica Mendoza (Pride) – 1
2nd Round:
Alisa Goler (Bandits) – 5 (10)
Charlotte Morgan (Pride) – 4 (10)
Hoku Nohara (Racers) – 4 (9)
Megan Wiggins (Bandits) – 4 (9)
Championship Round:
Charlotte Morgan (Pride) – 4 (14)
Alisa Goler (Bandits) – 3 (13)
MORGAN REIGNS OVER BATTLE OF THE BATS
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!