Pride Take On Mercer University in Game 5 of Fall Tour

The Pride beat the UAB softball alumni 10-1 Wednesday night in Birmingham
The Pride beat the UAB softball alumni 10-1 Wednesday night in Birmingham

Kissimmee, FL-November 13, 2014– The 2014 Fall Tour, sponsored by Boombah, continues tonight as the USSSA Florida Pride travel to Macon, Georgia to take on the Mercer University Bears. First pitch is set for 7:00 PM on the Mercer campus. Last night, the Pride took the field against UAB alumni and won the game 10-1 on a cold night in Birmingham, AL. Tonight’s game marks the fifth stop on the Fall Tour, which concludes Saturday at 6:00 PM (est) with a visit to Tallahassee to take on 2014 Women’s College World Series (WCWS) participant Florida State University.

The Pride are coming off their third National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Championship, while Mercer is coming off their program’s best finish under coaches James and Stephanie DeFeo. Mercer won a program-best 34 games in 2014 and finished as runner-up in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to play the USSSA Pride and to host such an amazing event for the softball community in Central Georgia.  It will give our fans a chance to see some of the best softball players in the world compete right here at Mercer University. As we strive to compete against the best and continue to bolster our program here at Mercer, this opportunity will help us achieve our highest goals,” said Mercer associate head coach Stephanie DeFeo.

Pride players participating in the game against Mercer include NPF Player of the Year Andrea Duran, Olympic gold and silver medalist Kelly Kretschman, 2013 NPF Offensive Player of the Year GiOnna DiSalvatore, and the 2014 NCAA Batting Champion Courtney Ceo. Other Pride players include Brigette Del Ponte (Arizona), Alexa Peterson (Oregon), Jordan Taylor (Michigan), Chelsea Thomas (Missouri), Cassie Tysarczyk (Texas A&M), Megan Willis (Texas), and Breja’e Washington (Texas).

The Fall Tour kicked off in Georgia as the Pride took on the University of Georgia on November 6th and Georgia Tech on November 8th. The Pride then headed to Alabama to take on Wallace State and UAB. Saturday’s match-up against Florida State will feature the 2014 NCAA Player of the Year Lacey Waldrop and ACC Player of the Year Maddie O’Brien. Both figure to be high draft picks in the 2015 NPF Draft.

This marks the second consecutive year the Pride have featured a Fall Tour with exhibition games against college teams. Additionally, USSSA helped sponsor the NPF Back-to-School Tour from 2010-2012 where players from all NPF teams traveled across the country taking on various college programs. The Fall Tour offers the USSSA Pride and the NPF a chance to play in front of crowds who may not have been previously exposed to professional softball. It also offers future and current stars of the game to come together in dynamic college atmospheres as well as the local communities.

Tickets will be available at the gate. To follow all of the action, visit www.dev.usssapride.com or follow the Pride on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #PrideFallTour.

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!