Pride take Rebellion DH With Back-to-Back Shutouts

11391775_10153401978264116_4916221408646756870_n
Chelsea Thomas threw a complete game shut out to secure the Pride’s second victory of the DH vs Rebellion, Saturday night, 2-0! Photo by Jade Hewitt

WASHINGTON, PA – July 11, 2015 – Fans got a double dose of NPF action Saturday at CONSOL Energy Park when the Pennsylvania Rebellion hosted the USSSA Pride in a double header.  The Pride wouldn’t allow a single Rebellion run through 14 innings and were victorious in both contests by a score of 5-0 and 2-0, respectively.

The Pride jumped out to an early lead in game one, when a wild pitch brought in Natasha Watley (1-3, 1 run) to put the Pride on the board. A GiOnna DiSalvatore (2-3, 2 RBI, 1 run) two-run blast to right field extended the lead to 3-0 in the top of the second.

The Pride increased their lead to five, scoring in the fifth when Kelly Kretschman (2-3, 1 run) stole home and again in the seventh when a Brigette Del Ponte RBI scored Courtney Ceo. The Rebellion threatened to score on back-to-back singles by Whitney Arion and Courtney Senas in the bottom of the fifth, but weren’t successful.

Keilani Ricketts managed 8 strikeouts while improving to 4-1 with the victory. Dallas Escobedo (1-6) took the loss for the Rebellion.

Game two of the double header turned into a pitcher’s duel between Chelsea Thomas and Rebellion’s Emily Weiman. The game remained scoreless through the first four, until a Kelly Kretschman (1-3, 1 RBI, 1 run) solo home run in the top half gave the Pride a 1-0 lead.

The Rebellion threatened with two runners in the bottom of the sixth, but couldn’t scratch a run. The Pride added insurance in the seventh on three straight fielder’s choices that ultimately allowed pinch runner, Breja’e Washington to score. Chelsea Thomas (4-1) surrendered just two hits while striking out 5 in her fourth win of the year, while Emily Weiman (1-5) surrendered 3 hits and was charged with the loss.

The Pride (18-7) pitchers have thrown three consecutive complete game shutouts against the Rebellion (5-22) heading into the final game: Cat Osterman in game-one, Keilani Ricketts in game-two, and Chelsea Thomas in game-three.

The Pride and Rebellion will meet for the series finale today, Sunday July 12th, at 2:35 p.m. Tickets are available at the box office at CONSOL-Energy Park.

Game 1: Boxscore

Game 2: Boxscore 

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 FacebookTwitter, 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 the 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.