Baton Rouge, LA- The USSSA Pride and the Carolina Diamonds kicked off Saturdays double header at noon at LSU Tiger Stadium in front of an anxious crowd of over 500. It was a big day of LSU’s faithful as they gathered to see Brittany Mack pitch the second game for the Pride and see her back on the mound in tiger stadium.
In the first game, the Pride sent Danielle Lawrie to the mound to face the Diamonds Angel Bunner. Lawrie struggled for the Pride giving up a 3 run home run in the first inning to Rachel Folden, scoring Villareal and DiSalvatore who had reached on singles earlier in the inning. The score would be 3-0 at the end of the first inning.
The Diamonds offense would explode again in the second inning as they plated 7 runs. Jami Lobpries would hit a bases loaded 2 RBI double to extend the lead to 5-0. Sarah Pauly would be brought in to relieve Lawrie after an 1 1/3 innings. GiOnna DiSalvatore would immediatley jump on Pauly though, lacing a double to left field scoring another two runs for the Diamonds, extending their lead to 7-0. After a Folden RBI single, making the lead 8-0, Kelsi Weseman would come up and hit a 2 run home run to left field, taking the Diamonds to a huge 10-0 lead and leading the Pride to another pitching change.
Jamee Juarez was effective pitching even in defeat, mowing down five the Carolina Diamonds batters and allowing one run. Danielle Lawrie would re-enter to pitch in the 7th inning for the Pride.
Danielle Lawrie(3-2) took the loss for the USSSA Pride. She allowed seven runs in 2 1/3 innings, walked two and struck out three. Bunner would overwhelm the Pride, striking out seven hitters en route to the the Carolina Diamonds win. Bunner allowed two earned runs, six hits and one walk over seven innings.
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!