USSSA Florida Pride Take Game One against the Tennessee Diamonds
Kissimmee, Fla. – The Pride returned home tonight after an extended absence with three series played away in the past three weeks. In the team’s first game back in Orlando, they took on the Tennessee Diamonds, ending the game in a 5-4 victory.
Sarah Pauly secured the win for the Pride in the circle, allowing four runs on eight hits over seven innings and striking out eight.
The Pride started things off in the bottom of the first when Kelly Kretschman scored the first run of the game off of a triple from Tonya Callahan after reaching on a single. Callahan scored the second run for the Pride on a pass ball from Diamonds’ pitcher Kristin Erb. A fly ball to center from Megan Willis looked to score the next run for the Pride but the inning ended on a brilliant catch from the Diamonds’ Amanda Williams at the center field wall.
The Diamonds responded in the top of the second, scoring two runs off of a triple from Carly Wynn, driving in Dede Justice and Angeline Quiocho and tying the game in the middle of the inning.
The Diamonds followed with yet another run in the top of the third when a single from designated player Megan Gibson drove in Chelsie Mesa who led off the inning with a single to left field.
The Pride took the lead back in the bottom of the third. A walk issued to Kretschman followed by a single from Callahan put the home team in position to score. Charlotte Morgan followed at the plate, reaching on a fielder’s choice with Kretschman picked off at third. Roth came to the plate and allowed Callahan and Morgan to score, though she was retired on her way to third when she attempted to take the extra base.
Two singles and a stolen base allowed the Pride to score their fifth run in the bottom of the fourth. Enea reached with single number one, and Karli Hubbard stepped in at first to pinch run for her. A stolen base on Kristen Schnake’s at-bat put Hubbard in position to score and the second base hit of the inning from Jessica Williams drove Hubbard home.
The Diamonds attempted a rally in the top of the seventh, scoring a fourth run off of a triple from Carly Wynn who scored on a 4-3 put-out on Chelsie Mesa. The inning ended before the Diamonds could score the tying run and the Pride earned the win with the final score sitting at 5-4.
The USSSA Florida Pride will take on the Tennessee Diamonds for game two of the four game series tomorrow night, July 23, at 7:05 pm.
The USSSA Florida Pride joined the NPF as a franchise Team in November of 2009, operated by Florida Pride LLC. USSSA managed the Pride Team during 2009, culminating their inaugural season with a second place finish in the Championship Series. USSSA Florida Pride is sponsored by USSSA, the world’s largest amateur sports association, and is headquartered in Kissimmee, Florida.
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).
