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Chelsea Goodacre’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Pride a 4-3 victory over Chicago on Sunday night.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Scoring a game-tying run in the seventh inning, along with the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth, the USSSA Pride (3-1) earned a 4-3 victory in game one of the series in Tallahassee against the Chicago Bandits (6-2) on Sunday night at JoAnne Graf Field.
USSSA’s Sydney Broderick was named the “LOCK IT UP” Player of the Game presented by Vaultz.
The Bandits jumped out to an early lead in the first inning as Sammy Marshall and Brenna Moss opened the game with singles against USSSA starting pitcher Jolene Henderson. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position and a double off the wall in left by Natalie Hernandez put Chicago in front 2-0.
Waldrop pitched well in her first outing and start for the Bandits this season, limiting the Pride to just three hits in her five innings of work.
USSSA’s Henderson allowed just one hit over the next three innings before surrendering a pair of singles to Brenna Moss and Emily Carosone to start the Chicago fifth. Former FSU Seminoles Jessica Burroughs and Sydney Broderick entered the game to both pitch and catch for the Pride, each making their first professional appearance in the NPF.
Burroughs retired the next two batters she faced, and after a two-out walk loaded the bases, she got out of the inning unscathed with a pop out to second base to keep the game at 2-0 Chicago.
A single by Chelsea Forkin and an RBI single by Brenna Moss extended Chicago’s lead to 3-0 in the sixth inning as the Bandits brought in Haylie Wagner to pitch the bottom half of the inning.
The Pride took advantage of the new look in the circle as Megan Wiggins led off the inning with a walk and Kelly Kretschman hit her first home run of the season to straightaway center to cut the lead to 3-2.
As the Pride needed a run to continue the game in the seventh inning, Kirsti Merritt drove a one-out single to center and a groundout moved her into scoring position with two outs for Broderick. The rookie catcher drove an RBI single into right field to square the game at 3-3 and sent the game to extra innings.
USSSA’s Jordan Taylor pitched a scoreless eighth to set the stage for the game-winner in the bottom of the frame. Lauren Chamberlain started the rally with a two-out walk, and she was pinch run for at first by Courtney Ceo. A single to right by Shelby Pendley, along with aggressive base running by Ceo, put runners on the corners. Chicago’s Waldrop re-entered to pitch for Ellen Sara Roberts and walked Andrea Duran on four pitches to load the bases.
Goodacre worked a 1-1 count, and the next pitch was high and inside. Goodacre tried to check her swing, but ended up tapping the ball into play between the circle and first base, bringing in the winning run on an infield RBI single.
Taylor picked up her first win of the season for the Pride, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings and retiring four of the five batters she faced, including a strikeout. Burroughs surrendered two hits in 2.2 innings, along with a run and a walk. Henderson scattered seven hits in her 4.0 inning start, giving up two runs and striking out four without a walk.
Roberts (0-2) took the loss for Chicago, giving up a run on one hit with two walks and a strikeout in 1.0 innings. Wagner allowed three hits and three runs in her 1.2 innings of relief, recording four strikeouts and allowing one walk. Waldrop struck out three and issued just one walk and three hits in 5.0 innings.
The series between the Pride and the Bandits continues on Monday, June 12 at 7:05 p.m. at JoAnne Graf Field. The game will be streamed live on NPF-TV.com and tickets are available at the stadium box office.
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.
USSSA is headquartered in Brevard County, Florida. USSSA is the World’s Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 4.5 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
About National Pro Fastpitch (NPF)
National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), an Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball since 2004, provides elite female athletes with an opportunity to pursue a professional career in fastpitch softball beyond their collegiate and amateur success.  The NPF affiliate teams consist of the Akron Racers, Beijing Shougang Eagles, Chicago Bandits, Scrap Yard Dawgs, Texas Charge and USSSA Florida Pride for the 2017 season. National Pro Fastpitch players hail from the United States, Australia, Canada and China among which are the most accomplished and talented athletes in the sport of women’s softball..
Alex Powers,Andrea Duran,Chicago Bandits,FSU,Hannah Rogers,Jessica Burroughs,JoAnne Graf Field,Keilani Ricketts,Kelly Kretschman,Lonni Alameda,Shelby Pendley,Sydney Broderick