USSSA Pride Power Past PA Rebellion, 3-0
June 23, 2016 - National Pro Fastpitch (NPF)
USSSA Pride News Release
Kissimmee, FL - The USSSA Florida Pride powered past the PA Rebellion Wednesday night with a 3-0 win in game three at CONSOL Energy Park. A strong pitching match kept the game close but the Pride were able to capitalize when it mattered.
Player of the game, Chelsea Thomas, tossed a complete game, four-hit shutout, and struck out seven Rebellion batters to earn her fourth win of the season. This is the third time in the last four games the Pride pitching staff has pitched a shutout against the PA Rebellion.
"I think I kept my pitch count low and then Chelsea Goodacre called a heck of a game behind the plate. We were on the same page the whole time and I didn't have to shake off at all, we were just right on the same page so it was pretty good," Chelsea Thomas recounted about her performance Wednesday night.
Following three scoreless innings, Shelby Pendley got the first hit of the night in the top of the 4th. Pendley blasted a solo shot to straight away center that put the Pride on the board first, 1-0, her third of the season.
The Rebellion responded in the bottom of the fourth with three consecutive singles to load the bases. Chelsea Thomas worked her way out of the jam forcing Lexie Elkins to hit into an inning ending double play executed by Pride shortstop Shelby Pendley.
"They got hits on pitches that I wanted to them to hit but when you have a defense like Shelby at shortstop when you can throw up a ball and she cant turn a double play in a heartbeat it's awesome to have. They made a great couple double plays there to finish the game and our defense is really solid right now," Thomas added about the Pride defense.
In the top of the 5th, Chelsea Goodacre and Kirsti Merritt contributed back-to-back homers to give the Pride a 3 run advantage. The solo shot was Goodacre's second home run of the season and marked Merritt's first professional career home run.
In the final innings, Chelsea Thomas kept the Rebellion hitters at bay, struck out two and finished the seventh by forcing a game ending double play.
Win the win, the Pride improve to 8-3 on the season. The USSSA Pride will face the PA Rebellion in Eastern Pennsylvania for a two-game series at Coca-Cola Park out of Lehigh Valley. Tonight's game is set for a 7:05 PM (ET) start time. Catch all the action live on NPFTV via profastpitch.com.
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National Pro Fastpitch Stories from June 23, 2016
- USSSA Pride Power Past PA Rebellion, 3-0 - USSSA Pride
- Rebellion Falls to Pride 6-3 - Pennsylvania Rebellion
- Dawgs Fall to Bandits 8-4 - Scrap Yard Dawgs
- USSSA Pride Take Game Three of Series - USSSA Pride
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