Montegranaro, Italy (May 3, 2016)–A four run seventh inning was the difference maker in the USSSA Florida Pride’s 4-1 victory over Italia Softball on Monday. The Pride took game one of a four game series with the Italian National Team at Diamante Verde in Montegranaro, Italy. Amanda Kamekona’s RBI single and GiOnna DiSalvatore’s two-run homerun all came with two outs in the seventh.
Hannah Rogers started in the circle for the Pride and held Italia scoreless through four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, Giuila Longhi led off with a solo homerun off Andi Williamson who had entered in relief of Rogers.
Down 1-0 in the seventh, Lindsay Ziegenhirt led off with a walk. Three batters later Shelby Pendley picked up her second walk of the day to set the table for Kamekona who laced a line drive at the centerfielder scoring pinch runner Brigette Del Ponte from second. Pendley came all the way around from first after the ball was misplayed by the centerfielder putting the Pride up 2-1. DiSalvatore then launched a two-run homerun down the right field line to put the Pride up 4-1.
Longhi singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Williamson then struck out the next two Italian hitters and forced Francesca Concina to ground out to first base to end the game. Williamson earned the victory after three innings of work. She gave up one earned run on two hits and struck out five.
The Pride loaded the bases in the sixth after walks by DiSalvatore, Duran, and Lauren Chamberlain but Italia got out of the inning with a 5-2-3 double play.
DiSalvatore, Andrea Duran and Hallie Wilson all had two hits on the night. Duran ended the game 2-3 with a triple, double and walk. Rogers allowed three hits and struck out six in four innings of work.
The Pride return to action on Tuesday at 1:00 est. as they play Italia in Parma. Fans can watch all exhibition games on usssalive.com/usssapride or live streamed on Facebook.
This exhibition series in Italy marks the first time a National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) team has traveled to another country to play a National Team. The entire Italy trip is an effort by USSSA to help grow the sport of softball internationally.
Game Stats
http://cnc.fibs.it/cnc/softball/2016/IPS/confstat.htm
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 National Pro Fastpitch (NPF)
National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), an Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball since 2002, provides elite female athletes with an opportunity to pursue a professional career in diamond sports beyond their collegiate success. The 2016 NPF season will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Coverage includes the NPF College Draft presented by Bownet on Thur., April 14, followed by 23 regular-season games, a Championship Series Preview Special and the 2016 NPF Championship Series. The NPF recently announced that the Scrap Yard Dawgs, located in The Woodlands, Texas, will join the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Dallas Charge, Pennsylvania Rebellion and USSSA Florida Pride for the 2016 season. National Pro Fastpitch players hail from the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand, representing the most accomplished and talented athletes in the sport of women’s softball.
