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NPF champs return

Sports

Friday, 10 June 2011 12:17

Photo/Special to the News-Gazette

Jessica Mendoza of the USSSA Florida Pride connects during a National Professional Fastpitch softball game last season, when the Pride won the league championship.

Chicago is the foe today on ESPN2

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
The defending National Professional Fastpitch champion USSSA Florida Pride meets rival Chicago today at 3 p.m. at ESPN Wide World of Sports for a contest that will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN2.

The teams will meet again at 5:30 p.m. as part of a double header.
The Pride, based in Kissimmee, opened a 39-game regular season slate Friday against the Bandits. The Pride will play all of its home games at the ESPN complex save for a pair of games July 16 at Space Coast Stadium in Viera.
Two other NPF franchises, the Akron Racers and the league-owned NPF Diamonds, who also will operate from Kissimmee, will begin play this weekend.
The Pride boasts an all-star lineup that contains eight Olympians, led by former University of Texas standout Cat Osterman, a two-time Olympics medalist who is considered the best pitcher in the world. Osterman, 6-2, missed most of last season’s NPF schedule because of injuries and international commitments, but she returned for the playoffs, where she shut down the Bandits for the Cowles Cup championship trophy.
Other Olympians on the Pride roster include outfielders Jessica Mendoza, Caitlin Lowe, Kelly Kretschman and infielders Natasha Watley, Lauren Lappin, Andrea Duran and Danielle Lawry.
Osterman will face former Pride pitcher Monica Abbott in today’s 3 p.m. contest.
Joining Osterman on the mound is Sarah Pauley, the team’s workhorse in 2010, when she won 15 games, including a pair of playoff victories. Danielle Spaulding, Danielle Lawrie and Jordan Taylor, a draft pick from Michigan, round out the pitching staff.
Melissa Roth and Megan Willis will handle the catching chores for the Pride.
The team added Samantha Findlay, who had 11 homers for the Bandits last year, to its infield. Tonya Callahan and Ashley Charters join the infielders. Francisca Enea and Alissa Haber add outfield depth.
Florida Coach Tim Walton will be assisted by Beth Torina.
With the demise of softball from the 2012 Olympics, most NPF players will skip international tournaments this year and concentrate on the league games. In the past, many Pride players missed more than half of the season due to international commitments.
Mendoza, who has covered the NCAA Softball World Series for ESPN, said NPF softball is the best.
“I’ve never played better competition in my life than I did (last) summer. Hands down, better than the Olympics,” she said.
Lappin said that it is important for the players to concentrate on NPF play, especially after the U.S. Olympic Committee cut financing to softball and eliminated stipends for the national team players.
“Times have changed and unfortunately we’re no longer in the Olympic program, but I think this (the NPF) is going to be the future of softball,” Lappin said.
NPF Commissioner Cheri Kempf said that the sport should thrive with the players fully dedicated to the league.
“I think the country is ready to watch women compete as long as they are competing at a high level,” she said.
The Diamonds will host Akron for a four-game series at the Fortune Road Complex beginning Friday at 7:30 p.m. The teams will play a double header Saturday starting at 5 p.m. and conclude the series June 19 at 6 p.m.
Former Spruce Creek and University of Alabama standout Kelsi Dunne pitches for the Diamonds.
Tickets for all regular season games are available at usssapride.com.