The USSSA Florida Pride concluded its regular season this past weekend, taking three out of four games from the Akron Racers at the UCF Softball Complex. The Pride finished the regular season at 28-20 and is the No. 2 seed in the NPF Championship Series this weekend in Sulphur, Louisiana.

The Pride defeated Akron in the first game of a best-of-three series on Thursday. The winner advances to the championship round against either the Tennessee Diamonds or regular-season champion Chicago Bandits.

The Pride received a big boost last weekend as they got back franchise pitcher Cat Osterman, who appeared in two of last weekend’s games against Akron as a reliever. It marked the first time Osterman had pitched since getting injured in the gold medal game of the World Championships on July 2 in Venezuela. The Pride will have Osterman, along with Sarah Pauly, who was second in NPF this season in earned runs average with 1.98, and rookie Danielle Lawrie this weekend. Lawrie was part of the University of Washington’s NCAA National Championship in 2009.

On offense, the Pride will depend on Natasha Watley, who hit .402 on the season, and Jessica Mendoza to lead the way. Mendoza came back to play competitively this season after taking a year off because of the birth of her son. She came back strong in 2010, hitting .296 with five home runs and 22 RBIs.

The Pride is coached by Tim Walton (Florida), and assistants Beth McClendon (Florida International) and Renee Luers-Gillispie (UCF).

This weekend’s NPF Championship Series marks the end of the road for legendary softball player Jennie Finch, who announced last month her intentions to retire from the sport following the season. Finch will hope to go out on top with the Bandits, who are led by star pitcher Monica Abbott. Abbott finished the regular season tops in the league with a 0.79 ERA and 146 strikeouts. She was part of the Pride’s runner-up team a year ago as USSSA fell to Osterman and the Rockford Thunder in the championship series. Abbott and Osterman were traded for each other during the offseason.

– More USSSA Florida Pride –

History of professional softball in Central Florida at USSSA Florida Pride

Visit ProFastpitch.com to following along to the National Pro Fastpitch postseason.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –