Bandits trump Racers 8-1 in game 1 of semifinal series, Diamonds vs Pride weather-delayed until Friday afternoon

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Semi-Final Series: Bandits vs Racers

Sulphur, LA - Monica Abbott who earlier in the day was named the NPF Co-Pitcher of the Year pitched her Chicago Bandits to a game 1 victory over the Akron Racers by an 8-1 score here Thursday night at the National Pro Fastpitch Championship Series at McMurry Park to take a 1-0 lead in the best of 3 semi-final series.

The Bandits trailed by 1 run after the 1st inning but quickly tied it up in the 2nd before taking the lead later in the 3rd frame. But it was Tammy Williams that put the icing on the cake with a 3 run blast in the top of the 7th to put the game away and give the Bandits the advantage after 1 game.

Abbott found her rhythm after being called for a few illegal pitches enroute to an 8 strikeout performance. "Once he (the plate umpire) told me what I was doing wrong I made the adjustments I needed to make", said Abbott. Abbott kept the Racer batters off balance the rest of the evening scattering just 3 hits over 7 innings. "My confidence coming in was good, the last time I faced them I threw a perfect game, so I felt that we had the momentum" added Abbott. Bandits skipper Darrick Brown was pleased with his team's focus and performance and commended his offense with supporting Abbott in the win, "we hit the ball really good tonight, any time you hit the ball like we did you put yourself in a position to win the ballgame" said Brown.

The Racers and the Bandits will go at it again tomorrow night in Game 2 of the Best out of 3 series at 8:30pm, the Racers need a win to stay in the race. "We will regroup and come in here tomorrow night ready to go, we can't look back" said Racers manager Jake Schumann.

Box Score

Semi-Final Series: Diamonds vs Pride

The USSSA Pride went up 4-0 going into the top of the 3rd inning thanks to a 2RBI double to the center field wall by Caitlin Lowe, which drove in 2 runs.

The game was called due to inclement weather (thunderstorm) and will resume Friday at 3:30pm CT.

How to Follow the Championships

Don't forget to follow National Pro Fastpitch on Twitter (@profastpitch) and Facebook. Also, the official hashtag on Twitter is #npfcs.

How to Watch the Games

Other fun stuff:

Check out Jennie Finch's video preview at ESPN.com.

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