Teams, cities and stadiums
National Pro Fastpitch teams
| 2005 NPF Season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Pro Fastpitch |
| Sport | softball |
| Duration | June 2, 2005 - August 21, 2005 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| 2005 NPF Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Amy Harre Southern Illinois |
| Picked by | Chicago Bandits |
| Regular Season | |
| Regular Season Champions | Chicago Bandits |
| Cowles Cup | |
| Champions | Akron Racers |
| Runners-up | Chicago Bandits |
The 2005 National Pro Fastpitch season was the second season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The expansion Chicago Bandits joined the league for the 2005 season.
The New York Juggernaut announced a new owner, John Schmitz of Long Island, NY. The team also introduced 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Julie Smith as their general manager and head coach. [6]
The Arizona Heat named Stacy Iveson as their 2005 field manager. [7]
NPF's telecast included ESPN2 broadcasting the NPF All-Star Game and the NPF Championship Game. Comcast Sports Net Chicago showed select Chicago Bandits games and Telecare televised certain Juggernaut games. [8]
The 2005 NPF Senior Draft was held February 7, 2005. [9] Amy Harre of Southern Illinois was selected first by the Chicago Bandits. [10]
Various Olympians joined NPF after winning the gold medal in Softball at the 2004 Summer Olympics:
Source
| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bandits | 48 | 41 | 7 | .854 | - |
| Akron Racers | 46 | 36 | 10 | .783 | 4 |
| Texas Thunder | 47 | 35 | 12 | .745 | 5.5 |
| New York Juggernaut | 45 | 31 | 14 | .689 | 8.5 |
| Arizona Heat | 46 | 30 | 16 | .652 | 10 |
| New England Riptide | 48 | 25 | 23 | .521 | 16 |
The 2005 schedule included a 48-game regular season schedule for each NPF teams.
The California Sunbirds played a partial schedule. The Sunbirds hoped to return to NPF full-time, but never did. Games were on the schedule against international teams: Australia, Canada, China, Russia and Venezuela.
Potential expansion teams also appeared on the schedule. These were Stratford Brakettes, Phoenix Flames, SoCal Schutt Hurricanes, Peoria Outlaws, Illinois Cougars, St. Louis Saints and the Long Island Angels. Of these candidates, only the Brakettes ever became a full-time NPF member, for only one season in 2006.
All games against international teams and expansion candidates counted in the standings for the primary NPF teams. [14]
The 2005 NPF Championship Series was held at Benedictine University Sports Complex in Lisle, Illinois August 27 and 28. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a double-elimination bracket. The series matched the teams up in a single-elimination bracket.
| NPF Semifinals (Aug. 27) | NPF Championship (Aug 28) | ||||||||
| Chicago Bandits | 6 | ||||||||
| New York Juggernaut | 3 | ||||||||
| Chicago Bandits | 4 | ||||||||
| Akron Racers | 5 | ||||||||
| Akron Racers | 1 | ||||||||
| Texas Thunder | 0 | ||||||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 1 | August 27 | Chicago Bandits 6, New England Riptide 3 [15] | Lisle, Illinois | ||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 2 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 2 | August 27 | Akron Racers 1, Texas Thunder 0 [16] | Lisle, Illinois | ||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 3 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 3 | August 28 | Akron Racers 5, Chicago Bandits 4 (8 innings) [17] | Lisle, Illinois | ||||
| Akron Racers win NPF Championship | |||||||
| Team | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Akron Racers | Oli Keohohou | 1-4 RBI 2B |
| Chicago Bandits | Selena Collins | 1-2 RBI 2B BB |
| Team | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Racers | Brandee McArthur | 1.1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Akron Racers | Jamie Southern | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Akron Racers | Radara McHugh (W) | 4.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 18 |
| Chicago Bandits | Lauren Bay-Regula | 4.2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 23 |
| Chicago Bandits | Jennie Finch (L) | 3.1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 16 |
| 2005 NPF Championship Series MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | |
The 2005 NPF All-Star Game was held August 28. The East All-Star team included players from New York Juggernaut, the New England Riptide, and the Akron Racers. The West All-Star team included players from Chicago Bandits, the Arizona Heat, and the Texas Thunder. The East won by a score of 2-1, and Iyhia McMichael of Akron Racers was chosen Most Valuable Player. [18]
| 2005 NPF ALL-STAR ROSTER - WEST TEAM [19] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | NPF Team | Position |
| Pitchers | ||
| Lauren Bay | Chicago Bandits | P |
| Lindsay Chouinard | Chicago Bandits | P |
| Jennie Finch | Chicago Bandits | P |
| Amanda Freed | Texas Thunder | P / 1B |
| Christa Williams | Texas Thunder | P |
| Catchers | ||
| Selena Collins | Chicago Bandits | C |
| Stacey Nuveman | Arizona Heat | C |
| Infield | ||
| Clare Burnum | Texas Thunder | 3B |
| Jaime Clark | Chicago Bandits | SS / UT |
| Vicky Galindo | Chicago Bandits | 3B |
| Lovieanne Jung | Arizona Heat | SS / 2B |
| Tairia Mims-Flowers | Arizona Heat | UT |
| Outfield | ||
| Jessica Mendoza | Arizona Heat | OF |
| Kim Nesloney | Texas Thunder | OF |
| Anne Steffan | Chicago Bandits | OF / 2B |
| Kristen Zaleski | Texas Thunder | OF |
| 2005 NPF ALL-STAR ROSTER - EAST TEAM [20] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | NPF Team | Position |
| Pitchers | ||
| Jodie Cox | New York Juggernaut | P / UT |
| Danielle Henderson | New England Riptide | P |
| Peaches James | New York Juggernaut | P / UT |
| Brandee McArthur | Akron Racers | P |
| Jamie Southern | Akron Racers | P / UT |
| Catchers | ||
| Ashley Courtney | New England Riptide | C / OF |
| Ryan Realmuto | New York Juggernaut | C |
| Jenny Topping | Akron Racers | C |
| Infield | ||
| Lyndsey Angus | New England Riptide | UT |
| Crystl Bustos | Akron Racers | 3B |
| Kristin Johnson | Akron Racers | SS |
| Carri Leto | New York Juggernaut | 2B |
| Natasha Watley | New York Juggernaut | SS |
| Kellie Wilkerson | New England Riptide | 1B /OF |
| Sarah Anderson | New England Riptide | 1B |
| Outfield | ||
| Iyhlia McMichael | Akron Racers | OF |
| Trena Peel | New York Juggernaut | OF |
| Nicole Trimboli | Akron Racers | 1B /OF |
Source: [21]
| Regular Season Champions |
|---|
| Chicago Bandits |
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year Award | Kristen Zaleski | Texas Thunder |
| Co-Pitchers of the Year | Jennie Finch | Chicago Bandits |
| Lauren Bay | Chicago Bandits | |
| Homerun Derby Champion | Stacey Nuveman | Arizona Heat |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Lisa Iancin | New England Riptide |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Crystl Bustos | Akron Racers |
| Co-Managers of the Year | Chicago Bandits -- Eugene Lenti and Mickey Dean | |
National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup.
Sarah Jo Pauly is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired 7-time professional All-Star, right-handed softball pitcher and coach originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She played college softball at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi from 2002-2005 and owns virtually all the pitching records. She is the Big South Conference career strikeouts, ERA, shutouts, WHIP, strikeout ratio, no-hitters (9) and perfect games (2) leader in just three seasons. She joined the National Pro Fastpitch in 2006 and as a rookie earned Pitcher of The Year and currently holds NPF records for the most innings pitched, games played and games started through her 11 seasons as arguably the most successful undrafted player in league history. She is one of five NCAA Division I pitchers to win 100 games, strikeout 1,000 batters, maintain a sub-1.00 ERA and average double digit strikeouts for her entire career.
The 2013 NPF Draft is the tenth annual NPF Draft. It was held April 1, 2013 8:00 PM ET in Nashville, TN at the Ford Theatre at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It was broadcast on ESPN3. The first selection was LSU's Rachele Fico, picked by the Akron Racers.
The 2013 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 10th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2012 National Pro Fastpitch season was the ninth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). The 2012 season is especially notable because due to weather and scheduling issues, the NPF Championship Series was not completed and no Cowles Cup champion was named.
The 2011 National Pro Fastpitch season was the eighth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2010 National Pro Fastpitch season was the seventh season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2009 National Pro Fastpitch season was the sixth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2008 National Pro Fastpitch season was the fifth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2007 National Pro Fastpitch season was the fourth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2006 National Pro Fastpitch season was the third season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2004 National Pro Fastpitch season was the first season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2003 National Pro Fastpitch season was the final year before the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL) relaunched with league play in 2004. In November 2002, WPSL announced that it was taking a new name, National Pro Fastpitch, and that it would spend 2003 as a year of touring before resuming competitive play. From 1997 to 2002, the league operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL).
The San Antonio Armadillos were a women's professional softball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They were part of the founding roster of National Pro Fastpitch teams in 2004.
The Colorado Altitude were a women's professional softball team based in Littleton, Colorado. They were part of the founding roster of National Pro Fastpitch teams in 2004.
The 2016 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 13th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2017 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 14th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2018 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 15th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2019 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 16th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
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