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.
The Chicago Bandits were a women's professional softball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington Glory in the final game of the championship series. The team won their second NPF championship following the 2011 season when they won the championship series two games to none over the USSSA Pride. Following the 2015 season the team won its third NPF championship defeating the USSSA Pride two games to none. They played their home games at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois. The team folded in 2021 when the NPF disbanded.
Natasha Renee Watley is an American, former collegiate four-time first-team All-American, two-time medal winning Olympian, retired seven-time pro-All-Star softball player. Watley played college softball at UCLA, and helped the Bruins win a national championship. She represented the United States women's national softball team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She won a gold medal, and again at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and won a silver medal.
Christa Lee Williams-Yates is an American, former collegiate three-time All-American, two-time Gold Medal winning Olympian, retired three-time pro All-Star, right-handed hitting softball pitcher originally from Houston, Texas. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where she received a gold medal with the American team. Four years later at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she won her second gold medal. Williams-Yates began her college career with the UCLA Bruins in 1997 before transferring to play softball with the Texas Longhorns (1998–99). Joining in its inaugural year, she played three years in the National Pro Fastpitch with the Texas Thunder (2004–06) and still ranks top-10 in career wins, strikeouts, ERA among other records. In 2018, Williams-Yates was named to the USA National Softball Hall of Fame. Currently, Williams-Yates teaches high school softball in Kingwood, Texas.
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 2000 WPSL Drafts were held on December 4, 1999, at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida during the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Convention for the 2000 season. Draft Day 2000 actually featured three drafts:
The 2006 NPF Senior Draft is the third annual NPF Draft. It was held February 15, 2006 to assign division I college players to pro teams for 2006 season. Athletes are not allowed by the NCAA to sign professional contracts until their collegiate seasons have ended. The first selection was Texas's Cat Osterman, picked by the Connecticut Brakettes. Osterman chose not to sign with the Brakettes. The Brakettes' rights to her expired after the 2006, after which she signed with the Rockford Thunder.
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.
