Teams, cities and stadiums
National Pro Fastpitch teams
| 2006 NPF Season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Pro Fastpitch |
| Sport | softball |
| Duration | May 31, 2006 - August 22, 2006 |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| 2006 NPF Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Cat Osterman Texas |
| Picked by | Connecticut Brakettes |
| Regular Season | |
| Majestic Cup (Best record) | Chicago Bandits |
| Cowles Cup | |
| Champions | New England Riptide |
| Runners-up | Connecticut Brakettes |
| Finals MVP | Jocelyn Forest New England Riptide |
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.
2004 NPF champion New York Juggernaut and the California Sunbirds (who played a partial schedule in 2005) were not on the 2006 schedule and ceased operations.
In September 2005, NPF announced the addition of the expansion team Philadelphia Force, owned by brothers William M. and John M. Thompson. The Force named Patriots Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as their home stadium. One of their first signings included 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Natasha Watley. [7] The Force did play at ECTB Stadium at Bicentennial Park in Allentown. [5]
NPF announced that Patrick J. Linden had become their new president. An attorney, Linden has experience as counsel for the NPF owner's group. [8]
The 2006 NPF Senior Draft was held 138, 2006 via conference call. Cat Osterman of Texas was selected first by the Connecticut Brakettes. Osterman opted not to sign with the Brakettes, becoming a free agent at the end of the 2006 season.
Sarah Pauly signed her initial NPF contract, as the first player signed by the Connecticut Brakettes. In 2005 as a member of the amateur Stratford Brakettes, Pauly pitched against NPF teams. [9]
Source
| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bandits | 42 | 30 | 12 | .714 | - |
| Connecticut Brakettes | 42 | 27 | 15 | .643 | 3 |
| Akron Racers | 46 | 29 | 17 | .630 | 3 |
| New England Riptide | 41 | 24 | 17 | .585 | 5.5 |
| Texas Thunder | 48 | 21 | 27 | .438 | 12 |
| Arizona Heat | 48 | 20 | 28 | .417 | 13 |
| Philadelphia Force | 42 | 14 | 28 | .333 | 16 |
NPF's 2006 schedule was 48 games for each team, including seven four-game home series and five four-game road series. On the schedule were games against national teams from Canada, China and Chinese Taipei, as well as Denso Japan, a professional team. The USA Softball Team, World University Games Team and the Michigan Ice, a hopeful for NPF membership, were also scheduled as opponents. The results counted in the NPF's team records. [10]
The 2006 NPF Championship Series was held at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field in Stratford, Connecticut August 26 and 28. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a single-elimination bracket. The championship game was scheduled for August 27, but rain forced it to be moved to August 28.
| NPF Semifinals (Aug. 26) | NPF Championship (Aug 28) | ||||||||
| Chicago Bandits | 0 | ||||||||
| New England Riptide | 1 | ||||||||
| New England Riptide | 2 | ||||||||
| Connecticut Brakettes | 0 | ||||||||
| Connecticut Brakettes | 1 | ||||||||
| Akron Racers | 0 | ||||||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 1 | August 26 | Chicago Bandits 0, New England Riptide 1 (9 innings) [11] | Stratford, Connecticut | ||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 2 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 2 | August 26 | Connecticut Brakettes 1, Akron Racers 0 (8 innings) [12] | Stratford, Connecticut | ||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 3 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 3 | August 28 | New England Riptide 2, Connecticut Brakettes 0 [13] | Stratford, Connecticut | ||||
| New England Riptide win NPF Championship | |||||||
| Team | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| New England Riptide | Lyndsey Angus | 2-3 RBI K |
| Stratford Brakettes | Kellie Wilkerson | 1-2 BB K |
| Team | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Riptide | Jocelyn Forest (W) | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 26 | 28 |
| Stratford Brakettes | Sarah Pauly (L) | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 29 |
| 2006 NPF Championship Series MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Stats. |
| Jocelyn Forest | New England Riptide | 2-0 14Ks 0.00 ERA 2SHs 0.62 WHIP (7Hs+3BBs/16.0 IP) [14] [15] |
Source: [16]
| Majestic Cup (Best regular season record) |
|---|
| Chicago Bandits |
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year Award | Lyndsey Angus | New England Riptide |
| Pitcher of the Year | Sarah Pauly | Connecticut Brakettes |
| Rookie of the Year | Stacy May | Chicago Bandits |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Carri Leto | Philadelphia Force |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Jessica Merchant | Connecticut Brakettes |
| Managers of the Year | Chicago Bandits -- Eugene Lenti and Mickey Dean | |
| 2006 All-NPF Team [17] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Team | |
| Pitcher | Sarah Pauly | Connecticut Brakettes | |
| Pitcher | Jocelyn Forest | New England Riptide | |
| Pitcher | Christa Williams | Texas Thunder | |
| Pitcher | Amy Harre | Chicago Bandits | |
| Catcher | Selena Collins | Chicago Bandits | |
| 1st Base | Jenna Hall | Philadelphia Force | |
| 2nd Base | Carri Leto | Philadelphia Force | |
| 3rd Base | Stacy May | Chicago Bandits | |
| Shortstop | Jessica Merchant | Connecticut Brakettes | |
| Utility | Lyndsey Angus | New England Riptide | |
| Outfield | Iyhia McMichael | Akron Racers | |
| Outfield | Kelly Kretschman | Connecticut Brakettes | |
| Outfield | Anne Steffan | Chicago Bandits | |
| At-Large | Kristen Zaleski | Texas Thunder | |
| At-Large | Jackie Pasquerella | New England Riptide | |
| At-Large | Nichole Thompson | Arizona Heat | |
| At-Large | Oli Keohohou | Akron Racers | |
| At-Large | Radara McHugh | Akron Racers | |
| At-Large | Jaime Clark | Chicago Bandits | |
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 2014 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 11th 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. Play began on May 30 in Salisbury, Maryland, between the Pennsylvania Rebellion and the USSSA Pride.
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 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 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 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 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.
The 2020 NPF College Draft was to have been the 17th annual collegiate draft for the National Pro Fastpitch. It was scheduled to take place on March 30, 2020 in Rosemont, Illinois, however, on March 16, 2020, the draft was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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