Teams, cities and stadiums
National Pro Fastpitch teams
| 2009 NPF Season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Pro Fastpitch |
| Sport | softball |
| Duration | June 3, 2009 – August 16, 2009 |
| Number of teams | 5 |
| 2009 NPF Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Kaitlin Cochran Arizona State |
| Picked by | Akron Racers |
| Regular Season | |
| Majestic Cup (Best record) | Chicago Bandits |
| Cowles Cup | |
| Champions | Rockford Thunder |
| Runners-up | USSSA Pride |
| Finals MVP | Cat Osterman Rockford Thunder |
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.
In November 2008, the Rockford Thunder named as field manager James Sherwood, who replaced Javier Vela. Vela resigned after four seasons. [3]
Akron Racers named a new field manager, Barb Sherwood, who replaced Shonda Stanton. [4]
Before the 2009 season, Washington Glory ceased operations for financial reasons. Subsequently, NPF and United States Specialty Sports Association(USSSA) began a partnership, which resulted in the expansion team USSSA Pride inheriting the Glory's player contracts. The Pride named J.Y. Davis and Margaret Davis as coaches. [5]
The 2009 NPF Senior Draft was held February 10, 2009, at the Cambria Suites Akron-Canton Airport location. [6] Three-time First-Team All-American outfielder Kaitlin Cochran of Arizona State was selected first by the Akron Racers, after a draft-day trade. [7]
Source [8]
| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bandits | 39 | 27 | 12 | .692 | - |
| Akron Racers | 40 | 26 | 14 | .650 | 1.5 |
| Rockford Thunder | 40 | 19 | 21 | .475 | 8.5 |
| USSSA Pride | 40 | 16 | 24 | .400 | 11.5 |
| Philadelphia Force | 39 | 11 | 28 | .282 | 15 |
The 2009 NPF Championship Series was held at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio August 19–23. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The first seed played the fourth seed on a best-of-three series, and the second seed played the third seed in another best-of-three series. The winners played each other in a best-of-three series that determined the champion. [9] Day one of play was rained out, forcing the four teams to play doubleheaders on day two, August 21. [10]
| NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3) | NPF Championship (Best-of-3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Chicago Bandits | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | USSSA Pride | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | USSSA Pride | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Rockford Thunder | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Akron Racers | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Rockford Thunder | 2 | |||||||
| 2009 NPF Semifinals USSSA Pride defeat Chicago Bandits 2-1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (CHI-USSSA) | Location | |||
| 1 | August 21 | Chicago Bandits 1, USSSA Pride 0 [11] | 1-0 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| 2 | August 21 | Chicago Bandits 1, USSSA Pride 2 [12] | 1-1 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| 3 | August 22 | Chicago Bandits 0, USSSA Pride 2 [13] | 1-2 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| 2009 NPF Semifinals Rockford Thunder defeat Akron Racers 2-1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (AKR-ROC) | Location | |||
| 1 | August 21 | Akron Racers 1, Rockford Thunder 0 [14] | 1-0 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| 2 | August 21 | Akron Racers 1, Rockford Thunder 5 [15] | 1-1 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| 3 | August 22 | Akron Racers 2, Rockford Thunder 7 [16] | 1-2 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| 2009 NPF Championship Series Rockford Thunder defeat USSSA Pride 2-1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (ROC-USSSA) | Location | |||
| 1 | August 22 | Rockford Thunder 0, USSSA Pride 4 [17] | 0-1 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| 2 | August 23 | Rockford Thunder 2, USSSA Pride 0 [18] | 1-1 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| 3 | August 23 | Rockford Thunder 2, USSSA Pride 0 [19] | 2-1 | Akron, Ohio | |||
| Team | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Rockford Thunder | Chelsea Spencer | 1-2 RBI HR |
| USSSA Pride | Oli Keohohou | 1-2 |
| Team | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockford Thunder | Cat Osterman (W) | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 22 | 23 |
| USSSA Pride | Sarah Pauly (L) | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 |
| USSSA Pride | Monica Abbott | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 14 |
| 2009 NPF Championship Series MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Stats. |
| Cat Osterman | Rockford Thunder | 4-1 50Ks 0.22 ERA 2SHs 0.64 WHIP (12Hs+8BBs/31.0 IP) [20] |
Source: [21]
| Majestic Cup (Best regular season record) |
|---|
| Chicago Bandits |
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year Award | Crystl Bustos | Akron Racers |
| Pitcher of the Year | Eileen Canney | Chicago Bandits |
| Rookie of the Year | Tammy Williams | Chicago Bandits |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Tammy Williams | Chicago Bandits |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Crystl Bustos | Akron Racers |
| Coaching Staff of the Year | Akron Racers -- Barb Sherwood, Radara McHugh, Shawn Reis | |
| 2009 All-NPF Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Team | |
| Pitcher | Cat Osterman | Rockford Thunder | |
| Pitcher | Eileen Canney | Chicago Bandits | |
| Pitcher | Angela Tincher | Akron Racers | |
| Pitcher | Lisa Norris | Akron Racers | |
| Catcher | Rachel Folden | Chicago Bandits | |
| 1st Base | Samantha Findlay | Chicago Bandits | |
| 2nd Base | Kenora Posey | Akron Racers | |
| 3rd Base | Jackie Pasquerella | Akron Racers | |
| Shortstop | Tammy Williams | Chicago Bandits | |
| Outfield | Lisa Modglin | Akron Racers | |
| Outfield | Amber Patton | Chicago Bandits | |
| Outfield | Amanda Williams | Rockford Thunder | |
| At-Large | Crystl Bustos | Akron Racers | |
| At-Large | Oli Keohohou | USSSA Pride | |
| At-Large | Chelsea Spencer | Rockford Thunder | |
| At-Large | Kelly Kretschman | USSSA Pride | |
| At-Large | Jenna Rhodes | Rockford Thunder | |
| At-Large | Amber Jackson | USSSA Pride | |
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.
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 Carolina Diamonds, formerly known as the NPF Diamonds, Tennessee Diamonds, Rockford Thunder and Texas Thunder, was a women's softball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). They were known as the Texas Thunder from 2004 to 2006, the Rockford Thunder from 2007 to 2009, and the Tennessee Diamonds in 2010. They relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2012.
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 2015 NPF College Draft is the twelfth annual collegiate draft for NPF, and was held on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 5:30 pm CST at the CMA Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Draft order was determined by regular season standings from 2014, but subsequent trades and transactions altered the overall draft order. The draft was broadcast live on CBS Sports Network
The 2015 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 12th 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.
National Pro Fastpitch held two drafts before the 2016 season:
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 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 2009 NPF Senior Draft is the sixth annual NPF Draft. It was held February 17, 2009 7:00 PM EST, hosted by the Akron Racers at the Cambria Suites Akron-Canton Airport location for the 2009 season. It was streamed live on TheSoftballChannel.com. The first selection was Arizona State's Kaitlin Cochran, picked by the Akron Racers.Athletes are not allowed by the NCAA to sign professional contracts until their collegiate seasons have ended.
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 2019 NPF College Draft was the 16th annual collegiate draft for the National Pro Fastpitch. It took place April 15, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee at Acme Feed & Seed, a downtown entertainment venue. It was available for internet viewing via NPFTV, the league's streaming platform. The Chicago Bandits selected Kelly Barnhill from Florida with the first overall pick in the draft.
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