Teams, cities and stadiums
National Pro Fastpitch teams
| 2010 NPF Season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Pro Fastpitch |
| Sport | softball |
| Duration | June 9, 2010 – August 22, 2010 |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| 2010 NPF Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Charlotte Morgan Alabama |
| Picked by | USSSA Pride |
| Regular Season | |
| Ringor Cup (Best record) | Chicago Bandits |
| Cowles Cup | |
| Champions | USSSA Pride |
| Runners-up | Chicago Bandits |
| Finals MVP | Natasha Watley USSSA Pride |
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.
NPF announced the Rockford Thunder would not be playing in 2010 because ownership "failed to maintain NPF Team requirements to field a Team for the 2010 Season." It was also announced that the league was adding a new team named the Tennessee Diamonds which would begin play in 2010 in Blount County, Tenn. and have first rights to players on the Thunder's roster. [2]
Later it was revealed that the Diamonds would be moving operational headquarters from Alcoa, TN to Nashville, TN. The Alcoa owners did not fund the team or comply with other contractual commitments made to NPF. The team was operated by NPF in Nashville for 2010. [3]
NPF revealed that the Philadelphia Force would not participate in the league when the 2010 schedule was released without the Force. [4]
The 2010 NPF Senior Draft was held February 10, 2010, at Heritage Key Resort in Kissimmee, Florida. The NPF Draft was broadcast on MLB.com. USSSA Pride selected Charlotte Morgan of Alabama as the first overall pick.
The USSSA Florida Pride traded Monica Abbott and Shannon Doepking to the Tennessee Diamonds for Diamonds' pitcher Cat Osterman and Megan Willis. [5]
Jennie Finch announced she would retire at the end of the season. [6]
Source [7]
| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bandits | 50 | 30 | 20 | .600 | - |
| USSSA Pride | 48 | 28 | 20 | .583 | 1 |
| Akron Racers | 49 | 24 | 25 | .490 | 5.5 |
| Tennessee Diamonds | 49 | 16 | 33 | .327 | 13.5 |
The 2010 NPF Championship Series was held at McMurry Park in Sulphur, Louisiana August 26–29. All 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. [8]
| NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3) | NPF Championship (Best-of-3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Chicago Bandits | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Tennessee Diamonds | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | Chicago Bandits | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | USSSA Pride | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | USSSA Pride | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Akron Racers | 1 | |||||||
| 2010 NPF Semifinals Chicago Bandits defeat Tennessee Diamonds 2-0 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (CHI-TEN) | Location | |||
| 1 | August 26 | Chicago Bandits 2, Tennessee Diamonds 0 [9] | 1-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2 | August 27 | Chicago Bandits 4, Tennessee Diamonds 1 [10] | 2-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2010 NPF Semifinals USSSA Pride defeat Akron Racers 2–1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (USSA-AKR) | Location | |||
| 1 | August 26 | USSSA Pride 3, Akron Racers 2 [9] | 1-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2 | August 27 | USSSA Pride 2, Akron Racers 3 [10] | 1-1 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 3 | August 28 | USSSA Pride 6, Akron Racers 1 [11] | 2-1 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2010 NPF Championship Series USSSA Pride defeat Chicago Bandits 2-1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (CHI-USSSA) | Location | |||
| 1 | August 28 | Chicago Bandits 1, USSSA Pride 2 [12] | 0-1 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2 | August 29 | Chicago Bandits 7, USSSA Pride 2 [13] | 1-1 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 3 | August 29 | Chicago Bandits 2, USSSA Pride 7 [14] | 1-2 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| Team | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| USSSA Pride | Lauren Lappin | 2-3 2RBIs 2B |
| Chicago Bandits | Samantha Findlay | 2-3 2RBIs 2HRs |
| Team | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USSSA Pride | Cat Osterman (W) | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Chicago Bandits | Kristina Thorson (L) | 1.1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Chicago Bandits | Nikki Nemitz | 1.2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Chicago Bandits | Jessica Sallinger | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2010 NPF Championship Series MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Stats. |
| Natasha Watley [15] | USSSA Pride | .428 (9/21) 3RBIs 2B SB [16] |
Source: [17]
| Ringor Cup (Best regular season record) |
|---|
| Chicago Bandits |
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year Award | Stacy May | Chicago Bandits |
| Pitcher of the Year | Lisa Norris | Akron Racers |
| Rookie of the Year | Nikki Nemitz | Chicago Bandits |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Lisa Modglin | Akron Racers |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Rachel Folden | Chicago Bandits |
| Home Run Award (tie) | Rachel Folden | Chicago Bandits |
| Stacy May | Chicago Bandits | |
| Diamond Spike Award [note 1] | Lisa Modglin | Akron Racers |
| Coaching Staff of the Year | Chicago Bandits -- Mickey Dean, Mike Stuerwald, Maggie Johnson | |
| Jennie Finch Award [note 2] | Jennie Finch | Chicago Bandits |
| 2010 All-NPF Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Team | |
| Pitcher | Sarah Pauly | USSSA Pride | |
| Pitcher | Monica Abbott | Tennessee Diamonds | |
| Pitcher | Lisa Norris | Akron Racers | |
| Pitcher | Jennie Finch | Chicago Bandits | |
| Catcher | Rachel Folden | Chicago Bandits | |
| 1st Base | Samantha Findlay | Chicago Bandits | |
| 2nd Base | Chelsea Mesa | Tennessee Diamonds | |
| 3rd Base | Stacy May | Chicago Bandits | |
| Shortstop | Chelsea Spencer | Tennessee Diamonds | |
| Outfield | Lisa Modglin | Akron Racers | |
| Outfield | Emily Friedman | Chicago Bandits | |
| Outfield | Kelly Kretschman | USSSA Pride | |
| At-Large | Megan Gibson | Tennessee Diamonds | |
| At-Large | Tonya Callahan | USSSA Pride | |
| At-Large | Jackie Pasquerella | Akron Racers | |
| At-Large | Jessica Valis | Akron Racers | |
| At-Large | Natasha Watley | USSSA Pride | |
| At-Large | Megan Willis | USSSA Pride | |
Catherine Leigh Osterman is a retired American softball player. Osterman pitched on the United States women's national softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
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.
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 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 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 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 USSSA Pride is a professional softball team based in Viera, Florida and a former member of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). Founded in 2009, they previously played in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play their home games at USSSA Space Coast Complex.
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