2011 National Pro Fastpitch season
| 2011 NPF Season | |
|---|---|
| League | NPF Diamonds |
| Regular Season | |
| Ringor Cup (Best record) | USSSA Pride |
| Cowles Cup | |
| Champions | Chicago Bandits |
| Runners-up | USSSA Pride |
| Finals MVP | Monica Abbott Chicago Bandits |
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.
Teams, cities and stadiums
| Team | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| Akron Racers | Akron, Ohio | Firestone Stadium |
| Chicago Bandits | Rosemont, Illinois (Chicago Area) | Ballpark at Rosemont
|
NPF Diamonds
|
Nashville, Tennessee | Various |
| USSSA Florida Pride | Kissimmee, Florida | Champion Stadium
|
National Pro Fastpitch teams
Milestones and events
The
NPF Diamonds for the 2011 season. The Diamonds were a "traveling team," playing each of their five 'home stands' at five different venues, from Calgary, Alberta to Lexington, North Carolina.[1]
Akron Racers named as their coach Jake Schumann, who was also with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball coach.[2]
Sacramento Sunbirds in 2004.[3]
The
Ballpark at Rosemont. It is the first ballpark specifically built for a women's professional softball team, and its address, 27 Jennie Finch Way, pays tribute to one of their most famous players.[4]
Player acquisition
College draft
The 2011 NPF Senior Draft was held March 16, 2011, in
Notable transactions
League standings
Source [7]
| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USSSA Pride | 39 | 30 | 9 | .769 | - |
| Akron Racers | 39 | 22 | 17 | .564 | 8 |
| Chicago Bandits | 40 | 20 | 20 | .500 | 10.5 |
NPF Diamonds
|
38 | 6 | 32 | .158 | 23.5 |
NPF Championship
The 2011 NPF Championship Series was held at McMurry Park in Sulphur, Louisiana August 18–21. All four teams qualify 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.
The games were broadcast on ESPN2, with color analysis by former NPF player and two-time Olympian
Leah O'Brien-Amico. Bernie Guenther called the play-by-play.[8]
| NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3) | NPF Championship (Best-of-3) | ||||||||
| 1 | USSSA Pride | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | NPF Diamonds
| 0 | |||||||
| 1 | USSSA Pride | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | Chicago Bandits | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Akron Racers | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | Chicago Bandits | 2 | |||||||
| 2011 NPF Semifinals Chicago Bandits defeat Akron Racers 2-0 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (CHI-AKR) |
Location | |||
| 1 | August 18 | Chicago Bandits 8, Akron Racers 1[9] | 1-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2 | August 19 | Chicago Bandits 7, Akron Racers 4[10] | 2-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2011 NPF Semifinals NPF Diamonds 2–0
| |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (USSA-NPF) |
Location | |||
| 1 | August 18 and 19 | NPF Diamonds 7[10] |
1-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2 | August 19 | NPF Diamonds 0[10] |
2-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2011 NPF Championship Series Chicago Bandits defeat USSSA Pride 2-0 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (CHI-USSSA) |
Location | |||
| 1 | August 20 | Chicago Bandits 4, USSSA Pride 3, (8 innings)[11] | 1-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
| 2 | August 21 | Chicago Bandits 10, USSSA Pride 3[12] | 2-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana | |||
Championship Game
| Team | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bandits | Nikki Nemitz | 2-4 3 RBIs 2B
|
| USSSA Pride | Natasha Watley | 2-4 2 RBIs
|
| Team | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bandits | Monica Abbott (W) | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| USSSA Pride | Jordan Taylor (L) | 0.1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| USSSA Pride | Sarah Pauly | 2.2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| USSSA Pride | Danielle Lawrie | 3.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 NPF Championship Series MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Stats. |
| Monica Abbott[13] | Chicago Bandits | 3-0 30 |
Annual awards
Source:[15]
| Ringor Cup (Best regular season record) |
|---|
| USSSA Pride |
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year Award | Jessica Mendoza | USSSA Pride |
| Pitcher of the Year (tie) | Monica Abbott | Chicago Bandits |
| Cat Osterman | USSSA Pride | |
| Rookie of the Year | Alisa Goler | Chicago Bandits |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Bianca Mejia | NPF Diamonds
|
| Offensive Player of the Year | Natasha Watley | USSSA Pride |
| Home Run Award | Alisa Goler | Chicago Bandits |
| Diamond Spike Award[note 1] | Natasha Watley | USSSA Pride |
| Coaching Staff of the Year | USSSA Pride -- Tim Walton (HEAD COACH) and Beth Torina (ASSISTANT COACH) | |
| Jennie Finch Award[note 2] | Jessica Mendoza | USSSA Pride |
Award notes
| 2011 All-NPF Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Team | |
| Pitcher | Monica Abbott | Chicago Bandits | |
| Pitcher | Cat Osterman | USSSA Pride | |
| Pitcher | Kristina Thorson | Akron Racers | |
| Pitcher | Danielle Lawrie | USSSA Pride | |
| Catcher | Samantha Marder | Akron Racers | |
| 1st Base | Nicole Trimboli | Akron Racers | |
| 2nd Base | Ashley Charters | USSSA Pride | |
| 3rd Base | Andrea Duran | USSSA Pride | |
| Shortstop | Natasha Watley | USSSA Pride | |
| Outfield | Megan Wiggins | Chicago Bandits | |
| Outfield | Jessica Mendoza | USSSA Pride | |
| Outfield | Alyssa Haber | USSSA Pride | |
| At-Large | Danielle Zymkowitz | Chicago Bandits | |
| At-Large | Shannon Doepking | Chicago Bandits | |
| At-Large | Brittany McKinney | NPF Diamonds
| |
| At-Large | Charlotte Morgan | USSSA Pride | |
| At-Large | Bianca Mejia | NPF Diamonds
| |
See also
- List of professional sports leagues
- List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada
References
- ^ Graham Hays (20 August 2011). "NPF Diamonds fall short but prove they belong". espnW,con. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "Islanders' Jake Schumann to coach in pro softball league during summer". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "NPF Veteran Kiernan Tabbed as Diamonds Head Coach". National Fastpitch Coaches Association. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ "Brand New Ballpark For Bandits Women's Softball Team". CBS Chicago. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "NPF Holds 2011 Senior Draft Live Presented by MIKEN". www.profastpitch.com. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Two Alabama Softball Players Selected in NPF Draft". RollTide. 19 March 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ "Summer 2011 - Standings". pointstreak.com. 14 August 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "National Pro Fastpitch Championship Series to Begin Tonight". MLB.com. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ Rayburn (18 August 2011). "8-18-2011 NPF Championship Thursday". Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ a b c Rayburn (19 August 2011). "8-19-2011 NPF Championship Friday". Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ Rayburn (20 August 2011). "8-20-2011 NPF Championship Saturday". Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ Rayburn (21 August 2011). "8-21-2011 Chicago Wins NPF Championship". Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ "Chicago Bandits win softball championship". Daily Herald. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ "Monica Abbott Game Log 2011 Playoffs". Stats.805stats.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ^ "NPF Announces Award Winners". www.profastpitch.com. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)