2011 National Pro Fastpitch season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DurationJune 9, 2011 – August 14, 2011
Teams4
2011 NPF Season
LeagueNational Pro Fastpitch
Sportsoftball
DurationJune 9, 2011 – August 14, 2011
Teams4
TV partnerESPN
2011 NPF Draft
Top draft pickKelsi Dunne P
Alabama
Picked byNPF Diamonds
Regular Season
Ringor Cup
(Best record)
USSSA Pride
Cowles Cup
ChampionsChicago Bandits
  Runners-upUSSSA Pride
Finals MVPMonica Abbott
Chicago Bandits
NPF seasons

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.

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 Osceola County Stadium and Champion Stadium

Milestones and events

The Tennessee Diamonds were rebranded as 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]

NPF Diamonds signed Tim Kiernan as head coach. Kiernan had previously coached professional softball with WPSL's Virginia Roadsters in 1999, NPF Tour Teams in 2001 and 2003, and the Sacramento Sunbirds in 2004.[3]

The Chicago Bandits moved into their new stadium 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 Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The NPF Draft was broadcast on MLB.com.[5] NPF Diamonds selected pitcher Kelsi Dunne of Alabama as the first overall pick.[6]

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 Jennie Finch and three-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
GameDateScoreSeries
(CHI-AKR)
Location
1August 18Chicago Bandits 8, Akron Racers 1[9]1-0Sulphur, Louisiana
2August 19Chicago Bandits 7, Akron Racers 4[10]2-0Sulphur, Louisiana
2011 NPF Semifinals
USSSA Pride defeat NPF Diamonds 2–0
GameDateScoreSeries
(USSA-NPF)
Location
1August 18 and 19USSSA Pride 8, NPF Diamonds 7[10]1-0Sulphur, Louisiana
2August 19USSSA Pride 7, NPF Diamonds 0[10]2-0Sulphur, Louisiana
2011 NPF Championship Series
Chicago Bandits defeat USSSA Pride 2-0
GameDateScoreSeries
(CHI-USSSA)
Location
1August 20Chicago Bandits 4, USSSA Pride 3, (8 innings)[11]1-0Sulphur, Louisiana
2August 21Chicago Bandits 10, USSSA Pride 3[12]2-0Sulphur, Louisiana

Championship Game

Team Top Batter Stats.
Chicago Bandits Nikki Nemitz 2-4 3RBIs 2B
USSSA Pride Natasha Watley 2-4 2RBIs
Team Pitcher IPHRERBBSO
Chicago Bandits Monica Abbott (W) 7.053335
USSSA Pride Jordan Taylor (L) 0.135410
USSSA Pride Sarah Pauly 2.243310
USSSA Pride Danielle Lawrie 3.002000


2011 NPF Championship Series MVP
Player Club Stats.
Monica Abbott[13] Chicago Bandits 3-0 30Ks 2.17 ERA SV 0.79 WHIP (16Hs+7BBs/29.0 IP)[14]

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

See also

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI