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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.
| 2005 NPF Season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Pro Fastpitch |
| Sport | softball |
| Duration | June 2, 2005 - August 21, 2005 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| 2005 NPF Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Amy Harre Southern Illinois |
| Picked by | Chicago Bandits |
| Regular Season | |
| Regular Season Champions | Chicago Bandits |
| Cowles Cup | |
| Champions | Akron Racers |
| Runners-up | Chicago Bandits |
| Team | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| Akron Racers | Akron, Ohio | Firestone Stadium |
| Arizona Heat | Tucson, Arizona | Hi Corbett Field[1] |
| Chicago Bandits | Lisle, Illinois | Benedictine University Sports Complex[2] |
| New England Riptide | Lowell, Massachusetts | Martin Softball Field[3] |
| New York Juggernaut | Hempstead, New York | Hofstra University Softball Stadium[4] |
| Texas Thunder | League City, Texas | Wrigley Field at Big City Dreams Sports Park[5] |
National Pro Fastpitch teams
The expansion Chicago Bandits joined the league for the 2005 season.
The New York Juggernaut announced a new owner, John Schmitz of Long Island, NY. The team also introduced 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Julie Smith as their general manager and head coach.[6]
The Arizona Heat named Stacy Iveson as their 2005 field manager.[7]
NPF's telecast included ESPN2 broadcasting the NPF All-Star Game and the NPF Championship Game. Comcast Sports Net Chicago showed select Chicago Bandits games and Telecare televised certain Juggernaut games.[8]
College draft
The 2005 NPF Senior Draft was held February 7, 2005.[9] Amy Harre of Southern Illinois was selected first by the Chicago Bandits.[10]
Notable transactions
Various Olympians joined NPF after winning the gold medal in Softball at the 2004 Summer Olympics:
- The expansion Bandits' early signings included a number of Olympic gold medalists, among them three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Leah O’Brien-Amico and Jennie Finch.
- The Juggernaut signed 2004 Olympic gold medalist Natasha Watley.[11]
- The Arizona Heat signed gold medalist Jessica Mendoza. Mendoza joined other Heat US gold medalists Lovieanne Jung and Tairia Mims-Flowers[12]
- The Racers also signed players from the 2004 Olympic team: infielder Crystl Bustos, outfielder Kelly Kretschman, and catcher Jenny Topping.[13]
Source
| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bandits | 48 | 41 | 7 | .854 | - |
| Akron Racers | 46 | 36 | 10 | .783 | 4 |
| Texas Thunder | 47 | 35 | 12 | .745 | 5.5 |
| New York Juggernaut | 45 | 31 | 14 | .689 | 8.5 |
| Arizona Heat | 46 | 30 | 16 | .652 | 10 |
| New England Riptide | 48 | 25 | 23 | .521 | 16 |
The 2005 schedule included a 48-game regular season schedule for each NPF teams.
The California Sunbirds played a partial schedule. The Sunbirds hoped to return to NPF full-time, but never did. Games were on the schedule against international teams: Australia, Canada, China, Russia and Venezuela.
Potential expansion teams also appeared on the schedule. These were Stratford Brakettes, Phoenix Flames, SoCal Schutt Hurricanes, Peoria Outlaws, Illinois Cougars, St. Louis Saints and the Long Island Angels. Of these candidates, only the Brakettes ever became a full-time NPF member, for only one season in 2006.
All games against international teams and expansion candidates counted in the standings for the primary NPF teams.[14]
The 2005 NPF Championship Series was held at Benedictine University Sports Complex in Lisle, Illinois August 27 and 28. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a double-elimination bracket. The series matched the teams up in a single-elimination bracket.
| NPF Semifinals (Aug. 27) | NPF Championship (Aug 28) | ||||||||
| Chicago Bandits | 6 | ||||||||
| New York Juggernaut | 3 | ||||||||
| Chicago Bandits | 4 | ||||||||
| Akron Racers | 5 | ||||||||
| Akron Racers | 1 | ||||||||
| Texas Thunder | 0 | ||||||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 1 | August 27 | Chicago Bandits 6, New England Riptide 3[15] | Lisle, Illinois | ||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 2 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 2 | August 27 | Akron Racers 1, Texas Thunder 0[16] | Lisle, Illinois | ||||
| 2006 NPF Championship Series - Game 3 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | ||||
| 3 | August 28 | Akron Racers 5, Chicago Bandits 4 (8 innings)[17] | Lisle, Illinois | ||||
| Akron Racers win NPF Championship | |||||||
Championship Game
| Team | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Akron Racers | Oli Keohohou | 1-4 RBI 2B |
| Chicago Bandits | Selena Collins | 1-2 RBI 2B BB |
| Team | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Racers | Brandee McArthur | 1.1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Akron Racers | Jamie Southern | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Akron Racers | Radara McHugh (W) | 4.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 18 |
| Chicago Bandits | Lauren Bay-Regula | 4.2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 23 |
| Chicago Bandits | Jennie Finch (L) | 3.1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 16 |
| 2005 NPF Championship Series MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | |
The 2005 NPF All-Star Game was held August 28. The East All-Star team included players from New York Juggernaut, the New England Riptide, and the Akron Racers. The West All-Star team included players from Chicago Bandits, the Arizona Heat, and the Texas Thunder. The East won by a score of 2-1, and Iyhia McMichael of Akron Racers was chosen Most Valuable Player.[18]
| 2005 NPF ALL-STAR ROSTER - WEST TEAM[19] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | NPF Team | Position |
| Pitchers | ||
| Lauren Bay | Chicago Bandits | P |
| Lindsay Chouinard | Chicago Bandits | P |
| Jennie Finch | Chicago Bandits | P |
| Amanda Freed | Texas Thunder | P / 1B |
| Christa Williams | Texas Thunder | P |
| Catchers | ||
| Selena Collins | Chicago Bandits | C |
| Stacey Nuveman | Arizona Heat | C |
| Infield | ||
| Clare Burnum | Texas Thunder | 3B |
| Jaime Clark | Chicago Bandits | SS / UT |
| Vicky Galindo | Chicago Bandits | 3B |
| Lovieanne Jung | Arizona Heat | SS / 2B |
| Tairia Mims-Flowers | Arizona Heat | UT |
| Outfield | ||
| Jessica Mendoza | Arizona Heat | OF |
| Kim Nesloney | Texas Thunder | OF |
| Anne Steffan | Chicago Bandits | OF / 2B |
| Kristen Zaleski | Texas Thunder | OF |
| 2005 NPF ALL-STAR ROSTER - EAST TEAM[20] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | NPF Team | Position |
| Pitchers | ||
| Jodie Cox | New York Juggernaut | P / UT |
| Danielle Henderson | New England Riptide | P |
| Peaches James | New York Juggernaut | P / UT |
| Brandee McArthur | Akron Racers | P |
| Jamie Southern | Akron Racers | P / UT |
| Catchers | ||
| Ashley Courtney | New England Riptide | C / OF |
| Ryan Realmuto | New York Juggernaut | C |
| Jenny Topping | Akron Racers | C |
| Infield | ||
| Lyndsey Angus | New England Riptide | UT |
| Crystl Bustos | Akron Racers | 3B |
| Kristin Johnson | Akron Racers | SS |
| Carri Leto | New York Juggernaut | 2B |
| Natasha Watley | New York Juggernaut | SS |
| Kellie Wilkerson | New England Riptide | 1B /OF |
| Sarah Anderson | New England Riptide | 1B |
| Outfield | ||
| Iyhlia McMichael | Akron Racers | OF |
| Trena Peel | New York Juggernaut | OF |
| Nicole Trimboli | Akron Racers | 1B /OF |
Source:[21]
| Regular Season Champions |
|---|
| Chicago Bandits |
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year Award | Kristen Zaleski | Texas Thunder |
| Co-Pitchers of the Year | Jennie Finch | Chicago Bandits |
| Lauren Bay | Chicago Bandits | |
| Homerun Derby Champion | Stacey Nuveman | Arizona Heat |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Lisa Iancin | New England Riptide |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Crystl Bustos | Akron Racers |
| Co-Managers of the Year | Chicago Bandits -- Eugene Lenti and Mickey Dean | |
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