2011 National Pro Fastpitch season

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.

2011 NPF Season
League	National Pro Fastpitch
Sport	softball
Duration	June 9, 2011 – August 14, 2011
Number of teams	4
TV partner(s)	ESPN
2011 NPF Draft
Top draft pick	Kelsi Dunne P Alabama
Picked by	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
NPF seasons
← 2010 2012 →

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	Osceola County Stadium and Champion Stadium

 

 

Akron

 

Chicago

 

USSSA Pride

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National Pro Fastpitch teams

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

Further information: 2011 NPF 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
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 USSSA Pride defeat NPF Diamonds 2–0
Game	Date	Score	Series (USSA-NPF)	Location
1	August 18 and 19	USSSA Pride 8, NPF Diamonds 7^[10]	1-0	Sulphur, Louisiana
2	August 19	USSSA Pride 7, 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 3RBIs 2B
USSSA Pride	Natasha Watley	2-4 2RBIs

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 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

1. The Diamond Spike Award is given to the player with the most stolen bases
2. The Jennie Finch award is given to the player who best exemplifies the character and qualities of its famous namesake, and who is considered to positively impact the game both on and off the field.

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

•  Sports portal

• List of professional sports leagues
• List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada

References

1. Graham Hays (20 August 2011). "NPF Diamonds fall short but prove they belong". espnW,con. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
2. "Islanders' Jake Schumann to coach in pro softball league during summer". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
3. "NPF Veteran Kiernan Tabbed as Diamonds Head Coach". National Fastpitch Coaches Association. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
4. "Brand New Ballpark For Bandits Women's Softball Team". CBS Chicago. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
5. . 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)
6. "Two Alabama Softball Players Selected in NPF Draft". RollTide. 19 March 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
7. "Summer 2011 - Standings". pointstreak.com. 14 August 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
8. "National Pro Fastpitch Championship Series to Begin Tonight". MLB.com. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
9. Rayburn (18 August 2011). . Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
10. Rayburn (19 August 2011). . Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
11. Rayburn (20 August 2011). . Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
12. Rayburn (21 August 2011). . Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
13. "Chicago Bandits win softball championship". Daily Herald. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
14. "Monica Abbott Game Log 2011 Playoffs". Stats.805stats.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
15. . 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)

External links

• ^[usurped]