2008 National Pro Fastpitch season

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.

2008 NPF Season
LeagueNational Pro Fastpitch
Sportsoftball
DurationMay 29, 2008 – August 17, 2008
Number of teams6
2008 NPF Draft
Top draft pickKatie Burkhart
Arizona State
Picked byPhiladelphia Force
Regular Season
Majestic Cup
(Best record)		Chicago Bandits
Cowles Cup
ChampionsChicago Bandits
  Runners-upWashington Glory
Finals MVPNicole Trimboli
Chicago Bandits

Teams, cities and stadiums
Team City Stadium
Akron Racers Akron, Ohio Firestone Stadium
Chicago Bandits Elgin, Illinois (Chicago Area) Judson University
New England Riptide Lowell, Massachusetts Martin Softball Field[1]
Philadelphia Force Allentown, Pennsylvania ECTB Stadium
Rockford Thunder Roscoe, Illinois Thunder Park[2]
Washington Glory Dulles, Virginia[3] Westfield Sports Complex[4]
National Pro Fastpitch teams

Milestones and events

The Chicago Bandits started their first season in Elgin, Illinois at Judson University. The original plans were for the Bandits to play at Judson temporarily while a potential $5 million softball stadium was built nearby.[5] Those plans did not come to fruition, and the Bandits eventually moved to a new ballpark in Rosemont, Illinois for 2011.[6]

Team NPF and Bound-4-Beijing Tour

As part of the USA Softball Team Bound 4 Beijing Tour in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, two games were scheduled between the US Olympic softball team and a team of NPF All-Stars. The announced roster for Team NPF was:[7]

Team NPF
Name Position NPF Team
Kristen ButlerCAkron Racers
Norelle DicksonIFAkron Racers
Veronica WootsonIFAkron Racers
Jaime ClarkIFChicago Bandits
Kristina ThorsonPChicago Bandits
Jocelyn ForestPNew England Riptide
Carri Leto MartinIFNew England Riptide
Shanel ScottOFNew England Riptide
Sharonda McDonaldOFPhiladelphia Force
Kellie WilkersonOFPhiladelphia Force
Kristen ZaleskiOFRockford Thunder
Desiree SerranoPWashington Glory
Amber JacksonIFWashington Glory
Savannah BrownCRockford Thunder
Tonya CallahanIFRockford Thunder
Megan Gibson1B/PPhiladelphia Force
Katie BurkhartPPhiladelphia Force

NPF veterans Monica Abbott, Cat Osterman, Kelly Kretschman, Vicky Galindo and Jennie Finch were on the Olympic team roster. Team NPF was coached by Oklahoma head softball coach Patty Gasso and private instructor Cindy Bristow. Bristow was head coach and assistant general manager of the Georgia Pride, which later became the Florida Wahoos, a team in the WPSL.[8]

The Olympic team beat Team NPF in both games,[9] on June 6 by a score of 10-8[10] and on June 14 by a score of 6-0.[11]

On the same tour, the US Olympic team beat the Washington Glory 2-0 on May 10,[12] and beat the Akron Racers 6-2 on July 22.[13]

Player acquisition

College draft
Further information: 2008 NPF Draft

The 2008 NPF Senior Draft was held February 18, 2008 via conference call. First-Team All-American pitcher Katie Burkhart of Arizona State was selected first by the Philadelphia Force.[14]

League standings

Source [15]

Team GP W L Pct. GB
Chicago Bandits 48 32 16 .667 -
Philadelphia Force 48 31 17 .646 1
Washington Glory 48 30 18 .625 2
New England Riptide 48 22 26 .458 10
Akron Racers 48 19 29 .396 13
Rockford Thunder 48 18 30 .375 14

In each NPF team's 48-game schedule were games against international teams, which counted in the standings. Chinese Taipei, Venezuela, Canada and the Netherlands each played at least two series against NPF teams.[16]

NPF Championship

The 2008 NPF Championship Series was held at Sunset Point Park in Kimberly, Wisconsin August 21-4. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a double-elimination bracket.[17]

  August 22 and 23, 2008 August 23, 2008 August 24, 2008
                             
1 Chicago Bandits 4  
4 New England Riptide 1  
  W1 Chicago Bandits 5  
  W2 Philadelphia Force 1  
2 Philadelphia Force 7
3 Washington Glory 4  
  W4 Chicago Bandits 6
  W5 Washington Glory 4
L1 New England Riptide 2  
L2 Washington Glory 11  
  W3 Washington Glory 3
  L4 Philadelphia Force 2  
2008 NPF Championship Series - Game 1
#1 seed vs. #4 seed
GameDateScoreLocation
1August 22Chicago Bandits 4, New England Riptide 1[18]Kimberly, Wisconsin
Chicago Bandits advance; Riptide to losers bracket
2008 NPF Championship Series - Game 2
#2 seed vs. #3 seed
GameDateScoreLocation
2August 22Philadelphia Force 7, Washington Glory 4[18]Kimberly, Wisconsin
Philadelphia Force advance; Glory to losers bracket
2008 NPF Championship Series - Game 3
Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
GameDateScoreLocation
3August 23Washington Glory 11, New England Riptide 2[19]Kimberly, Wisconsin
Glory eliminate Riptide
2008 NPF Championship Series - Game 4
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
GameDateScoreLocation
4August 23Chicago Bandits 5, Philadelphia Force 1[20]Kimberly, Wisconsin
Bandits to final; Force to losers bracket
2008 NPF Championship Series - Game 5
Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser
GameDateScoreLocation
5August 23Washington Glory 3, Philadelphia Force 2[21]Kimberly, Wisconsin
Glory to final; Force eliminated
2008 NPF Championship Series - Game 6
Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner
GameDateScoreLocation
6August 24Chicago Bandits 6, Washington Glory4[22]Kimberly, Wisconsin
Chicago Bandits win NPF Championship
2008 NPF Championship Series MVP
Player Club Stats.
Nicole Trimboli Chicago Bandits .555 (5/9) 5RBIs 2HRs SB[23]

Annual awards

Source:[24]

Majestic Cup
(Best regular season record)
Chicago Bandits
Award Player Team
Player of the Year Award Stacy May Chicago Bandits
Pitcher of the Year Katie Burkhart Philadelphia Force
Rookie of the Year Rachel Folden Chicago Bandits
Defensive Player of the Year Kristen Butler Akron Racers
Offensive Player of the Year Jaime Clark Chicago Bandits
Coaching Staff of the Year Chicago Bandits—Head Coach Mickey Dean, assistant coaches Thomas Macera and Craig Nicholson
2008 All-NPF Team[25]
Position Name Team
PitcherKatie BurkhartPhiladelphia Force
PitcherEileen CanneyNew England Riptide
PitcherSarah PaulyWashington Glory
PitcherAngela TincherAkron Racers
CatcherKristen ButlerAkron Racers
1st BaseLyndsey AngusNew England Riptide
2nd BaseEmily FriedmanPhiladelphia Force
3rd BaseStacy MayChicago Bandits
ShortstopChelsea SpencerPhiladelphia Force
OutfieldJaime ClarkChicago Bandits
OutfieldSharonda McDonaldPhiladelphia Force
OutfieldKellie WilkersonPhiladelphia Force
At-LargeGina CarbonattoNew England Riptide
At-LargeRachel FoldenChicago Bandits
At-LargeLindsay GardnerRockford Thunder
At-LargeOli KeohohouWashington Glory
At-LargeSara LarquierWashington Glory
At-LargeLisa ModglinNew England Riptide

See also

References
  1. "Stadium". New England Riptide. Archived from the original on 1 July 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  2. "ROCKFORD THUNDER". Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  3. "Contact". WashingtonGlory.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  4. "Stadium". WashingtonGlory.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  5. George Houde (15 November 2007). "Elgin offers $350,000 to lure softball team". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  6. John Radtke (22 August 2010). "Will move to Rosemont be catalyst Bandits need to survive?". Daily Herald. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  7. Garland Cooper (24 May 2008). "NPF set to play USA Team". rivals.com. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  8. "Gasso to Coach All-Star Team". SoonerSports.com. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  9. "Bound 4 Beijing". ASA/USA Softball. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  10. "NPF vs United States (Jun 06, 2008)" (PDF). ASA/USA Softball. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  11. "2008 KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour NPF vs United States Jun 14, 2008 at Normal, Illinois (Maxwell Park)" (PDF). ASA/USA Softball. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  12. "Washington Glory vs United States (May 10, 2008)" (PDF). ASA/USA Softball. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  13. "2008 KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour United States at Akron Racers Jul 22, 2008 at Akron, Ohio (Firestone Stadium)" (PDF). ASA/USA Softball. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  14. "NPF MAKES 2008 DRAFT SELECTIONS". profastpitch.com. 18 February 2008. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  15. "2008". profastpitch.com. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  16. "NPF Announces 2008 Season Schedule". profastpitch.com. 11 December 2007. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  17. "Top four teams head to Kimberly this weekend". OurSportsCentral.com. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  18. "Friday's NPF games". Appleton Post-Crescent. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  19. "Glory score five first inning runs to defeat Riptide". OurSportsCentral.com. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  20. "Bandits send Force to the brink of elimination". OurSportsCentral.com. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  21. "Pauly pitches gem; Washington back in finals". OurSportsCentral.com. 24 August 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  22. "Chicago wins first-ever NPF Championship Title". OurSportsCentral.com. 24 August 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  23. "Chicago wins first-ever NPF Championship Title". Oursportscentral.com. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  24. "Bandits Win Five of Seven Awards". OurSportsCentral.com. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  25. "NPF Names 18 to ALL NPF Team". OurSportsCentral.com. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
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