2009 NPF Season
LeagueNational Pro Fastpitch
Sportsoftball
DurationJune 3, 2009 – August 16, 2009
Number of teams5
2009 NPF Draft
Top draft pickKaitlin Cochran
Arizona State
Picked byAkron Racers
Regular Season
Majestic Cup
(Best record)		Chicago Bandits
Cowles Cup
ChampionsRockford Thunder
  Runners-upUSSSA Pride
Finals MVPCat Osterman
Rockford Thunder
NPF seasons
← 2008
2010 →

The 2009 National Pro Fastpitch season was the sixth 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.

Teams, cities and stadiums

Team City Stadium
Akron Racers Akron, Ohio Firestone Stadium
Chicago Bandits Elgin, Illinois (Chicago Area) Judson University
Philadelphia Force Allentown, Pennsylvania ECTB Stadium
Rockford Thunder Roscoe, Illinois Thunder Park[1]
USSSA Florida Pride Kissimmee, Florida Osceola County High School Stadium[2]
National Pro Fastpitch Teams
Akron
Chicago
Rockford
Philadelphia
USSSA Pride
National Pro Fastpitch teams

Milestones and events

In November 2008, the Rockford Thunder named as field manager James Sherwood, who replaced Javier Vela. Vela resigned after four seasons.[3]

Akron Racers named a new field manager, Barb Sherwood, who replaced Shonda Stanton.[4]

Before the 2009 season, Washington Glory ceased operations for financial reasons. Subsequently, NPF and United States Specialty Sports Association(USSSA) began a partnership, which resulted in the expansion team USSSA Pride inheriting the Glory's player contracts. The Pride named J.Y. Davis and Margaret Davis as coaches.[5]

Player acquisition

College draft

Further information: 2009 NPF Draft

The 2009 NPF Senior Draft was held February 10, 2009, at the Cambria Suites Akron-Canton Airport location.[6] Three-time First-Team All-American outfielder Kaitlin Cochran of Arizona State was selected first by the Akron Racers, after a draft-day trade.[7]

Notable transactions

League standings

Source [8]

Team GP W L Pct. GB
Chicago Bandits 39 27 12 .692 -
Akron Racers 40 26 14 .650 1.5
Rockford Thunder 40 19 21 .475 8.5
USSSA Pride 40 16 24 .400 11.5
Philadelphia Force 39 11 28 .282 15

NPF Championship

The 2009 NPF Championship Series was held at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio August 19–23. The top four teams qualified 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.[9] Day one of play was rained out, forcing the four teams to play doubleheaders on day two, August 21.[10]

NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3) NPF Championship (Best-of-3)
      
1 Chicago Bandits 1
4 USSSA Pride 2
4 USSSA Pride 1
3 Rockford Thunder 2
2 Akron Racers 1
3 Rockford Thunder 2
2009 NPF Semifinals
USSSA Pride defeat Chicago Bandits 2-1
Game Date Score Series
(CHI-USSSA)		 Location
1 August 21 Chicago Bandits 1, USSSA Pride 0[11] 1-0 Akron, Ohio
2 August 21 Chicago Bandits 1, USSSA Pride 2[12] 1-1 Akron, Ohio
3 August 22 Chicago Bandits 0, USSSA Pride 2[13] 1-2 Akron, Ohio
2009 NPF Semifinals
Rockford Thunder defeat Akron Racers 2-1
Game Date Score Series
(AKR-ROC)		 Location
1 August 21 Akron Racers 1, Rockford Thunder 0[14] 1-0 Akron, Ohio
2 August 21 Akron Racers 1, Rockford Thunder 5[15] 1-1 Akron, Ohio
3 August 22 Akron Racers 2, Rockford Thunder 7[16] 1-2 Akron, Ohio
2009 NPF Championship Series
Rockford Thunder defeat USSSA Pride 2-1
Game Date Score Series
(ROC-USSSA)		 Location
1 August 22 Rockford Thunder 0, USSSA Pride 4[17] 0-1 Akron, Ohio
2 August 23 Rockford Thunder 2, USSSA Pride 0[18] 1-1 Akron, Ohio
3 August 23 Rockford Thunder 2, USSSA Pride 0[19] 2-1 Akron, Ohio

Championship Game

Team Top Batter Stats.
Rockford Thunder Chelsea Spencer 1-2 RBI HR
USSSA Pride Oli Keohohou 1-2
Team Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
Rockford Thunder Cat Osterman (W) 7.0 1 0 0 1 13 22 23
USSSA Pride Sarah Pauly (L) 2.0 4 2 2 1 1 9 12
USSSA Pride Monica Abbott 4.0 1 0 0 0 4 13 14
2009 NPF Championship Series MVP
Player Club Stats.
Cat Osterman Rockford Thunder 4-1 50Ks 0.22 ERA 2SHs 0.64 WHIP (12Hs+8BBs/31.0 IP)[20]

Annual awards

Source:[21]

Majestic Cup
(Best regular season record)
Chicago Bandits
Award Player Team
Player of the Year Award Crystl Bustos Akron Racers
Pitcher of the Year Eileen Canney Chicago Bandits
Rookie of the Year Tammy Williams Chicago Bandits
Defensive Player of the Year Tammy Williams Chicago Bandits
Offensive Player of the Year Crystl Bustos Akron Racers
Coaching Staff of the Year Akron Racers -- Barb Sherwood, Radara McHugh, Shawn Reis
2009 All-NPF Team
Position Name Team
Pitcher Cat Osterman Rockford Thunder
Pitcher Eileen Canney Chicago Bandits
Pitcher Angela Tincher Akron Racers
Pitcher Lisa Norris Akron Racers
Catcher Rachel Folden Chicago Bandits
1st Base Samantha Findlay Chicago Bandits
2nd Base Kenora Posey Akron Racers
3rd Base Jackie Pasquerella Akron Racers
Shortstop Tammy Williams Chicago Bandits
Outfield Lisa Modglin Akron Racers
Outfield Amber Patton Chicago Bandits
Outfield Amanda Williams Rockford Thunder
At-Large Crystl Bustos Akron Racers
At-Large Oli Keohohou USSSA Pride
At-Large Chelsea Spencer Rockford Thunder
At-Large Kelly Kretschman USSSA Pride
At-Large Jenna Rhodes Rockford Thunder
At-Large Amber Jackson USSSA Pride

See also

References

  1. ^ "ROCKFORD THUNDER". Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. ^ "It's Official - Pride Has A Home!". USSSAPride.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Thunder New Coach". MyStateline.com. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Racers Hire New Manager". Akron Beacon Journal. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  5. ^ "USSSA and NPF form Cooperative Partnership". ProFastpitch.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "NPF Holds 2009 Senior Draft Live on Internet". profastpitch.com. 17 February 2009. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "Kaitlin Cochran Taken As No. 1 Pick in 2009 NPF Draft". Sun Devil Athletics. 17 February 2009. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  8. ^ "2009". profastpitch.com. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  9. ^ "CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD SET - WATCH LIVE!". profastpitch.com. 19 August 2009. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "Day One of NPF Championship Series Rained Out". OurSportsCentral.com. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  11. ^ "May's Walk-Off Double Lifts Bandits Past Pride, 1-0". profastpitch.com. 21 August 2009. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ "Pride Victory Forces Game 3 vs Bandits". OurSportsCentral.com. 21 August 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Abbott carries Pride into championship finals with 2-0 upset". OurSportsCentral.com. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Racers Top Thunder in 1-0 Thriller". profastpitch.com. 21 August 2009. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "Split keeps Thunder alive". Rockford Register Star. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  16. ^ "Thunder Moves onto the Championship Series". profastpitch.com. 22 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^ "Pride Win Game 1 of the Championship Series". OurSportsCentral.com. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  18. ^ "Osterman, Thunder Force Game 3 Against Pride". profastpitch.com. 23 August 2009. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ^ "Thunder win first Cowles Cup". WREX. 23 August 2009. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  20. ^ "April 2009". Profastpich.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-02.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  21. ^ "Bandits, Racers Sweep NPF Awards". OurSportsCentral.com. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2015.

External links

National Pro Fastpitch
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