Canadian Wild
Information
LeagueNational Pro Fastpitch
LocationMarion, Illinois
BallparkRent One Park
Year founded2019
OwnershipSoftball Canada
CoachMark Smith
Websitecanadianwild.prestosports.com

The Canadian Wild, officially the Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois, is a professional women's softball team based in Marion, Illinois. They were founded in 2019 as part of National Pro Fastpitch and are partnered with the Canada women's national softball team.[1][2] The team is composed entirely of Canadian players and is essentially the Canada women's national softball team and allows the team to play against top competition for most of the year,[3] although there are some other players from Softball Canada on the roster.[4]

History

They made their debut in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch season, playing out of Rent One Park, in Marion, Illinois.[5] They began the season with a six-game series sweep of the Beijing Eagles.[6] They finished their first season in third place out of six teams, finishing with a 22–20 record.[7]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team announced they were withdrawing from the 2020 NPF season, becoming the second team to withdraw from the season, after the Aussie Peppers, due to the pandemic.[8][9][10] The NPF eventually cancelled the entire season,[11] as well as the 2021 season.[12]

Current players

Canadian Wild roster
Active roster
(YYYY = Final season of player contract) 		Inactive roster Coaches

Pitchers

  • 10 Karissa Hovinga (2020) Canada
  • 15 Danielle Lawrie (2020) Canada
  • 21 Kenzie Friesen (2020) Canada
  • 27 Sara Plourde (2020) Canada
  • 29 Jenna Caira (2020) Canada
  • 99 Morgan Rackel (2020) Canada

Catchers

Utility players

Infielders

Outfielders

Head Coach

Mark Smith

Assistant Coaches
  • Melissa Basilio
  • Russell Cooper
  • Dave Paetkau
Legend
  • * Franchise Player Tag
  • (C) Captain
  • (A) Alternate captain

Roster updated June 9, 2019

→ All NPF rosters

References

  1. ^ "Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois set to join NPF in 2019". October 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "Softball Canada Joins National Pro Fastpitch". National Pro Fastpitch. October 30, 2018.
  3. ^ Hefferman, Todd (June 26, 2019). "Canadian Wild Softball - Lye pursuing second gold medal". The Southern Illinoisan.
  4. ^ "Canadian Wild Return To Southern Illinois For 2020". Southern Illinois Miners. November 21, 2019.
  5. ^ LeBlanc, Gilles (May 28, 2019). "Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois Opens Inaugural Season Tonight". Softball Canada.
  6. ^ Hefferman, Todd (June 5, 2019). "Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois open 'home' schedule". The Southern Illinoisan.
  7. ^ "Wild end Season on a High Note". National Pro Fastpitch. July 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Guerette, Jason (April 15, 2020). "Canadian Wild to miss upcoming NPF season due to COVID-19 complications". The Harrisburg Register.
  9. ^ "Canadian Wild Becomes Latest NPF Team To Sit Out In 2020". Flo Softball. April 13, 2020.
  10. ^ Martorano, Dion (April 15, 2020). "NPF Announces Canadian Wild Sitting Out 2020 Season". Journal & Topics.
  11. ^ "National Pro Fastpitch Cancels 2020 Season due to COVID-19". National Pro Fastpitch. May 15, 2020.
  12. ^ Hefferman, Todd (December 3, 2020). "National Pro Fastpitch suspends 2021 season". The Southern Illinoisan.

External links

National Pro Fastpitch
Categories