2010 National Pro Fastpitch season

2010 NPF Season
League	National Pro Fastpitch
Sport	softball
Duration	June 9, 2010 – August 22, 2010
Number of teams	4
2010 NPF Draft
Top draft pick	Charlotte Morgan Alabama
Picked by	USSSA Pride
Regular Season
Ringor Cup (Best record)	Chicago Bandits
Cowles Cup
Champions	USSSA Pride
Runners-up	Chicago Bandits
Cowles Cup MVP	Natasha Watley USSSA Pride

The 2010 National Pro Fastpitch season is the seventh season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch 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
Tennessee Diamonds	Nashville, Tennessee	Draper Diamond (Lipscomb University)[1]
USSSA Florida Pride	Kissimmee, Florida	Osceola County Stadium and Champion Stadium

Milestones and events

NPF announced the Rockford Thunder would not be playing in 2010 because ownership "failed to maintain NPF Team requirements to field a Team for the 2010 Season." It was also announced that the league was adding a new team named the Tennessee Diamonds which would begin play in 2010 in Blount County, Tenn. and have first rights to players on the Thunder's roster.^[2]

Later it was revealed that the Diamonds would be moving operational headquarters from Alcoa, TN to Nashville, TN. The Alcoa owners did not fund the team or comply with other contractual commitments made to NPF. The team was operated by NPF in Nashville for 2010.^[3]

NPF revealed that the Philadelphia Force would not participate in the league when the 2010 schedule was released without the Force.^[4]

Player acquisition

College draft

The 2010 NPF Senior Draft was held February 10, 2010, at Heritage Key Resort in Kissimmee, Florida. The NPF Draft was broadcast on MLB.com. USSSA Pride selected Charlotte Morgan of Alabama as the first overall pick.

Notable transactions

The USSSA Florida Pride traded Monica Abbott and Shannon Doepking to the Tennessee Diamonds for Diamonds’ pitcher Cat Osterman and Megan Willis.^[5]

Jennie Finch announced she would retire at the end of the season.^[6]

League standings

Source ^[7]

Team	GP	W	L	Pct.	GB
Chicago Bandits	50	30	20	.600	-
USSSA Pride	48	28	20	.583	1
Akron Racers	49	24	25	.490	5.5
Tennessee Diamonds	49	16	33	.327	13.5

NPF Championship

The 2010 NPF Championship Series was held at McMurry Park in Sulphur, Louisiana August 26–29. All 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.^[8]

	NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3)					NPF Championship (Best-of-3)
	1	Chicago Bandits	2
	4	Tennessee Diamonds	0
						1	Chicago Bandits	1
						2	USSSA Pride	2
	2	USSSA Pride	2
	3	Akron Racers	1

2010 NPF Semifinals Chicago Bandits defeat Tennessee Diamonds 2-0
Game	Date	Score	Series (CHI-TEN)	Location
1	August 26	Chicago Bandits 2, Tennessee Diamonds 0[9]	1-0	Sulphur, Louisiana
2	August 27	Chicago Bandits 4, Tennessee Diamonds 1[10]	2-0	Sulphur, Louisiana

2010 NPF Semifinals USSSA Pride defeat Akron Racers 2–1
Game	Date	Score	Series (USSA-AKR)	Location
1	August 26	USSSA Pride 3, Akron Racers 2[9]	1-0	Sulphur, Louisiana
2	August 27	USSSA Pride 2, Akron Racers 3[10]	1-1	Sulphur, Louisiana
3	August 28	USSSA Pride 6, Akron Racers 1[11]	2-1	Sulphur, Louisiana

2010 NPF Championship Series USSSA Pride defeat Chicago Bandits 2-1
Game	Date	Score	Series (CHI-USSSA)	Location
1	August 28	Chicago Bandits 1, USSSA Pride 2[12]	0-1	Sulphur, Louisiana
2	August 29	Chicago Bandits 7, USSSA Pride 2[13]	1-1	Sulphur, Louisiana
3	August 29	Chicago Bandits 2, USSSA Pride 7[14]	1-2	Sulphur, Louisiana

2010 NPF Championship Series MVP
Player	Club
Natasha Watley[15]	USSSA Pride

Annual awards

Source:^[16]

Ringor Cup (Best regular season record)
Chicago Bandits

Award	Player	Team
Player of the Year Award	Stacy May	Chicago Bandits
Pitcher of the Year	Lisa Norris	Akron Racers
Rookie of the Year	Nikki Nemitz	Chicago Bandits
Defensive Player of the Year	Lisa Modglin	Akron Racers
Offensive Player of the Year	Rachel Folden	Chicago Bandits
Home Run Award (tie)	Rachel Folden	Chicago Bandits
	Stacy May	Chicago Bandits
Diamond Spike Award[note 1]	Lisa Modglin	Akron Racers
Coaching Staff of the Year	Chicago Bandits -- Mickey Dean, Mike Stuerwald, Maggie Johnson
Jennie Finch Award[note 2]	Jennie Finch	Chicago Bandits

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.

2010 All-NPF Team
Position	Name	Team
Pitcher	Sarah Pauly	USSSA Pride
Pitcher	Monica Abbott	Tennessee Diamonds
Pitcher	Lisa Norris	Akron Racers
Pitcher	Jennie Finch	Chicago Bandits
Catcher	Rachel Folden	Chicago Bandits
1st Base	Samantha Findlay	Chicago Bandits
2nd Base	Chelsea Mesa	Tennessee Diamonds
3rd Base	Stacy May	Chicago Bandits
Shortstop	Chelsea Spencer	Tennessee Diamonds
Outfield	Lisa Modglin	Akron Racers
Outfield	Emily Friedman	Chicago Bandits
Outfield	Kelly Kretschman	USSSA Pride
At-Large	Megan Gibson	Tennessee Diamonds
At-Large	Tonya Callahan	USSSA Pride
At-Large	Jackie Pasquerella	Akron Racers
At-Large	Jessica Valis	Akron Racers
At-Large	Natasha Watley	USSSA Pride
At-Large	Megan Willis	USSSA Pride

See also

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

References

1. Mark Wheeler (1 June 2010). "Pro softball team settles on home field, looks to settle in quickly". The City Paper. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
2. Rayburn (5 January 2010). "New NPF Franchise". Spy Softball. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
3. Rayburn (20 May 2010). "5-20-10 Funding Causes NPF Diamonds to Move". Spy Softball. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
4. "2010 NPF SCHEDULE RELEASED". www.profastpitch.com. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
5. "USSSA Florida Pride Makes Preseason Move". Diamond Sports. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
6. "Finch set to retire next month at age 29". Espn.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
7. "Summer 2010 - Standings". pointstreak.com. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
8. "2010 NPF Championship Site Announced". profastpitch.com. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
9. Adam Gierhart (26 August 2010). "8-26-10 NPF Championship Games Thursday". Spy Softball. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
10. Adam Gierhart (27 August 2010). "8-27-10 NPF Championship Friday". Spy Softball. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
11. "Pride end Akron Racers' softball season". Canton Repository. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
12. "Osterman closes out Bandits in game one". OurSportsCentral.com. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
13. "Nicole Pauly Pushes Bandits Over Pride, Forcing Game Three". OurSportsCentral.com. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
14. "Bandits fall in title game". Chicago Daily Herald. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
15. "NPF All-TIME AWARD WINNERS". AkronRacers.org. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
16. "May, Bandits Earn 12 Awards at NPF Awards Luncheon". OurSportsCentral.com. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2015.

External links

• National Pro Fastpitch