2007 National Pro Fastpitch season

The 2007 National Pro Fastpitch season was the fourth 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.

2007 NPF Season
League	National Pro Fastpitch
Sport	softball
Duration	May 29, 2007 – August 18, 2007
Number of teams	6
2007 NPF Draft
Top draft pick	Lindsay Schutzler Tennessee
Picked by	Chicago Bandits
Regular Season
Majestic Cup (Best record)	Washington Glory
Cowles Cup
Champions	Washington Glory
Runners-up	Rockford Thunder
Finals MVP	Monica Abbott Washington Glory

Teams, cities and stadiums

Team	City	Stadium
Akron Racers	Akron, Ohio	Firestone Stadium
Chicago Bandits	Lisle, Illinois	Benedictine University Sports Complex[1]
New England Riptide	Lowell, Massachusetts	Martin Softball Field[2]
Philadelphia Force	Allentown, Pennsylvania	ECTB Stadium[3]
Rockford Thunder	Rockford, Illinois	SportsCore One[4]
Washington Glory	Fairfax, Virginia	Softball Complex at George Mason University[5]

Akron

Chicago

Rockford

Philadelphia

New England

Washington

National Pro Fastpitch teams

Milestones and events

A number of changes to the NPF roster of teams happened in the offseason:

The Texas Thunder were sold to new ownership based in Rockford, Illinois. They relocated there for the 2007 season and renamed themselves the Rockford Thunder.[6]

In January 2007, the Connecticut Brakettes announced they would no longer participate in NPF.[7]

In February, an expansion team named the Washington Glory was added to NPF, and the Glory inherited the contracts of players from the Brakettes.[8]

Arizona Heat suspended play for the 2007 season.[9] Despite rumors to the contrary, the Heat never rejoined NPF.

NPF hired Cheri Kempf to be commissioner. Kempf's background includes pitching on the 1992 gold medal-winning United States national team in the World Cup in Beijing, China, producing instructional books and videos on softball, and announcing professional and college softball telecasts.[10]

In March, the Akron Racers hired Shonda Stanton, the head softball coach at Marshall University to be field manager.[11]

Player acquisition

College draft

The 2007 NPF Senior Draft was held February 14, 2007. Lindsay Schutzler of Tennessee was selected first by the Chicago Bandits.[12]

Notable transactions

Cat Osterman was drafted first in the 2006 NPF Draft by the Connecticut Brakettes. She did not sign with them, becoming a free agent on September 30, 2006. In December 2006, she signed a deal to join the Rockford Thunder.[13]

League standings

Source [14]

Team	GP	W	L	Pct.	GB
Washington Glory	44	34	10	.773	-
Akron Racers	43	26	17	.605	7.5
New England Riptide	44	26	18	.591	8
Rockford Thunder	44	24	20	.545	10
Philadelphia Force	44	24	20	.545	10
Chicago Bandits	44	23	21	.523	11

The Michigan Ice played a partial schedule in 2007, with hopes of receiving investor support in 2008 to become a full-time NPF member. The Ice never became a full-time member. League games against Team China, Denso Japan professional softball team, the Venezuela national team and the Stratford Brakettes were also scheduled. The results counted in the NPF's team records.[15]

NPF Championship

The 2007 NPF Championship Series was held at Sunset Point Park in Kimberly, Wisconsin August 24-6. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a double-elimination bracket.[16]

	August 25, 2007[17]					August 25, 2007					August 26, 2007
	1	Washington Glory	4
	4	Rockford Thunder	0
						W1	New England Riptide	1
						W2	Washington Glory	2
	2	Akron Racers	0
	3	New England Riptide	3
											W4	Washington Glory	3
										W5	Rockford Thunder	1
	L1	Akron Racers	3
	L2	Rockford Thunder	6
						W3	Rockford Thunder	5
						L4	New England Riptide	0

2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 1 #2 seed vs. #3 seed
Game	Date	Score	Location
1	August 25	Akron Racers 0, New England Riptide 3[18]	Kimberly, Wisconsin
Riptide advance; Racers to losers bracket

2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 2 #1 seed vs. #4 seed
Game	Date	Score	Location
2	August 25	Washington Glory 4, Rockford Thunder 0[19]	Kimberly, Wisconsin
Glory advance; Thunder to losers bracket

2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 3 Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
Game	Date	Score	Location
3	August 25	Akron Racers 3, Rockford Thunder 6 (10 innings)[20]	Kimberly, Wisconsin
Rockford Thunder eliminate Akron Racers

2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 4 Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game	Date	Score	Location
4	August 25	Washington Glory 2, New England Riptide 1[21]	Kimberly, Wisconsin
Glory to final; Riptide to losers bracket

2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 5 Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser
Game	Date	Score	Location
5	August 26	Rockford Thunder 5, New England Riptide 0[22]	Kimberly, Wisconsin
Thunder to final; Riptide eliminated

2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 6 Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner
Game	Date	Score	Location
6	August 24	Washington Glory 3, Rockford Thunder 1[23]	Kimberly, Wisconsin
Washington Glory win NPF Championship

2007 NPF Championship Series MVP
Player	Club	Stats.
Monica Abbott	Washington Glory	2-0 0.00 ERA NH SV[24]

League leaders

Annual awards

Source:[25]

Majestic Cup (Best regular season record)
Washington Glory

Award	Player	Team
Player of the Year Award	Amber Jackson	Washington Glory
Pitcher of the Year	Desiree Serrano	Washington Glory
Rookie of the Year	Kristina Thorson	Philadelphia Force
Defensive Player of the Year	Jackie Pasquerella	New England Riptide
Offensive Player of the Year	Veronica Wootson	Akron Racers
Manager of the Year	Carie Dever-Boaz	Washington Glory

2007 All-NPF Team[26]
Position	Name	Team
Pitcher	Kristina Thorson	Philadelphia Force
Pitcher	Desiree Serrano	Washington Glory
Pitcher	Sarah Pauly	Washington Glory
Pitcher	Eileen Canney	New England Riptide
Catcher	Mackenzie Vandergeest	Rockford Thunder
1st Base	Kellie Wilkerson	Philadelphia Force
2nd Base	Veronica Wootson	Akron Racers
3rd Base	Norrelle Dickson	Akron Racers
Shortstop	Amber Jackson	Washington Glory
Outfield	Kristen Zaleski	Rockford Thunder
Outfield	Sharonda McDonald	Philadelphia Force
Outfield	Shanel Scott	New England Riptide
At-Large	Oli Keohohou	Washington Glory
At-Large	Nicole Thompson	Washington Glory
At-Large	Chelsea Spencer	Philadelphia Force
At-Large	Jamie Clark	Chicago Bandits
At-Large	Kristen Butler	Akron Racers
At-Large	Serena Settlemier	Rockford Thunder

See also

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

References

1. "Directions". ChicagoBandits.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
2. "Stadium". New England Riptide. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
3. "Stadium". PhiladelphiaForce.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
4. "ROCKFORD THUNDER". ThunderProFastpitch.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
5. "TEAMS". profastpitch.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
6. "Texas Thunder to Relocate to Rockford". OurSportsCentral.com. 24 August 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
7. "BRAKETTES ANNOUNCE 2007 CHANGES". Brakettes.com. 11 January 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
8. "Washington, DC team to join National Pro Fastpitch". OurSportsCentral.com. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
9. Greg Hansen (11 February 2007). "Opinion by Greg Hansen : Heat suspends play for 2007". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
10. "Kempf Named NPF Commissioner". National Fastpitch Coaches Association. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
11. "Marshall's Shonda Stanton Named Field Manager for National Pro Fastpitch's Akron Racers". HerdZone.com. 19 March 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
12. "National Pro Fastpitch Announces 2007 College Draft Selections". ProFastpitch.com. 14 February 2007. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
13. "Osterman signs with the Rockford Thunder". TexasSports.com. 21 December 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
14. "2007". profastpitch.com. 19 August 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
15. "2007 NATIONAL PRO FASTPITCH SCHEDULE RELEASED". profastpitch.com. 9 February 2007. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
16. Marty Gitlin (18 August 2007). "2007 Playoffs Right Around the Corner". profastpitch.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
17. "FIRST DAY OF CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER". profastpitch.com. 24 August 2007. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
18. "Riptide started off on right foot". Lowell Sun. 26 August 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
19. "Glory Claim First Playoff Victory of NPF Playoffs Behind No Hitter From Monica Abbott". Pointed Magazine. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
20. "National Pro Fastpitch games". Appleton Post Crescent. 26 August 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
21. "RIPTIDE FALLS SHORT TO GLORY, 2-1". Profastpitch.com. 25 August 2007. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
22. "Thunder Into Finals Behind Osterman No-Hitter". Profastpitch.com. 26 August 2007. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
23. "Glory Win Championship Game Over Thunder 3-1Abbott Named Series MVP". Profastpitch.com. 26 August 2007. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
24. "Articles from 2007". Profastpitch.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
25. "2007 Awards Announced". OurSportsCentral.com. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
26. "Force Foursome on All-NPF Team, Thorson Top Rookie". OurSportsCentral.com. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2015.

External links

• National Pro Fastpitch