2010 National Pro Fastpitch season
# 2010 National Pro Fastpitch season

The 2010 National Pro Fastpitch season was the seventh 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 |
| Tennessee Diamonds | Nashville, Tennessee | Draper Diamond (Lipscomb University) |
| 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.

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.

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

## 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.

Jennie Finch announced she would retire at the end of the season.

## League standings

Source

| 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.

| NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3) | NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3) | NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3) | NPF Championship (Best-of-3) | NPF Championship (Best-of-3) | NPF Championship (Best-of-3) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Chicago Bandits | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Tennessee Diamonds | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Tennessee Diamonds | 0 | 1 | Chicago Bandits | 1 |
| | | | 2 | USSSA Pride | 2 |
| 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 | 1-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana |
| 2 | August 27 | Chicago Bandits 4, Tennessee Diamonds 1 | 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 | 1-0 | Sulphur, Louisiana |
| 2 | August 27 | USSSA Pride 2, Akron Racers 3 | 1-1 | Sulphur, Louisiana |
| 3 | August 28 | USSSA Pride 6, Akron Racers 1 | 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 | 0-1 | Sulphur, Louisiana |
| 2 | August 29 | Chicago Bandits 7, USSSA Pride 2 | 1-1 | Sulphur, Louisiana |
| 3 | August 29 | Chicago Bandits 2, USSSA Pride 7 | 1-2 | Sulphur, Louisiana |

### Championship Game

| Team | Top Batter | Stats. |
| - | - | - |
| USSSA Pride | Lauren Lappin | 2-3 2RBIs 2B |
| Chicago Bandits | Samantha Findlay | 2-3 2RBIs 2HRs |
| Team | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| USSSA Pride | Cat Osterman (W) | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Chicago Bandits | Kristina Thorson (L) | 1.1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Chicago Bandits | Nikki Nemitz | 1.2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Chicago Bandits | Jessica Sallinger | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |

2010 NPF Championship Series MVP :

| Player | Club | Stats. |
| - | - | - |
| Natasha Watley | USSSA Pride | .428 (9/21) 3RBIs 2B SB |

## Annual awards

Source:

* 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 |
| Home Run Award (tie) | Stacy May | Chicago Bandits |
| Diamond Spike Award | Lisa Modglin | Akron Racers |
| Coaching Staff of the Year | Chicago Bandits -- Mickey Dean, Mike Stuerwald, Maggie Johnson | Chicago Bandits -- Mickey Dean, Mike Stuerwald, Maggie Johnson |
| Jennie Finch Award | Jennie Finch | Chicago Bandits |

## Award notes

* ↑ The Diamond Spike Award is given to the player with the most stolen bases
* ↑ 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 |
