2009 National Pro Fastpitch season
# 2009 National Pro Fastpitch season

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 |
| USSSA Florida Pride | Kissimmee, Florida | Osceola County High School Stadium |

## Milestones and events

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

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

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.

## Player acquisition

### College draft

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

## League standings

Source

| 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. Day one of play was rained out, forcing the four teams to play doubleheaders on day two, August 21.

| 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 | 1 | | | |
| 4 | USSSA Pride | 2 | | | |
| 4 | USSSA Pride | 2 | 4 | USSSA Pride | 1 |
| | | | 3 | Rockford Thunder | 2 |
| 2 | Akron Racers | 1 | 3 | Rockford Thunder | 2 |
| 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 | 1-0 | Akron, Ohio |
| 2 | August 21 | Chicago Bandits 1, USSSA Pride 2 | 1-1 | Akron, Ohio |
| 3 | August 22 | Chicago Bandits 0, USSSA Pride 2 | 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 | 1-0 | Akron, Ohio |
| 2 | August 21 | Akron Racers 1, Rockford Thunder 5 | 1-1 | Akron, Ohio |
| 3 | August 22 | Akron Racers 2, Rockford Thunder 7 | 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 | 0-1 | Akron, Ohio |
| 2 | August 23 | Rockford Thunder 2, USSSA Pride 0 | 1-1 | Akron, Ohio |
| 3 | August 23 | Rockford Thunder 2, USSSA Pride 0 | 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) |

## Annual awards

Source:

* 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 | 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 |
