2012 National Pro Fastpitch season

Sports season

2012 NPF Season

League| National Pro Fastpitch
Sport| softball
Duration| June 7, 2012 – August 19, 2012
Number of teams| 4
2012 NPF Draft
Top draft pick| Brittany Mack
LSU
Picked by| USSSA Pride
Regular Season
Ringor Cup| USSSA Pride
Cowles Cup
Champions| No champion named
NPF seasons

← 2011

2013 →

The 2012 National Pro Fastpitch season was the ninth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's 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). The 2012 season is especially notable because due to weather and scheduling issues, the NPF Championship Series was not completed and no Cowles Cup champion was named.

## Milestones and events

[edit]

NPF announced the Carolina Diamonds as a new team for the 2012 season, owned by Amelia Nemeth and husband Alan Demaske . Carolina replaced the NPF Diamonds, a travelling team operated by NPF. The team was headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and played its home games in various venues throughout the Carolinas.[1]

## Teams, cities and stadiums

[edit]

Team  | City  | Stadium

|
|

Akron Racers | Akron, Ohio | Firestone Stadium
Carolina Diamonds | Charlotte, North Carolina | Various
Chicago Bandits | Rosemont, Illinois (Chicago Area)  | Ballpark at Rosemont
USSSA Pride | Kissimmee, Florida | Osceola County Stadium and Champion Stadium

Akron

Chicago

Diamonds

USSSA Pride

class=notpageimage|

National Pro Fastpitch teams

## Player acquisition

[edit]

### College draft

[edit]

Further information: 2012 NPF Draft

The 2012 NPF College Draft was held in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee on March 7 at 5:00 CST.[2] USSSA Pride selected pitcher Brittany Mack of LSU as the first overall pick.[3]

### Notable transactions

[edit]

## League standings

[edit]

Source:[4]

Team  | GP  | W  | L  | Pct.  | GB

|
|
|
|
|

USSSA Pride | 43  | 31  | 12  | .721  | \-
Chicago Bandits | 44  | 25  | 19  | .568  | 6.5
Carolina Diamonds | 43  | 17  | 26  | .395  | 14
Akron Racers | 44  | 14  | 30  | .318  | 17.5

## NPF Championship

[edit]

With only four teams in the league, every team qualified for the postseason. Teams are seeded by the final standings. No. 1 seed USSSA Pride faced No. 4 seed Akron Racers in one best-of-three semifinal series, while the No. 2 seed Chicago Bandits faced the No. 3 seed Carolina Diamonds in another. The winners were scheduled to advance to the best-of-three championship series.[5]

After winning their semifinal series, the Bandits and Pride played the first game of the championship series, with the Bandits winning 2-1.[6]

On Sunday August 26, the start of game was delayed for hours due to rain. After one out in the first inning, the field was deemed unplayable, and the game was cancelled. No makeup game was scheduled and the series was ended without naming a champion.

Conflicting comments were made regarding the possibility of finishing the series on Monday. Citing owners' costs and players' travel obligations, NPF commissioner Cheri Kempf said that "The Bandits had six players that could not change plans, including [starting pitcher] Monica Abbott going to Japan" and,"I can say that the championship wasn't complete, and it wasn't complete because Chicago stated it had six players that could not finish. So therefore, I don't feel like that the right thing to do is to award the championship on one game." However, Bandits owner Bill Sokolis said,"We could have put nine players on the field,".[7] On her blog Monica Abbott wrote that no one asked her to change her flight to Japan, but that she "would have done so in a heartbeat."[8]

NPF announced that a committee would be formed to make recommendations to avoid unfinished championships in the future.[9]

| NPF Semifinals (Best-of-3) | | | NPF Championship (Best-of-3) |

|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| 1 | USSSA Pride | 2 | |
| 4 | Akron Racers | 1 |
| | 1 | USSSA Pride | 0 |
|  |
| | | 2 | Chicago Bandits | 1 |
| 2 | Chicago Bandits | 2 |

| 3 | Carolina Diamonds | 0 |
2012 NPF Semifinals
Chicago Bandits defeat Akron Racers 2-0

Game | Date | Score | Series
(CHI-CAR) | Location
1 | August 23 | Chicago Bandits 11, Carolina Diamonds 1[10] | 1-0 | Rosemont, Illinois
2 | August 24 | Chicago Bandits 5, Carolina Diamonds 1[11] | 1-0 | Rosemont, Illinois
2012 NPF Semifinals
USSSA Pride defeat Akron Racers 2–1

Game | Date | Score | Series
(USSA-AKR) | Location
1 | August 23 | USSSA Pride 4, Akron Racers 1[10] | 1-0 | Rosemont, Illinois
2 | August 24 | USSSA Pride 7, Akron Racers 8[11] | 1-1 | Rosemont, Illinois
3 | August 25 | USSSA Pride 9, Akron Racers 7[12] | 2-1 | Rosemont, Illinois
2012 NPF Championship Series
Incomplete

Game | Date | Score | Series
(CHI-USSSA) | Location
1 | August 25 | Chicago Bandits 2, USSSA Pride 1[12] | 1-0 | Rosemont, Illinois

## Annual awards

[edit]

On August 22 NPF hosted a banquet in Rosemont, Illinois, at which the league's annual awards were announced and the All-NPF Team was named:[13]

Ringor Cup
(Best regular season record)

USSSA Pride
Award  | Player  | Team  | Stat

|
|
|

Player of the Year Award  | Caitlin Lowe | USSSA Pride | .440 Avg., 51 H, .496 OBP, .509 SLG
Pitcher of the Year  | Monica Abbott | Chicago Bandits | 14-3, 125.2 IP, 4 SV, 190 K (all led NPF), 1.06 ERA(2nd in NPF), 2 no-hitters
Rookie of the Year  | Kristyn Sandberg | USSSA Pride | .355 average(4th in League), 33 RBI (1st), .504 OBP (2nd), .624 SLG (2nd)
Defensive Player of the Year (tie)  | Amber Patton | Chicago Bandits | 1 error, .991 Fielding Percentage
Kelley Montalvo | Akron Racers | 3 errors, .978 Fielding Percentage
Offensive Player of the Year  | Sam Marder | Akron Racers | .343 Avg., 36 H, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 24 BB. 5th or better in 7 different offensive categories.
Home Run Award  | Megan Wiggins | Chicago Bandits | 12 HR
Diamond Spikes Award (tie)[note 1] | Sharonda McDonald | Akron Racers | 13 SB for each player
Amber Patton | Chicago Bandits
Coaching Staff of the Year  | Carolina Diamonds \-- Lisa Navas–Head Coach, Miranda Ervin–Assistant Coach, Lisa Dodd–Assistant Coach
Jennie Finch Award[note 2] | Natasha Watley | USSSA Pride |

## Award notes

[edit]

1. ^ The Diamond Spikes Award is given to the player(s) with the most stolen bases
2. ^ The Jennie Finch Award is awarded to the player who shows excellence in sportsmanship, leadership and humility both on and off the field.

2012 All-NPF Team

Position  | Name  | Team
Pitcher | Cat Osterman | USSSA Pride
Pitcher | Monica Abbott | Chicago Bandits
Pitcher | Michelle Gascoigne | Chicago Bandits
Pitcher | Andi Williamson | Chicago Bandits
Catcher | Rachel Folden | Carolina Diamonds
1st Base | GiOnna DiSalvatore | Carolina Diamonds
2nd Base | Ashley Charters | USSSA Pride
3rd Base | Amber Patton | Chicago Bandits
Shortstop | Natasha Watley | USSSA Pride
Outfield | Megan Wiggins | Chicago Bandits
Outfield | Caitlin Lowe | USSSA Pride
Outfield | Sharonda McDonald | Akron Racers
At-Large | Sam Marder | Akron Racers
At-Large | Vicky Galindo | Chicago Bandits
At-Large | Jessica Mendoza | USSSA Pride
At-Large | Bianca Mejia | Carolina Diamonds
At-Large | Kelly Kretschman | USSSA Pride
At-Large | Nicole Pauly | Akron Racers

## See also

[edit]

* Sports portal

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "NPF Announces New Franchise". www.profastpitch.com. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2015.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. ^ "NPF Announces 2012 College Draft Date and Location". www.profastpitch.com. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
3. ^ "NPF Holds 2012 Senior Draft Live Presented by MIKEN". www.profastpitch.com. 7 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. ^ "National Pro Fastpitch - Standings". Pointstreak. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
5. ^ Rayburn (23 August 2012). "8-23-2012 NPF Championship". Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
6. ^ "2012 NPF Championship Series Ends Early Due to Weather". National Fastpitch Coaches Association. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
7. ^ Graham Hays (26 August 2012). "NPF season ends without champion". www.espnW.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
8. ^ Monica Abbott (28 August 2012). "2012 NPF Championship Series – Cheri Kempf Quotes". MonicaAbbott.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
9. ^ "NPF Commissioner Calls for Committee to Examine the League's Post-Season Policies". www.profastpitch.com. 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. ^ a b Rayburn (23 August 2012). "8-23-2012 NPF Semi-finals Thursday". Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
11. ^ a b Rayburn (24 August 2012). "8-24-2012 NPF Semi-finals Friday". Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
12. ^ a b Rayburn (25 August 2012). "8-25-2012 NPF Championship Saturday". Spy Softball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
13. ^ "2012 NPF Awards Banquet". www.profastpitch.com. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

## External links

[edit]

* National Pro Fastpitch[usurped][usurped]

* v
* t
* e

National Pro Fastpitch

Final teams|

* Aussie Peppers
* California Commotion
* Canadian Wild
* Chicago Bandits
* Cleveland Comets

Seasons|

* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~
* ~~2021~~

Drafts|

* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~

Defunct or former
NPF teams|

| Defunct|

* California Sunbirds (2004, 2005 partial schedule)
* NY/NJ Juggernaut (2004)/New York Juggernaut (2005)
* Arizona Heat (2004–2006)
* Michigan Ice (Partial schedules in 2006–07)
* New England Riptide (2004–2008)
* Washington Glory (2007,2008)
* Philadelphia Force (2006–2009)
* Texas Thunder (2004)
* Rockford Thunder (2005–09)
* Tennessee Diamonds (2010)
* NPF Diamonds (2011)
* Carolina Diamonds (2012)
* NY/NJ Comets (2013)
* Pennsylvania Rebellion (2014–16)
* Akron Racers (2004–17)
* Texas Charge (2015–2017)
* Beijing Eagles (2017–2019)

|

Left NPF|

* Connecticut Brakettes (2006)
* Scrap Yard Dawgs (2016–17)
* USSSA Pride (2009–19)

Never Played|

* Colorado Altitude (2004)
* San Antonio Armadillos (2004)
* California Commotion (2020)

Seasons before
2004 NPF League Relaunch|

* Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF)
* 1997
* 1998
* Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL)
* 1999
* 2000

Touring teams
WPSL All-Stars vs. WPSL Gold (2001)
WPSL All-Stars (2002)
NPF All-Stars (2003)

* International Women's Professional Softball Association (IWPSA) (1976–79)

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