2012 National Pro Fastpitch season

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 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.

Teams, cities and stadiums TeamCityStadium 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

Player acquisition

College draft

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

Notable transactions

League standings Source: TeamGPWLPct.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

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.

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

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,". 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."

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

2012 NPF SemifinalsChicago Bandits defeat Akron Racers 2-0 Game Date Score Series Location 1 August 23 Chicago Bandits 11, Carolina Diamonds 1 1-0 Rosemont, Illinois2 August 24 Chicago Bandits 5, Carolina Diamonds 11-0 Rosemont, Illinois

2012 NPF SemifinalsUSSSA Pride defeat Akron Racers 2–1 Game Date Score Series Location 1 August 23 USSSA Pride 4, Akron Racers 1 1-0 Rosemont, Illinois2 August 24 USSSA Pride 7, Akron Racers 8 1-1 Rosemont, Illinois 3 August 25 USSSA Pride 9, Akron Racers 7 2-1 Rosemont, Illinois

2012 NPF Championship SeriesIncomplete Game Date Score Series Location1 August 25 Chicago Bandits 2, USSSA Pride 1 1-0 Rosemont, Illinois

Annual awards 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:

Ringor Cup (Best regular season record)USSSA Pride

AwardPlayerTeamStatPlayer of the Year Award Caitlin LoweUSSSA Pride .440 Avg., 51 H, .496 OBP, .509 SLGPitcher of the Year Monica AbbottChicago Bandits 14-3, 125.2 IP, 4 SV, 190 K (all led NPF), 1.06 ERA(2nd in NPF), 2 no-hittersRookie of the Year Kristyn SandbergUSSSA Pride.355 average(4th in League), 33 RBI (1st), .504 OBP (2nd), .624 SLG (2nd)Defensive Player of the Year (tie)Amber PattonChicago Bandits 1 error, .991 Fielding PercentageKelley MontalvoAkron Racers 3 errors, .978 Fielding PercentageOffensive Player of the YearSam MarderAkron Racers.343 Avg., 36 H, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 24 BB. 5th or better in 7 different offensive categories.Home Run Award Megan WigginsChicago Bandits12 HRDiamond Spikes Award (tie)The Diamond Spikes Award is given to the player(s) with the most stolen bases Sharonda McDonaldAkron Racers13 SB for each player Amber PattonChicago BanditsCoaching Staff of the Year Carolina Diamonds -- Lisa Navas–Head Coach, Miranda Ervin–Assistant Coach, Lisa Dodd–Assistant CoachJennie Finch AwardThe Jennie Finch Award is awarded to the player who shows excellence in sportsmanship, leadership and humility both on and off the field. Natasha WatleyUSSSA Pride

Award notes

2012 All-NPF TeamPositionNameTeam PitcherCat OstermanUSSSA Pride Pitcher Monica AbbottChicago Bandits Pitcher Michelle GascoigneChicago Bandits Pitcher Andi WilliamsonChicago Bandits CatcherRachel FoldenCarolina Diamonds 1st Base GiOnna DiSalvatoreCarolina Diamonds 2nd BaseAshley ChartersUSSSA Pride 3rd BaseAmber PattonChicago Bandits ShortstopNatasha WatleyUSSSA Pride OutfieldMegan WigginsChicago Bandits OutfieldCaitlin LoweUSSSA Pride OutfieldSharonda McDonaldAkron Racers At-LargeSam MarderAkron Racers At-LargeVicky GalindoChicago Bandits At-LargeJessica MendozaUSSSA Pride At-LargeBianca MejiaCarolina Diamonds At-LargeKelly KretschmanUSSSA Pride At-LargeNicole PaulyAkron Racers

2012 National Pro Fastpitch season

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