The 2005 National Pro Fastpitch season was the second 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

Milestones and events

The expansion Chicago Bandits joined the league for the 2005 season. The

New York Juggernaut New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

announced a new owner, John Schmitz of Long Island, NY. The team also introduced 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Julie Smith as their general manager and head coach. The Arizona Heat named

Stacy Iveson Stacy or Stacey may refer to: Places In the United States: * Stacy, California, an unincorporated community * Stacy, Kentucky * Stacy, Minnesota, a city * Stacy, Virginia, a village People * Stacy (given name) * Stacy (singer) (born 1990) ...

as their 2005 field manager. NPF's telecast included ESPN2 broadcasting the NPF All-Star Game and the NPF Championship Game. Comcast Sports Net Chicago showed select Chicago Bandits games and Telecare televised certain Juggernaut games.

Player acquisition

College draft

The 2005 NPF Senior Draft was held February 7, 2005.

Amy Harre Amy is a female given name, sometimes short for Amanda, Amelia, Amélie, or Amita. In French, the name is spelled ''"Aimée"''. People A–E * Amy Acker (born 1976), American actress * Amy Vera Ackman, also known as Mother Giovanni (1886–1 ...

of Southern Illinois was selected first by the Chicago Bandits.

Notable transactions

Various Olympians joined NPF after winning the gold medal in Softball at the 2004 Summer Olympics: * The expansion Bandits' early signings included a number of Olympic gold medalists, among them three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Leah O’Brien-Amico and Jennie Finch. * The Juggernaut signed 2004 Olympic gold medalist Natasha Watley. *The Arizona Heat signed gold medalist Jessica Mendoza. Mendoza joined other Heat US gold medalists Lovieanne Jung and Tairia Mims-Flowers * The Racers also signed players from the 2004 Olympic team: infielder

Crystl Bustos Crystl Irene Bustos (born September 8, 1977), also known as The Big Bruiser, is an American softball player at the designated hitter or third base position although on the roster she is a designated player. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalis ...

, outfielder Kelly Kretschman, and catcher Jenny Topping.

League standings

Source The 2005 schedule included a 48-game regular season schedule for each NPF teams. The California Sunbirds played a partial schedule. The Sunbirds hoped to return to NPF full-time, but never did. Games were on the schedule against international teams:

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Canada,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Russia and Venezuela. Potential expansion teams also appeared on the schedule. These were

Stratford Brakettes The Connecticut Brakettes is a women's fastpitch softball team based in Stratford, Connecticut. The team has won many state, regional, national, and international tournaments (28 ). History The team was founded in 1947 by William S. Simpson as ...

, Phoenix Flames, SoCal Schutt Hurricanes, Peoria Outlaws, Illinois Cougars, St. Louis Saints and the Long Island Angels. Of these candidates, only the Brakettes ever became a full-time NPF member, for only one season in 2006. All games against international teams and expansion candidates counted in the standings for the primary NPF teams.

NPF Championship

The 2005 NPF Championship Series was held at Benedictine University Sports Complex in Lisle, Illinois August 27 and 28. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a double-elimination bracket. The series matched the teams up in a single-elimination bracket.

Championship Game

NPF All-Star Game

The 2005 NPF All-Star Game was held August 28. The East All-Star team included players from

, the New England Riptide, and the Akron Racers. The West All-Star team included players from Chicago Bandits, the Arizona Heat, and the Texas Thunder. The East won by a score of 2-1, and

Iyhia McMichael Iyhia McMichael is an African-American, former collegiate All-American, professional 3-time All-Star, left-handed hitting softball player, originally from Nacogdoches, Texas. She was a outfielder for the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Southeaste ...

of Akron Racers was chosen Most Valuable Player.

Annual awards

Source:

References

External links

* Softball teams 2005 in women's softball 2005 in American women's sports Softball in the United States