The 2011 National Pro Fastpitch season was the eighth 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). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.

Teams, cities and stadiums

Milestones and events

The Tennessee Diamonds were rebranded as the

NPF Diamonds NPF may refer to: * Naga People's Front, a regional political party in Nagaland and Manipur, India * National Park Foundation * The National Patriotic Front (Zimbabwe), a political party in Zimbabwe *The National Policy Forum of the British Labou ...

for the 2011 season. The Diamonds were a "traveling team," playing each of their five 'home stands' at five different venues, from

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta to Lexington, North Carolina. Akron Racers named as their coach

Jake Schumann Jake may refer to: Name * Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer * Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach Animals * Jake (rescue dog), ...

, who was also with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball coach.

signed Tim Kiernan as head coach. Kiernan had previously coached professional softball with WPSL's

Virginia Roadsters Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are s ...

in 1999, NPF Tour Teams in 2001 and 2003, and the Sacramento Sunbirds in 2004. The Chicago Bandits moved into their new stadium Ballpark at Rosemont. It is the first ballpark specifically built for a women's professional softball team, and its address, 27 Jennie Finch Way, pays tribute to one of their most famous players.

Player acquisition

College draft

The 2011 NPF Senior Draft was held March 16, 2011, in Amway Center in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. The NPF Draft was broadcast on MLB.com.

selected pitcher Kelsi Dunne of Alabama as the first overall pick.

Notable transactions

League standings

Source

NPF Championship

The 2011 NPF Championship Series was held at

McMurry Park McMurry is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Frank Morton McMurry (1862–1936), American educator *John E. McMurry John E. McMurry (born July 27, 1942, in New York City) is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry ...

Sulphur, Louisiana Sulphur (french: Soufre) is a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. The population was 21,809 in 2020. Sulphur is part of the Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lake Charles Lake Charles metropolitan area, metropolitan statistica ...

August 18–21. All four teams qualify 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. The games were broadcast on ESPN2, with color analysis by former NPF player and two-time Olympian Jennie Finch and three-time Olympian Leah O'Brien-Amico. Bernie Guenther called the play-by-play.

Championship Game

Annual awards

Source:

Award notes

References

External links

* {{National Pro Fastpitch Softball teams 2011 in women's softball 2011 in American women's sports Softball in the United States