The Chicago Bandits were a women's professional softball team based in

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...

. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

(NPF). The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the

Washington Glory The Washington Glory was a women's softball team based in Fairfax, Virginia. They played during 2007 and 2008 as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. History The Glory won the 2007 NPF championship, defeating the Rockford Thunder in the final ga ...

in the final game of the championship series. The team won their second NPF championship following the 2011 season when they won the championship series two games to none over the

USSSA Pride The USSSA Pride are a professional softball team based in Viera, Florida and a member of the WPF - Women's Professional Fastpitch League, U.S. Founded in 2009. They previously played in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play ...

. Following the 2015 season the team won its third NPF championship defeating the USSSA Pride two games to none. They played their home games at

Parkway Bank Sports Complex Parkway Bank Sports Complex, also known as the Ballpark at Rosemont, is an outdoor baseball park used for fastpitch softball and baseball located in the American city of Rosemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It hosted the National Pro Fastpi ...

. The team folded in 2021 when the NPF disbanded.

USA Softball players

Jennie Finch Jennie Lynn Finch Daigle (born September 3, 1980) is an American former softball player. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002, where she won the 2001 Women's College World Series and was named collegiate All-Americ ...

Victoria Galindo Victoria Noel Galindo-Piatt (born December 22, 1983), commonly known as Vicky Galindo, is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, three-time professional All-Star, softball player and current head coach at West Val ...

Eileen Canney Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to: People Artists *Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer *Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer *Eileen ...

Ashley Holcombe Ashley Kristina Holcombe (born February 20, 1987) is an American softball player who plays catcher for the USA national softball team. Holcombe is now in her third year with the Women's National Team. College Holcombe attended the University ...

Kristal Perez Kristal, meaning "crystal" in several languages, may refer to: * Kristal (name), a given name and a surname * KRISTAL Audio Engine, a digital audio editor * '' The Kristal'', a video game * Kristal Kola, a Turkish soft drink See also * Krista ...

Franchise history

2005 The Chicago Bandits inaugural season took place at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL. Chicago recorded an NPF-best 41–7 record, but lost to the

Akron Racers The Akron Racers were a women's softball team based in Akron, Ohio. They have moved to Cleveland and been renamed the Cleveland Comets in 2018. The team was started by Joey Arietta in 1999 to participate in the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). ...

in the championship. 2006 Chicago posted a 30–12 record, which again was best in the NPF, but lost to the

Connecticut 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 a ...

in the championship series. 2007 The 2007 Chicago Bandits went 23–21, but failed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing in sixth place in the league. 2008 The Bandits began their first season in Elgin with a 4–7 record, playing without Jennie Finch and Vicky Galindo of the United States National Team, and Caitlin Lever of the Canadian National Team, due to the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

Jessica Sallinger Jessica may refer to: Given name * Jessica (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters with this name * Jessica Folcker, a Swedish singer known by the mononym Jessica * Jessica Jung, a Korean-American singer known by the m ...

and Kristina Thorson each won 12 games and were Chicago's first duo to record double-digit victories since Jennie Finch, Amy Harrein 2005. After moving to their new stadium, the Bandits recorded 61 home runs in 2008, which was more home runs than in the franchise's first three years combined. The team's home run leaders were Stacy May (13), Rachel Folden (11), Jamie Clark (11) The Bandits completed their season sweeping the Akron Racers,

New England Riptide The New England Riptide was a women's professional fastpitch softball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softb ...

and

Rockford Thunder Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United St ...

to finish the regular season 32-16 and on a 12-game winning streak, earning the highest seed in the 2008 Championship Series. In the Championship Series, Chicago won all three games and earned the franchise's first NPF Championship with a victory over the Washington Glory in the title game. 2009 The Chicago Bandits began their second season at

Judson University Judson University is a private Baptist university in Elgin, Illinois. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Judson was formed out of the liberal arts component of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. When the seminary moved f ...

Elgin, IL Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

with the return of Olympians

Vicky Galindo Victoria Noel Galindo-Piatt (born December 22, 1983), commonly known as Vicky Galindo, is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, three-time professional All-Star, softball player and current head coach at West Val ...

, and

Caitlin Lever Caitlin Anne Lever (born March 12, 1985) is an American-Canadian softball outfielder. Early life Lever was born in Morristown, New Jersey, when her father Don Lever played for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Due to her ...

. Chicago finished the regular season with a 27–12 record, ranking first in the

standings and earning the top seed for the playoffs in

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Despite having the best record in the NPF in 2009, Chicago was upset in the NPF playoffs by the USSSA Pride two games to one, and lost the opportunity to repeat as league champions. 2010 In 2010, the Bandits once again won the regular season title, but once again, the

ended the Bandits championship hopes, winning their first Cowles Cup title. After the season, standouts Stacy May-Johnson and

announced their retirements from professional softball. 2011 The Bandits moved into their brand new home stadium,

Ballpark at Rosemont Parkway Bank Sports Complex, also known as the Ballpark at Rosemont, is an outdoor baseball park used for fastpitch softball and baseball located in the American city of Rosemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It hosted the National Pro Fastpi ...

, in

in time for the beginning of the 2011 season. The team officially opened the stadium for NPF play on June 16, 2011, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to the Bandits 1-0 walk-off win over the

drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 7th. Unlike the previous three years, the Bandits did not win the regular season title. They finished third in the four-team NPF with a 20–20 record, after losing six of their final eight games at home to close out the regular season. The Bandits opened the playoffs in Sulphur, LA against the second-seeded

and swept the Racers with two straight victories, capped off by a three-run walk-off home run in extra innings by Nikki Nemitz to advance to the finals. In the finals, they once again met the Pride. In the first game, the Pride took an early 2–0 lead, but rookie Megan Wiggins hit a three-run double off Pride starter

Cat Osterman Catherine Leigh Osterman (born April 16, 1983) is a retired American softball player. Osterman pitched on the United States women's national softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Su ...

. Two pitches later, Osterman went down with an arm injury, but the Pride came back to tie the game at 3 in the bottom of the 7th. In the 8th, Bandits right-fielder Amber Patton drove in the go-ahead run and NPF Co-Pitcher of the Year

Monica Abbott Monica Cecilia Abbott (born July 28, 1985) is an American professional softball player. Abbott was an All-American pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college before starting a professional career in the NPF and in the Japan Softball ...

made it stand up for a one-game lead in the best-of-three series. The next afternoon, Chicago got on the board early and often, scoring five times in the bottom of the first. The Pride got two back, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the day, as the Bandits cruised to their second Cowles Cup championship with a 10–3 victory. They became the first NPF team to win multiple Cowles Cup championships. 2012 2013 2014 2015 Before the season, the Bandits signed 2015 draftees shortstop Sammy Marshall of

Western Illinois Forgottonia (), also spelled Forgotonia, is the name given to a 16-County (United States), county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois (area west of ...

signed with the Bandits. and outfielder Brenna Moss of

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

AJ Andrews Ayanna Jeanene Andrews (born June 7, 1993) is an American professional softball player with the Akron Racers of National Pro Fastpitch. In 2016, she became the first woman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove Award. She is also the current host of t ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

signed with the Bandits on June 12. After tryouts, the Bandits signed free agents infielder Megan Blank of the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

, outfielder Kelsi Jones of

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, catcher Vicky Galasso of

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

, and pitcher

Lacey Waldrop Lacey Waldrop (born March 6, 1993) is an American, former collegiate All-American professional softball pitcher and current assistant coach at Houston. Waldrop was a starting pitcher for Florida State, where she is the school career leader in w ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. 2016 The Bandits announced an agreement with radio station 1590

WCGO WCGO (1590 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a talk format, with Korean Christian programming weekday mornings. Licensed to Evanston, Illinois, United States, it serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by William Pollack's Po ...

to broadcast all Bandits home and road games for the 2016 season. After finishing the regular season with a 23–25 record (the first sub-.500 regular season in franchise history), the Bandits won their second consecutive Cowles Cup title, and fourth overall in franchise history, defeating the

2–1 in a winner-take-all game three of the Championship Series finals. 2017 Head coach Mike Steuerwald stepped down and became assistant general manager of the Scrap Yard Dawgs. On February 1, the Village of Rosemont announced it would be assuming ownership of the Bandits from previous owner Bill Sokolis. The transaction included a $50,000 licensing fee paid to the NPF. Rosemont employee Toni Calmeyn will take over as general manager and will hire a new head coach. Later that month the Bandits hired

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

assistant coach

Sharonda McDonald Sharonda McDonald-Kelley is an American former softball player and current head coach at Michigan State Spartans softball, Michigan State. Playing career McDonald played college softball for Texas A&M Aggies softball, Texas A&M from 2004 to 2007 ...

as their head coach. McDonald was an All-NPF player, playing with the

Philadelphia Force The Philadelphia Force was a women's professional softball team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. From 2006 to 2009, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league until a failed sale in September 2009 put an end to the team on hia ...

in 2007 and 2008, the Racers from 2010 to 2012, and 2014 with the USSSA Pride. Later, Chicago hired as their assistant coach Kyla Holas, who coached

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

from 1999 to 2016. On June 8, the Bandits announced the hiring of

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-st ...

alumna Annie Smith as assistant coach. 2018 The Bandits announced that McDonald would not be returning for the 2018 season. On September 19, they announced that their new coach would be Olympian medalist and NCAA champion Stacey Nuveman Deniz. Nuveman Deniz held the NCAA home run record of 90 from 2002 to 2015, when

Lauren Chamberlain Lauren Nicole Chamberlain (born July 2, 1993) is an American retired softball infielder. Chamberlain played college softball for the Oklahoma Sooners softball from 2012 to 2015. A collegiate All-American, she was part of the 2013 Women's Colle ...

broke it. She played in the NPF for the

Arizona Heat The Arizona Heat was a women's softball team based in Tucson, Arizona. From the 2004 season, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. The team's home games were played at historic Hi Corbett Field. Six of the players on the 2006 roster p ...

in 2005.

General managers

* Aaron M. Moore (2009-2016) * Toni Calmeyn (2017–present)

All-time head coaches

Season-by-season

, - , , , 41 , , 7 , , 0 , , 1st place

, , Regular Season Champions, Lost to

in NPF Championship , - , , , 30 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1st place

, , Regular Season Champions, Lost to

in NPF Championship , - , , , 23 , , 21 , , 0 , , 6th place

, , Did not qualify , - , , , 32 , , 16 , , 0 , , 1st place

, , Won NPF Championship (Defeated

) , - , , , 27 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1st place

, , Regular Season Champions, Lost to

2-games-to-1 in first round of NPF playoffs , - , , , 30 , , 20 , , 0 , , 1st place

, , Regular Season Champions, Lost to

in NPF Championship , - , , , 20 , , 20 , , 0 , , 3rd place

, , Won NPF Championship (Defeated

2–0 in Semi-finals, Defeated

2–0 in Finals) , - , , , 25 , , 19 , , 0 , , 2nd place

, , Won Game 1 of NPF Championship series over

(Defeated

Carolina Diamonds The Carolina Diamonds, formerly known as the NPF Diamonds, Tennessee Diamonds, Rockford Thunder and Texas Thunder, was a women's softball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro ...

2–0 in Semi-finals, Finals were rained out) , - , , , 36 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1st place

, , Regular Season Champions, Lost to

in NPF Championship , - , , , 30 , , 18 , , 0 , , 2nd place

, , Lost to

2-games-to-1 in first round of NPF playoffs , - , , , 31 , , 17 , , 0 , , 2nd place

, , Won NPF Championship 2-games-to-0 over

, Defeated

2-games-to-0 in NPF Semifinals , - , , , 23 , , 25 , , 0 , , 3rd place

, , Won NPF Championship 2-games-to-1 over

, Defeated

Scrap Yard Dawgs The Scrap Yard Fast Pitch was an independent women's professional softball team based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston. Established in October 2015 as the Scrap Yard Dawgs, the team played in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) during the 20 ...

2-games-to-1 in NPF Semifinals , - , , , 25 , , 24 , , 0 , , 4th place

, , Lost to

2-games-to-0 in first round of NPF playoffs , - , , , 37 , , 10 , , 0 , , 2nd place

, , , - , , , 38 , , 7 , , 0 , , 1st place

, , Lost to

3-games-to-0 in NPF Finals , - !Totals , , 448 , , 240 , , 0 , colspan="2",

Moments

*July 16, 2009, Jennie Finch pitches a perfect game for the Chicago Bandits in a 3–0 win against the

. *July 27, 2009, the Chicago Bandits played the

Schaumburg Flyers The Schaumburg Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, in the United States. The Flyers were to be charter members of the North American League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, but the team fol ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

men's baseball team in what was dubbed as Battle of the Sexes 2. The game was played at Schaumburg's Alexian Field under softball rules. The Bandits won 4-2 before an Alexian Field record crowd of 8,918. The game was considered a success even though the original tennis match between

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

and

Bobby Riggs Robert Larimore Riggs (February 25, 1918 – October 25, 1995) was an American tennis champion who was the World No. 1 amateur in 1939 and World No. 1 professional in 1946 and 1947. He played his first professional tennis match on December ...

garnered much more national press attention. For this event, the Chicago Bandits received the most press coverage than in the previous years despite winning the 2008 NPF league championship and playing with Jennie Finch. Just a few years earlier, the USA's best softball players played a team of

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

All Stars with that game televised on national television. *July 9, 2010, Jennie Finch pitches a perfect game for the Chicago Bandits against the Akron Racers at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, Ill. Finch struck out 11 batters en route to a 2–0 win. *August 21, 2011, The Bandits defeat the

10–3 in Sulphur, LA to clinch their second NPF Cowles Cup championship. They are the first team in NPF history to win multiple Cowles Cup titles. *August 15, 2015, The Bandits rode the left arm of

to a second-consecutive 1–0 victory in the NPF Championship Series finals over the

in Hoover, AL to clinch the franchise's third Cowles Cup championship. They are now tied with the Pride for most NPF titles at 3.

Retired numbers

The Bandits have retired the numbers of six players:

Players

References

External links

Chicago Bandits
*
The Softball Channel
{{2016 Chicago Bandits Softball teams National Pro Fastpitch teams Sports clubs established in 2005

Bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

Rosemont, Illinois 2005 establishments in Illinois