| 2007 NPF Season | |
| Color: | blue |
| Color Text: | white |
| League: | National Pro Fastpitch |
| Sport: | softball |
| Duration: | May 29, 2007 – August 18, 2007 |
| No Of Teams: | 6 |
| Draft: | 2007 NPF Draft |
| Draft Link: | 2007 NPF Draft |
| Top Pick: | Lindsay Schutzler Tennessee |
| Picked By: | Chicago Bandits |
| Season: | Regular Season |
| Season Champs: | Washington Glory |
| Season Champ Name: | Majestic Cup (Best record) |
| Finals: | Cowles Cup |
| Finals Champ: | Washington Glory |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Rockford Thunder |
| Finals Mvp: | Monica Abbott Washington Glory |
| Seasonslist: | NPF Seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | NPF |
| Prevseason Year: | 2006 |
| Nextseason Year: | 2008 |
The 2007 National Pro Fastpitch season was the fourth 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.
| Team | City | Stadium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Racers | Akron, Ohio | Firestone Stadium | |
| Chicago Bandits | Benedictine University Sports Complex[1] | ||
| New England Riptide | Lowell, Massachusetts | Martin Softball Field[2] | |
| Philadelphia Force | Allentown, Pennsylvania | ECTB Stadium[3] | |
| Rockford Thunder | Rockford, Illinois | SportsCore One[4] | |
| Washington Glory | Fairfax, Virginia | Softball Complex at George Mason University[5] |
A number of changes to the NPF roster of teams happened in the offseason:
The Texas Thunder were sold to new ownership based in Rockford, Illinois. They relocated there for the 2007 season and renamed themselves the Rockford Thunder.[6]
In January 2007, the Connecticut Brakettes announced they would no longer participate in NPF.[7]
In February, an expansion team named the Washington Glory was added to NPF, and the Glory inherited the contracts of players from the Brakettes.[8]
Arizona Heat suspended play for the 2007 season.[9] Despite rumors to the contrary, the Heat never rejoined NPF.
NPF hired Cheri Kempf to be commissioner. Kempf's background includes pitching on the 1992 gold medal-winning United States national team in the World Cup in Beijing, China, producing instructional books and videos on softball, and announcing professional and college softball telecasts.[10]
In March, the Akron Racers hired Shonda Stanton, the head softball coach at Marshall University to be field manager.[11]
The 2007 NPF Senior Draft was held February 14, 2007. Lindsay Schutzler of Tennessee was selected first by the Chicago Bandits.[12]
Cat Osterman was drafted first in the 2006 NPF Draft by the Connecticut Brakettes. She did not sign with them, becoming a free agent on September 30, 2006. In December 2006, she signed a deal to join the Rockford Thunder.[13]
Source [14]
| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Glory | 44 | 34 | 10 | .773 | - |
| Akron Racers | 43 | 26 | 17 | .605 | 7.5 |
| New England Riptide | 44 | 26 | 18 | .591 | 8 |
| Rockford Thunder | 44 | 24 | 20 | .545 | 10 |
| Philadelphia Force | 44 | 24 | 20 | .545 | 10 |
| Chicago Bandits | 44 | 23 | 21 | .523 | 11 |
The Michigan Ice played a partial schedule in 2007, with hopes of receiving investor support in 2008 to become a full-time NPF member. The Ice never became a full-time member. League games against Team China, Denso Japan professional softball team, the Venezuela national team and the Stratford Brakettes were also scheduled. The results counted in the NPF's team records.[15]
The 2007 NPF Championship Series was held at Sunset Point Park in Kimberly, Wisconsin August 24-6. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a double-elimination bracket.[16]
| 2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 1 #2 seed vs. #3 seed | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | |||||
| 1 | August 25 | Akron Racers 0, New England Riptide 3[17] | ||||||
| Riptide advance; Racers to losers bracket | ||||||||
| 2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 2 #1 seed vs. #4 seed | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | |||||
| 2 | August 25 | Washington Glory 4, Rockford Thunder 0[18] | ||||||
| Glory advance; Thunder to losers bracket | ||||||||
| 2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 3 Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | |||||
| 3 | August 25 | Akron Racers 3, Rockford Thunder 6 (10 innings)[19] | ||||||
| Rockford Thunder eliminate Akron Racers | ||||||||
| 2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 4 Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | |||||
| 4 | August 25 | Washington Glory 2, New England Riptide 1[20] | ||||||
| Glory to final; Riptide to losers bracket | ||||||||
| 2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 5 Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | |||||
| 5 | August 26 | Rockford Thunder 5, New England Riptide 0[21] | ||||||
| Thunder to final; Riptide eliminated | ||||||||
| 2007 NPF Championship Series - Game 6 Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Location | |||||
| 6 | August 24 | Washington Glory 3, Rockford Thunder 1[22] | ||||||
| Washington Glory win NPF Championship | ||||||||
Source:[24]
| Award | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year Award | Amber Jackson | Washington Glory | |
| Pitcher of the Year | Desiree Serrano | Washington Glory | |
| Rookie of the Year | Kristina Thorson | Philadelphia Force | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Jackie Pasquerella | New England Riptide | |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Veronica Wootson | Akron Racers | |
| Manager of the Year | Carie Dever-Boaz | Washington Glory |
| 2007 All-NPF Team[25] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Team | |
| Pitcher | Kristina Thorson | Philadelphia Force | |
| Pitcher | Desiree Serrano | Washington Glory | |
| Pitcher | Sarah Pauly | Washington Glory | |
| Pitcher | Eileen Canney | New England Riptide | |
| Catcher | Mackenzie Vandergeest | Rockford Thunder | |
| 1st Base | Kellie Wilkerson | Philadelphia Force | |
| 2nd Base | Veronica Wootson | Akron Racers | |
| 3rd Base | Norrelle Dickson | Akron Racers | |
| Shortstop | Amber Jackson | Washington Glory | |
| Outfield | Kristen Zaleski | Rockford Thunder | |
| Outfield | Sharonda McDonald | Philadelphia Force | |
| Outfield | Shanel Scott | New England Riptide | |
| At-Large | Oli Keohohou | Washington Glory | |
| At-Large | Nicole Thompson | Washington Glory | |
| At-Large | Chelsea Spencer | Philadelphia Force | |
| At-Large | Jamie Clark | Chicago Bandits | |
| At-Large | Kristen Butler | Akron Racers | |
| At-Large | Serena Settlemier | Rockford Thunder | |