Standings

See link References [4] for more details from an Archive of the original NPF Standings.

Playoff Schedule

See links in References [1-3] for Articles on the playoff games from an Archive of the Original National Pro Fastpitch website articles.

Recap

Regular Season

Houston-based Texas Thunder finished top of the six-team National Pro Fastpitch in 2004, winning 41 of their 58 games played. NY/NJ Juggernaut and Akron Racers from Ohio both finished on 39-21 records and would meet each other in the playoffs. The fourth seed in the playoffs went to Lowell, Massachusetts-based New England Riptide who finished 17 games behind the League Pennant winners Texas Thunder with a 25-35 record. Out of the playoffs were fifth-placed Arizona Heat (19-41) from Tucson, and California Sunbirds (15-43) from Stockton in sixth. [References: 4]

Semi-Finals (25-27 August 2004)

NY/NJ defeated the hometown Akron Racers in the Semi-Finals while the New England Riptide, fourth in the regular season, shocked first place Texas Thunder by winning the second and third games of the Semi-Final 4-2 and 3-0 after losing the opener 1-4. [References: 3]

Cowles Cup Championship Game (29 August 2004)

After rain washed out the opening game on Saturday 28 August 2004, the single-game Championship Game was won by NY/NJ Juggernaut 10-1 versus New England Riptide on Sunday 29 August 2004 at Akron, Ohio’s Firestone Stadium. Juggernaut’s Amanda Scott (Fresno State) took the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. [References: 2]

About National Pro Fastpitch 2004

2004 was the first year of the National Pro Fastpitch – a Women’s Professional Fastpitch Softball League. A version of Baseball for Women with accelerated underarm pitching Fastpitch Leagues are the pinnacle of Women’s Softball. National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) played its first year in 2004 under that name, having previously played under the names Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL) since 1997.

NPF was headquarteredin Denver, Colorado, and featured six teams in its’ inaugural 2004 season: New England Riptide (Lowell, Massachusetts) and NY/NJ Juggernaut (Lincoln Park, New Jersey) from the North East; Akron Racers (Ohio) from the Midwest, Texas Thunder (Arlington) from the South and Arizona Heat (Tucson) and California Sunbirds (Stockton) from the West.

Softball Stock Image

References

[1] Pro Fastpitch Wayback Machine Web Archive (2004) The Riptide catch Thunder in NPF softball playoffs Aug. 25-26 in Akron [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20041206110330/http://www.profastpitch.com/news/?id=6055 [Accessed 14 January 2023]

[2] Pro Fastpitch Wayback Machine Web Archive (2004) New York / New  Jersey claims inaugural Cowles Cup [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20041206174836/http://www.profastpitch.com/news/?id=6123 [Accessed 14 January 2023]

[3] Pro Fastpitch Wayback Machine Web Archive (2004) Surpising Riptide finish one win shy of NPF title [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20041206175925/http://www.profastpitch.com/news/?id=6150 [Accessed 14 January 2023]

[4] Pro Fastpitch Wayback Machine Web Archive (2004) Homepage [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20041203115757/http://www.profastpitch.com/ [Accessed 14 January 2023]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Melissa Lavery

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 14 January 2023

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2023

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