Women’s Pro Softball – Eirball.org – Baseball and Softball in Ireland Statistics Archive

Final Standings

Women’s Professional Fastpitch 2022
Final Standings 2022	W	L	Pct	GB
USSSA Pride	19	10	0.655	–
SIS Vipers	17	13	0.567	2.5
Other Teams Total	4	17	0.100	11
Other Teams	W	L	Pct	GB
*(International Teams)*
Japan	1	0	1.000	N/A
USA	1	0	1.000	N/A
Australia	0	2	0.000	N/A
Team Mexico (2022)	0	3	0.000	N/A
*(League All-Stars)*
HFL	0	2	0.000	N/A
CCSL	0	2	0.000	N/A
*(Other Teams)*
Florida Vibe	2	4	0.333	N/A
Alliance	0	2	0.000	N/A
S&S Sports	0	2	0.000	N/A
Totals:	40	40	0.500	N/A

[1] Ballclubz (2022) Women’s Professional Fastpitch 2022 [Internet] Available from: https://www.ballclubz.com/wpf [Accessed: 14 January 2023]

WPF 2022 Season Report

USSSA Pride came out on top of the 2022 Women’s Professional Fastpitch season, winning 19 of 29 games compared to SIS Vipers’ record of 17 wins in 30 games. Invited teams including USA, Japan, Australia and Team Mexico (2022) as well as a couple of League All-Star teams and three other teams went a Total of 4-17.¹

About WPF 2022

Women’s Professional Fastpitch (WPF) replaced the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) that had ceased operations during the COVID pandemic. 2022 was the first year of WPF and featured two regular teams: the USSSA Pride (representing the United States Speciality Sports Association) and the SIS Vipers (representing Smash It Sports). Almost all games were played at USSSA’s Space Coast Stadium in Florida, and most of the rest played at Choccolocco Park, Oxford, Alabama. ²

About Fastpitch Softball

Fastpitch Softball is a competitive version of Recreational Mixed Softball, or Baseball, and in USA is primarily a Competitive Women’s version of the game, with a Professional League for women: National Pro Fastpitch. It differs from the Recreational Coed version of the sport in that the pitching is very fast, released after 360 degrees rotation of the pitcher’s arm, and does not have to be in a soft arc like in traditional softball.³

ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

First Published: 8 April 2024. Last Updated: 8 April 2024

Standings

NPF National Pro Fastpitch 2004

Pos	Team	W	L	Pct	GB
1	Texas Thunder	41	17	0.707	0
2	NY/NJ Juggernaut	39	21	0.650	3.0
3	Akron Racers	39	21	0.650	3.0
4	New England Riptide	25	35	0.417	17.0
5	Arizona Heat	19	41	0.317	23.0
6	California Sunbirds	15	43	0.259	26.0

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

Playoff Schedule

NPF National Pro Fastpitch Playoffs 2004


Match Day Semi-Final 1 (Best of Three)
August 25, 2004 (Semi-Final 1 (Best of Three)) Win - Loss N/A NY/NJ Juggernaut vs Akron Racers
August 26, 2004 (Semi-Final 1 (Best of Three)) Win - Loss N/A NY/NJ Juggernaut vs Akron Racers
August 27, 2004 (Semi-Final 1 (Best of Three)) 6:00 pm N/A NY/NJ Juggernaut vs Akron Racers
Match Day Semi-Final 2 (Best of Three)
August 25, 2004 (Semi-Final 2 (Best of Three)) 4 - 1 N/A Texas Thunder vs New England Riptide
August 26, 2004 (Semi-Final 2 (Best of Three)) 2 - 4 N/A Texas Thunder vs New England Riptide
August 27, 2004 (Semi-Final 2 (Best of Three)) 0 - 3 N/A Texas Thunder vs New England Riptide
Match Day Championship Game (Cowles Cup)
August 29, 2004 (Championship Game (Cowles Cup)) 10 - 1 N/A NY/NJ Juggernaut vs New England Riptide

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

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved. The Logos and Photos used in this article remain the property of the organisations and individuals which own the copyright and are used here for educational and information purposes only.