# 1999 Women's Pro Softball League season

The 1999 Women's Professional Softball League season was the third season of professional fastpitch softball for the league named Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL). In 1997 and 1998, WPSL operated under the name Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF).

## Milestones and Events

After the 1998 season, the WPF (Women's Pro Fastpitch) changed its name to Women's Professional Softball League season (WPSL). WPSL Commissioner/CEO John Carroll said the change should improve the league's name recognition, as "The term 'softball' is more readily recognized by our mass audience than the term 'fastpitch'," Carroll said. "We believe the name change will result in higher public recognition. It will allow people to identify with the sport we play, rather than our style of play." Also, two-time WPF Champion Orlando Wahoos folded, and their roster was assigned to the expansion Akron Racers.
On December 22, Centenary College of Shreveport, LA softball coach Michael Bastian was hired as the full-time head coach of the Racers. The other full-time WPSL coaches were Willie Rucker for the Carolina Diamonds, Judy Martino for the Durham Dragons, Cindy Bristow for the Georgia Pride, Linda Derk for the Tampa Bay FireStix, and Terri Pearson for the Virginia Roadsters.
On March 23, the Durham Dragons introduced Bill Miller as general manager, replacing Dena Lambert.
The WPSL cancelled all preseason games, citing that many draft picks and free agents would be participating in the Women's College World Series.
On July 16, Georgia's Desarie Knipfer pitched the second perfect game in WPSL history, beating the Dragons 6-0.

## Teams, cities and stadiums

| Team | City | Stadium |
| Akron Racers | Akron, Ohio | Firestone Stadium |
| Carolina Diamonds | Gastonia, North Carolina | Sims Legion Park |
| Durham Dragons | Durham, North Carolina | Durham Athletic Park |
| Georgia Pride | Columbus, Georgia | South Commons Softball Complex |
| Tampa Bay FireStix | Tampa, Florida | Red McEwen Field |
| Virginia Roadsters | Hampton, Virginia | War Memorial Stadium |

## Player Acquisition
### College Draft

On December 5, 1998 the 1999 WPSL Senior Draft was held in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Durham Dragons selected 3B Isonette Polonius of East Carolina University with the first pick.

### Notable Transactions
## League standings

Source:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| Tampa Bay FireStix | 37 | 29 | .561 | - |
| Akron Racers | 34 | 32 | .515 | 3 |
| Virginia Roadsters | 34 | 32 | .515 | 3 |
| Georgia Pride | 33 | 33 | .500 | 4 |
| Carolina Diamonds | 32 | 34 | .485 | 5 |
| Durham Dragons | 28 | 38 | .424 | 9 |

## WPSL Championship

The 1999 WPSL Championship Series was held at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio August 24-8. The top three teams on the standings qualified. The second- and third-place teams, the Racers and Roadsters, played a best-of-three semifinal series. The semifinal winner, the Racers, played the first-place team, the FireStix, in a best-of-three final series.
| WPSL Semifinals (Best of 3) | WPSL Semifinals (Best of 3) | WPSL Semifinals (Best of 3) | WPSL Championship (Best of 3) | WPSL Championship (Best of 3) | WPSL Championship (Best of 3) |
| | | | 1 | Tampa Bay FireStix | 2 |
| 2 | Virginia Roadsters | 0 | 3 | Akron Racers | 0 |
| 3 | Akron Racers | 2 | | | |
1999 WPSL Semifinals Akron Racers defeat Virginia Roadsters 2–0 :
| Game | Date | Score | Series (AK-VA) | Location |
| 1 | August 24 | Akron Racers 1, Virginia Roadsters 0 | 1–0 | Akron, Ohio |
| 2 | August 25 | Akron Racers 4, Virginia Roadsters 1 | 2-0 | Akron, Ohio |
1999 WPSL Championship Tampa Bay FireStix defeat Akron Racers 2–0 :
| Game | Date | Score | Series (TB-AK) | Location |
| 1 | August 27 | Tampa Bay FireStix 3, Akron Racers 2, (12 innings) | 1–0 | Akron, Ohio |
| 2 | August 28 | Tampa Bay FireStix 2, Akron Racers 1 | 2-0 | Akron, Ohio |
1999 WPSL Championship Series Most Valuable Player :
| Player | Club |
| Pat Dufficy | Tampa Bay FireStix |

## Annual awards

Source:
* Regular Season Champions
* Tampa Bay FireStix
| Award | Player | Team | |
| Most Valuable Player | Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | |
| Pitcher of the Year | Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 23-8, 1.51 ERA, 168 Ks |
| Hitter of the Year | Marty Laudato | Tampa Bay FireStix | .311 BA, 8 HRs, 36 RBIs |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Randi Berg | Georgia Pride | .966 fielding %, 92 assists, 137 putouts, 237 total chances, 19 double plays |
| Home Run Champion | Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds | 12 HR (WPSL record) |
| Coach of the Year | Linda Derk | Tampa Bay FireStix | |

## 1999 WPSL All-Star Game

The 1999 WPSL All-Star Game was played on June 13 in Plant City, FL at Plant City Stadium, televised on July 29 later on ESPN2. The game feature 30 players split between two teams, one called the "WPSL Stars" and the other "WPSL Stripes." The Stars included players from the Akron Racers, Durham Dragons and Virginia Roadsters, and the Stripes were made up of Carolina Diamonds, Georgia Pride and Tampa Bay FireStix.
The WPSL Stars beat the WPSL Stripes by a score of a 5-4. Roadsters catcher Scia Maumausolo hit a game-winning home run in the eighth inning and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Following are the All-Star rosters:
1999 WPSL STARS All-STARS :
| Player | WPSL Team | Position |
| VOTED STARTERS |||
| Carla Brookbank | Akron Racers | 1B |
| Crystl Bustos | Akron Racers | SS |
| Traci Conrad | Akron Racers | OF |
| Tobin Echo-Hawk | Akron Racers | 2B |
| Tamara Ivie | Virginia Roadsters | OF |
| Amy Kyler | Akron Racers | P |
| Stephanie Little | Durham Dragons | C |
| Nicole Odom | Akron Racers | 3B |
| Jen Smith | Durham Dragons | DP |
| Kellyn Tate | Akron Racers | OF |
| RESERVES |||
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | P |
| Michele Hawkins | Durham Dragons | P |
| Scia Maumausolo | Virginia Roadsters | C |
| Patti Raduenz | Durham Dragons | SS |
| Cheri Shinn | Virginia Roadsters | OF |
| COACHES |||
| Michael Bastian | Akron Racers | All-Star Head Coach |
| Judy Martino | Durham Dragons | All-Star Assistant Coach |
| Terri Pearson | Virginia Roadsters | All-Star Assistant Coach |
1999 WPSL STRIPES ALL-STARS :
| Player | WPSL Team | Position |
| VOTED STARTERS |||
| Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds | 3B |
| Patti Benedict | Georgia Pride | OF |
| Crystal Boyd | Georgia Pride | SS |
| Danielle Cox | Georgia Pride | OF |
| Marty Laudato | Tampa Bay Firestix | C |
| Sara Graziano | Tampa Bay FireStix | DP |
| Michelle Hubler | Tampa Bay FireStix | 2B |
| Victoria Huff | Carolina Diamonds | 1B |
| Venus Taylor | Tampa Bay FireStix | OF |
| DeeDee Weiman-Garcia | Tampa Bay FireStix | P |
| RESERVES |||
| Karen Jackson | Carolina Diamonds | P |
| Julie Crandall | Georgia Pride | C |
| Brandee McArthur | Carolina Diamonds | P |
| Christine Parris-Washington | Tampa Bay FireStix | 3B |
| Gina Perez | Tampa Bay FireStix | OF |
| COACHES |||
| Linda Derk | Tampa Bay FireStix | All-Star Head Coach |
| Willie Rucker | Carolina Diamonds | All-Star Assistant Coach |
| Cindy Bristow | Georgia Pride | All-Star Assistant Coach |

## Statistical Leaders

Source:

### Batting

BATTING TOP 10 (MINIMUM 158 PLATE APPEARANCES)
| BATTER | CLUB | AVG | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI |
| Kellyn Tate | Akron Racers | .320 | 60 | 175 | 32 | 56 | 4 | 28 |
| Marty Laudato | Tampa Bay FireStix | .311 | 60 | 177 | 23 | 55 | 8 | 36 |
| Patti Benedict | Georgia Pride | .304 | 66 | 237 | 29 | 72 | 0 | 21 |
| Scia Maumausolo | Virginia Roadsters | .302 | 61 | 182 | 16 | 55 | 8 | 42 |
| Traci Conrad | Akron Racers | .291 | 58 | 206 | 28 | 60 | 0 | 14 |
| Ali Viola | Tampa Bay FireStix | .287 | 57 | 178 | 26 | 51 | 6 | 28 |
| Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds | .286 | 66 | 185 | 28 | 53 | 12 | 35 |
| Danielle Cox | Georgia Pride | .286 | 57 | 182 | 21 | 52 | 0 | 9 |
| Venus Taylor | Tampa Bay FireStix | .282 | 60 | 202 | 29 | 57 | 1 | 16 |
| Priscilla Welch | Virginia Roadsters | .282 | 66 | 195 | 20 | 55 | 0 | 13 |
HOME RUNS
| BATTER | CLUB | HR |
| Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds | 12 |
| Marty Laudato | Tampa Bay FireStix | 8 |
| Andrea D'Innocenzo | Carolina Diamonds | 8 |
| Scia Maumausolo | Virginia Roadsters | 8 |
| Several Players Tied at 7 |||
RBI
| BATTER | CLUB | RBI |
| Scia Maumausolo | Virginia Roadsters | 42 |
| Marty Laudato | Tampa Bay FireStix | 36 |
| Andrea D'Innocenzo | Carolina Diamonds | 36 |
| Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds | 35 |
| Jen Smith | Durham Dragons | 30 |
STOLEN BASES
| BATTER | CLUB | SB |
| Dawn Wuthrich | Carolina Diamonds | 26 |
| Jen Buford | Carolina Diamonds | 21 |
| Venus Taylor | Tampa Bay FireStix | 14 |
| Traci Conrad | Akron Racers | 14 |
| Several Players Tied at 13 |||
TEAM BATTING
| CLUB | AVG | AB | R | H | HR | BB | SO | SB | CS |
| Tampa Bay FireStix | .253 | 1770 | 231 | 447 | 29 | 208 | 231 | 36 | 21 |
| Akron Racers | .244 | 1794 | 242 | 437 | 33 | 206 | 271 | 68 | 36 |
| Georgia Pride | .244 | 1849 | 186 | 451 | 15 | 153 | 212 | 51 | 27 |
| Virginia Roadsters | .243 | 1772 | 210 | 430 | 21 | 166 | 237 | 73 | 21 |
| Carolina Diamonds | .234 | 1826 | 193 | 427 | 26 | 150 | 250 | 93 | 26 |
| Durham Dragons | .227 | 1808 | 178 | 411 | 18 | 123 | 233 | 34 | 16 |
HITS
| BATTER | CLUB | H |
| Patti Benedict | Georgia Pride | 72 |
| Traci Conrad | Akron Racers | 60 |
| Dawn Wuthrich | Carolina Diamonds | 59 |
| Venus Taylor | Tampa Bay FireStix | 57 |
| Andrea D'Innocenzo | Carolina Diamonds | 57 |
DOUBLES
| BATTER | CLUB | 2B |
| Kellyn Tate | Akron Racers | 11 |
| Patti Benedict | Georgia Pride | 11 |
| Ali Viola | Tampa Bay FireStix | 9 |
| Kendall Richards | Georgia Pride | 9 |
| Several Players Tied at 8 |||
TRIPLES
| BATTER | CLUB | 3B |
| Sarah Fredstrom | Virginia Roadsters | 5 |
| Jen Buford | Carolina Diamonds | 4 |
| Several Players Tied at 3 |||
ON-BASE PERCENTAGE
| BATTER | CLUB | OBP |
| Nancy Evans | Tampa Bay FireStix | .439 |
| Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds | .432 |
| Kellyn Tate | Akron Racers | .420 |
| Scia Maumausolo | Virginia Roadsters | .402 |
| Cheri Shinn | Virginia Roadsters | .387 |
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE
| BATTER | CLUB | SLG |
| Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds | .541 |
| Scia Maumausolo | Virginia Roadsters | .489 |
| Kellyn Tate | Akron Racers | .486 |
| Marty Laudato | Tampa Bay FireStix | .480 |
| Liza Brown | Akron Racers | .459 |
EXTRA-BASE HITS
| BATTER | CLUB | XBH |
| Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds | 21 |
| Sarah Fredstrom | Virginia Roadsters | 19 |
| Kellyn Tate | Akron Racers | 18 |
| Scia Maumausolo | Virginia Roadsters | 17 |
| Several Players Tied at 15 |||
RUNS SCORED
| BATTER | CLUB | R |
| Sarah Fredstrom | Virginia Roadsters | 34 |
| Cheri Shinn | Virginia Roadsters | 33 |
| Kellyn Tate | Akron Racers | 32 |
| Several Players Tied at 29 |||

### Pitching

PITCHING TOP 10 (MINIMUM 66 IP)
| PITCHER | CLUB | W-L | ERA | IP | H | BB | SO |
| Steph Klaviter | Georgia Pride | 5- 9 | 0.85 | 107 | 82 | 33 | 49 |
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 23- 8 | 1.51 | 231 | 174 | 89 | 168 |
| Desarie Knipfer | Georgia Pride | 15-11 | 1.66 | 190 | 139 | 51 | 147 |
| Brandee McArthur | Carolina Diamonds | 16-11 | 1.72 | 191 | 150 | 76 | 80 |
| Monica Triner | Tampa Bay FireStix | 10- 7 | 1.74 | 133 | 119 | 25 | 51 |
| Sarah Dawson | Akron Racers | 13- 8 | 1.91 | 143 | 120 | 42 | 88 |
| Amy Kyler | Akron Racers | 7- 7 | 1.97 | 110 | 80 | 47 | 59 |
| Trinity Johnson | Durham Dragons | 8- 6 | 1.97 | 96 | 78 | 32 | 58 |
| Heather Compton | Tampa Bay FireStix | 10-11 | 1.99 | 127 | 104 | 39 | 80 |
| Dee Dee Weiman-Garcia | Tampa Bay FireStix | 16- 9 | 2.01 | 188 | 169 | 53 | 123 |
WINS
| PITCHER | CLUB | W |
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 23 |
| Dee Dee Weiman-Garcia | Tampa Bay FireStix | 16 |
| Brandee McArthur | Carolina Diamonds | 16 |
| Desarie Knipfer | Georgia Pride | 15 |
| Karen Jackson | Carolina Diamonds | 14 |
SAVES
| PITCHER | CLUB | S |
| Sarah Dawson | Akron Racers | 3 |
| Desarie Knipfer | Georgia Pride | 2 |
| Several Players Tied at 1 |||
STRIKEOUTS
| PITCHER | CLUB | K |
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 168 |
| Desarie Knipfer | Georgia Pride | 147 |
| Dee Dee Weiman-Garcia | Tampa Bay FireStix | 123 |
| Michele Hawkins | Durham Dragons | 97 |
| Sarah Dawson | Akron Racers | 88 |
TEAM PITCHING
| CLUB | W-L | ERA | H | CG | SHO | SV | HR | BB | SO |
| Georgia Pride | 33- 33 | 1.64 | 449 | 40 | 13 | 3 | 27 | 146 | 273 |
| Tampa Bay FireStix | 37- 29 | 2.03 | 415 | 51 | 8 | 2 | 24 | 126 | 262 |
| Akron Racers | 34- 32 | 2.19 | 411 | 43 | 7 | 5 | 20 | 168 | 225 |
| Carolina Diamonds | 32- 34 | 2.48 | 440 | 43 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 208 | 172 |
| Virginia Roadsters | 34- 32 | 2.55 | 430 | 38 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 189 | 255 |
| Durham Dragon | 28- 38 | 2.63 | 458 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 31 | 169 | 247 |
GAMES
| PITCHER | CLUB | G |
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 38 |
| Karen Jackson | Carolina Diamonds | 35 |
| Michele Hawkins | Durham Dragons | 33 |
| Desarie Knipfer | Georgia Pride | 32 |
| Several Players Tied at 29 |||
COMPLETE GAMES
| PITCHER | CLUB | CG |
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 26 |
| Dee Dee Weiman-Garcia | Tampa Bay FireStix | 22 |
| Karen Jackson | Carolina Diamonds | 20 |
| Brandee McArthur | Carolina Diamonds | 20 |
| Michele Hawkins | Durham Dragons | 18 |
SHUTOUTS
| PITCHER | CLUB | SO |
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 7 |
| Sarah Dawson | Akron Racers | 5 |
| Karen Jackson | Carolina Diamonds | 4 |
| Several Players Tied at 3 |||
INNINGS PITCHED
| PITCHER | CLUB | IP |
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 231.1 |
| Karen Jackson | Carolina Diamonds | 203.1 |
| Brandee McArthur | Carolina Diamonds | 191.1 |
| Desarie Knipfer | Georgia Pride | 190.0 |
| Dee Dee Weiman-Garcia | Tampa Bay FireStix | 188.0 |
LOSSES
| PITCHER | CLUB | L |
| Michele Hawkins | Durham Dragons | 15 |
| Amie Stewart | Durham Dragons | 13 |
| Several Players Tied at 11 |||
WALKS
| PITCHER | CLUB | BB |
| Kaci Clark | Virginia Roadsters | 89 |
| Karen Jackson | Carolina Diamonds | 88 |
| Brandee McArthur | Carolina Diamonds | 76 |
| Amie Stewart | Durham Dragons | 68 |
| Several Players Tied at 53 |||
HOME RUNS ALLOWED
| PITCHER | CLUB | HR |
| Michele Hawkins | Durham Dragons | 14 |
| Desarie Knipfer | Georgia Pride | 12 |
| Karen Jackson | Carolina Diamonds | 11 |
| Amie Stewart | Durham Dragons | 11 |
| Several Players Tied at 7 |||