# 2018 National Pro Fastpitch season

The 2018 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 15th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's 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.

## Milestones and events

On October 12, 2017, it was reported the Texas Charge would be dissolving, effective immediately. The NPF did not make an announcement regarding the Charge, but all Charge players under contract were added to the league's transactions page as free agents.
In an arrangement similar to the Beijing Eagles', NPF announced in December 2017 that Softball Australia would be operating a 2018 expansion team, the Aussie Spirit.
On January 28, 2018, the Scrap Yard Dawgs announced via press release they would no longer be affiliated with the NPF. They indicated they would continue as an independent team. On the same day, Ohio.com reported that the Akron Racers would be replaced by a Chinese team, similar to the Beijing Eagles.

### Rule changes
## Teams, cities and stadiums

| Team | City | Stadium | Coaches |
| Aussie Spirit | Travelling Team | Travelling Team | Head Coach: TBA Assistants: TBA |
| Beijing Shougang Eagles | Travelling Team | Travelling Team | Head Coach: Teresa Wilson Assistants: Breanne Lewis, Thomas Hazelhurst |
| Chicago Bandits | Rosemont, Illinois (Chicago Area) | Ballpark at Rosemont | Head Coach: Stacey Nuveman Deniz Assistant: TBA |
| Cleveland Comets | Travelling Team | Travelling Team | Head Coach: TBA Assistants: TBA |
| USSSA Pride | Viera, Florida | Space Coast Stadium | Head Coach: Lonni Alameda Assistants: Travis Wilson, Craig Snider |

## Player acquisition
### College draft

The 2018 NPF College Draft will be the 13th annual collegiate draft for NPF.

### Notable transactions

* Head Coaching Changes
** The Bandits announced that coach Sharonda 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 broke it. She played in the NPF for the Arizona Heat in 2005.

## League standings

| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| USSSA Pride | 47 | 42 | 5 | .894 | - |
| Chicago Bandits | 47 | 37 | 10 | .787 | 5 |
| Aussie Spirit | 48 | 16 | 32 | .333 | 26.5 |
| Beijing Shougang Eagles | 46 | 13 | 33 | .283 | 28.5 |
| Cleveland Comets | 48 | 10 | 38 | .208 | 32.5 |

### Results table

2018 NPF Records :
| Team | Spirit | Eagles | Bandits | Comets | Pride |
| Aussie Spirit | — | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Beijing Shougang Eagles | 0-0 | — | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Chicago Bandits | 0-0 | 0-0 | — | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Cleveland Comets | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | — | 0-0 |
| USSSA Florida Pride | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | — |
Legend :
| | Protest/Halted Game |
| | Postponement |
| Bold | Winning team |

## 2018 Game log

| Date | Time | Visitor | Home | Venue | Score | Win | Loss | Save | Player of the Game | Attendance |
| Date | Time | Visitor | Home | Venue | Score | Win | Loss | Save | Player of the Game | Attendance |
| Date | Time | Visitor | Home | Venue | Score | Win | Loss | Save | Player of the Game | Attendance |

## NPF Championship

* NPF Semifinals
* 1
* 4
* 2
* 3
2018 NPF Semifinals :
| Game | Date | Score | Winning Pitcher | Save | Losing Pitcher | Player of the Game | Series |
2018 NPF Semifinals :
| Game | Date | Score | Winning Pitcher | Save | Losing Pitcher | Player of the Game | Series |
2018 NPF Championship Series :
| Game | Date | Score | Winning Pitcher | Save | Losing Pitcher | Player of the Game | Series |

### Championship Game

| Team | Top Batter | Stats. |
| USSSA Pride | Chelsea Goodacre & Hallie Wilson | 1-1 RBI 2B |
| Chicago Bandits | Brenna Moss | 3-4 |
| Team | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| USSSA Pride | Jessica Burroughs (W) | 4.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| USSSA Pride | Delanie Gourley | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| USSSA Pride | Jolene Henderson | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Chicago Bandits | Aleshia Ocasio (L) | 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chicago Bandits | Rachele Fico | 1.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Chicago Bandits | Ally Carda | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chicago Bandits | Danielle O'Toole | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chicago Bandits | Shelby Turnier | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2018 NPF Championship Series MVP :
| Player | Club | Stats. |
| Shelby Pendley | USSSA Pride | .428 (3/7) 2RBIs HR 2BBs |

## Annual awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| Player of the Year Award | Brenna Moss | Chicago Bandits |
| Pitcher of the Year | Jolene Henderson | USSSA Pride |
| Gold Glove Presented by Rawlings | Jade Rhodes | Cleveland Comets |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Brenna Moss | Chicago Bandits |
| Rookie of the Year | Jessie Scroggins | Chicago Bandits |
| Stolen Bases Award | Brenna Moss | Chicago Bandits |
| Home Run Award | Emily Carosone | Chicago Bandits |
| Home Run Award | Lauren Chamberlain | USSSA Pride |
| Home Run Award | Megan Wiggins | USSSA Pride |
| Jennie Finch Award | Nadia Taylor | Chicago Bandits |
| Regular Season Championship Cup | USSSA Florida Pride | USSSA Florida Pride |
| Coaching Staff of the Year | Mike Stith, Cody Dent, Andrea Duran | USSSA Florida Pride |
| Umpire of the Year | Bill Gomoluch | Bill Gomoluch |

## All-NPF Team

2018 All-NPF Team :
| Position | Name | Team |
| Catcher | Kristyn Sandberg | Chicago Bandits |
| First base | Jade Rhodes | Cleveland Comets |
| Second base | Emily Carosone | Chicago Bandits |
| Third base | Bianka Bell | USSSA Pride |
| Shortstop | Shelby Pendley | USSSA Pride |
| Outfield | Brenna Moss | Chicago Bandits |
| Outfield | Sammy Marshall | Chicago Bandits |
| Outfield | Megan Wiggins | USSSA Pride |
| Designated player | Lauren Chamberlain | USSSA Pride |
| At Large | Hallie Wilson | USSSA Pride |
| At Large | Jessie Scroggins | Chicago Bandits |
| At Large | Victoria Draper | Beijing Shougang Eagles |
| At Large | Nadia Taylor | Chicago Bandits |
| At Large | Sierra Romero | USSSA Pride |
| Pitcher | Jolene Henderson | USSSA Pride |
| Pitcher | Shelby Turnier | Texas Charge |
| Pitcher | Keilani Ricketts | USSSA Pride |
| Pitcher | Jessica Burroughs | USSSA Pride |