1999 Women's Pro Softball League season

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1999 WPSL Season
Women's Pro Softball League logo.png
LeagueWomen's Professional Softball League
Sportsoftball
DurationMay 13, 1999 - August 22, 1999
Number of teams6
TV partner(s)ESPN2
1999 WPSL Draft
Top draft pick 3B
East Carolina
Picked by
Regular Season
Regular Season Champions
WPSL Champions
Runners-upAkron Racers
Season MVP
WPSL Championship
Finals MVP
WPSL seasons
← 1998
2000 →

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."[1] 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 was hired as the full-time head coach of the Racers.
The other full-time WPSL coaches were for the Carolina Diamonds, for the Durham Dragons, for the Georgia Pride, for the Tampa Bay FireStix, and for the Virginia Roadsters.[2]

On March 23, the Durham Dragons introduced Bill Miller as general manager, replacing Dena Lambert.[3]

The WPSL cancelled all preseason games, citing that many draft picks and free agents would be participating in the Women's College World Series.[3]

On July 16, Georgia's pitched the second perfect game in WPSL history, beating the Dragons 6-0.[4]

Teams, cities and stadiums[]

Team City Stadium
Akron Racers Akron, Ohio Firestone Stadium[5]
Gastonia, North Carolina Sims Legion Park[6]
Durham, North Carolina Durham Athletic Park[3]
Columbus, Georgia [7]
Tampa, Florida Red McEwen Field [8]
Hampton, Virginia War Memorial Stadium[9]

Player Acquisition[]

College Draft[]

Further information: 1999 WPSL Draft

On December 5, 1998 the 1999 WPSL Senior Draft was held in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Durham Dragons selected 3B of East Carolina University with the first pick.[10]

Notable Transactions[]

League standings[]

Source:[11]

Team W L Pct. GB
37 29 .561 -
Akron Racers 34 32 .515 3
34 32 .515 3
33 33 .500 4
32 34 .485 5
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.[11]

WPSL Semifinals (Best of 3) WPSL Championship (Best of 3)
      
1 2
3 Akron Racers 0
2 0
3 Akron Racers 2
1999 WPSL Semifinals
Akron Racers defeat 2–0
Game Date Score Series
(AK-VA)		 Location
1 August 24 Akron Racers 1, 0[12] 1–0 Akron, Ohio
2 August 25 Akron Racers 4, 1[13] 2-0 Akron, Ohio
1999 WPSL Championship
defeat Akron Racers 2–0
Game Date Score Series
(TB-AK)		 Location
1 August 27 3, Akron Racers 2, (12 innings)[14] 1–0 Akron, Ohio
2 August 28 2, Akron Racers 1[15] 2-0 Akron, Ohio
1999 WPSL Championship Series Most Valuable Player
Player Club
[15]

Annual awards[]

Source:[11]

Regular Season Champions
Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player [16]
Pitcher of the Year 23-8, 1.51 ERA, 168 Ks[16]
Hitter of the Year .311 BA, 8 HRs, 36 RBIs[17]
Defensive Player of the Year .966 fielding %, 92 assists, 137 putouts, 237 total chances, 19 double plays[18]
Home Run Champion 12 HR (WPSL record)[19]
Coach of the Year [20]

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.[21]

The WPSL Stars beat the WPSL Stripes by a score of a 5-4. Roadsters catcher hit a game-winning home run in the eighth inning and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.[22]

Following are the All-Star rosters:

1999 WPSL STARS All-STARS
Player WPSL Team Position
VOTED STARTERS
Akron Racers 1B
Crystl Bustos Akron Racers SS
Traci Conrad Akron Racers OF
Akron Racers 2B
OF
Akron Racers P
C
Akron Racers 3B
DP
Kellyn Tate Akron Racers OF
RESERVES
P
P
C
SS
OF
COACHES
Akron Racers All-Star Head Coach
All-Star Assistant Coach
All-Star Assistant Coach
1999 WPSL STRIPES ALL-STARS
Player WPSL Team Position
VOTED STARTERS
3B
Patti Benedict OF
SS
OF
C
DP
2B
1B
OF
P
RESERVES
P
C
P
3B
OF
COACHES
All-Star Head Coach
All-Star Assistant Coach
All-Star Assistant Coach

Statistical Leaders[]

Source:[23]

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
.311 60 177 23 55 8 36
Patti Benedict .304 66 237 29 72 0 21
.302 61 182 16 55 8 42
Traci Conrad Akron Racers .291 58 206 28 60 0 14
Ali Viola .287 57 178 26 51 6 28
.286 66 185 28 53 12 35
.286 57 182 21 52 0 9
.282 60 202 29 57 1 16
.282 66 195 20 55 0 13

HOME RUNS

BATTER CLUB HR
12
8
8
8
Several Players Tied at 7

RBI

BATTER CLUB RBI
42
36
36
35
30

STOLEN BASES

BATTER CLUB SB
26
21
14
Traci Conrad Akron Racers 14
Several Players Tied at 13

TEAM BATTING

CLUB AVG AB R H HR BB SO SB CS
.253 1770 231 447 29 208 231 36 21
Akron Racers .244 1794 242 437 33 206 271 68 36
.244 1849 186 451 15 153 212 51 27
.243 1772 210 430 21 166 237 73 21
.234 1826 193 427 26 150 250 93 26
.227 1808 178 411 18 123 233 34 16

HITS

BATTER CLUB H
Patti Benedict 72
Traci Conrad Akron Racers 60
59
57
57

DOUBLES

BATTER CLUB 2B
Kellyn Tate Akron Racers 11
Patti Benedict 11
Ali Viola 9
9
Several Players Tied at 8

TRIPLES

BATTER CLUB 3B
5
4
Several Players Tied at 3

ON-BASE PERCENTAGE

BATTER CLUB OBP
.439
.432
Kellyn Tate Akron Racers .420
.402
.387

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE

BATTER CLUB SLG
.541
.489
Kellyn Tate Akron Racers .486
.480
Akron Racers .459

EXTRA-BASE HITS

BATTER CLUB XBH
21
19
Kellyn Tate Akron Racers 18
17
Several Players Tied at 15

RUNS SCORED

BATTER CLUB R
34
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
5- 9 0.85 107 82 33 49
23- 8 1.51 231 174 89 168
15-11 1.66 190 139 51 147
16-11 1.72 191 150 76 80
10- 7 1.74 133 119 25 51
Sarah Dawson Akron Racers 13- 8 1.91 143 120 42 88
Akron Racers 7- 7 1.97 110 80 47 59
8- 6 1.97 96 78 32 58
10-11 1.99 127 104 39 80
16- 9 2.01 188 169 53 123

WINS

PITCHER CLUB W
23
16
16
15
14

SAVES

PITCHER CLUB S
Sarah Dawson Akron Racers 3
2
Several Players Tied at 1

STRIKEOUTS

PITCHER CLUB K
168
147
123
97
Sarah Dawson Akron Racers 88

TEAM PITCHING

CLUB W-L ERA H CG SHO SV HR BB SO
33- 33 1.64 449 40 13 3 27 146 273
37- 29 2.03 415 51 8 2 24 126 262
Akron Racers 34- 32 2.19 411 43 7 5 20 168 225
32- 34 2.48 440 43 5 1 19 208 172
34- 32 2.55 430 38 10 0 21 189 255
28- 38 2.63 458 45 5 1 31 169 247

GAMES

PITCHER CLUB G
38
35
33
32
Several Players Tied at 29

COMPLETE GAMES

PITCHER CLUB CG
26
22
20
20
18

SHUTOUTS

PITCHER CLUB SO
7
Sarah Dawson Akron Racers 5
4
Several Players Tied at 3

INNINGS PITCHED

PITCHER CLUB IP
231.1
203.1
191.1
190.0
188.0

LOSSES

PITCHER CLUB L
15
13
Several Players Tied at 11

WALKS

PITCHER CLUB BB
89
88
76
68
Several Players Tied at 53

HOME RUNS ALLOWED

PITCHER CLUB HR
14
12
11
11
Several Players Tied at 7

References[]

  1. ^ Larry Cain (January 1999). "WPF Becomes WPSL In Time for 1999 Season" (PDF). Fastpitch Delivery. p. 8. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  2. ^ "WPSL NAMES MICHAEL BASTIAN HEAD COACH OF THE AKRON RACERS". AkronRacers.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 1999. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Durham Dragon News". DurhamDragons.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 1998. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Knipfer perfect in Georgia's 6-0 win over Durham". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 1999. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Contact the Racers". www.akronracers.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 1999. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Directions to the Game". www.carolinadiamonds.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 1999. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  7. ^ "TWO SENIOR SOFTBALL PAYERS DRAFTED BY THE WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SOFTBALL LEAGUE". Official Site of Mizzou Athletics. 8 December 1998. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  8. ^ Scott Massey (22 June 2000). "FireStix look for second league title". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Front Office". www.virginiaroadsters.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 1999. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  10. ^ Larry Cain (January 1999). "Durham Dragons Choose Isonette Polonius No. 1 in" (PDF). Fastpitch Delivery. p. 9. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  11. ^ a b c "Steve Dimitry's Softball History Web Site". 31 December 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Bustos gives Akron a 1-0 victory game one". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Akron tops Virginia 4-1 in game two of semifinal". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  14. ^ "Dufficy gives FireStix 3-2 win over Racers". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  15. ^ a b "WPSL teams select world's top fastpitch talent". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Clark named 1999 MVP and Pitcher of the Year". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Laudato named 1999 WPSL Hitter of the Year". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  18. ^ "Berg named 1999 Defensive Player of the Year". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Armendarez wins home run championship". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  20. ^ "Derk named 1999 WPSL Coach of the Year". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  21. ^ "Rosters named for 1999 WPSL All-Star Game". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 1999. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  22. ^ "Maumausolo homers Stars past Stripes 5-4". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 1999. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  23. ^ "STANDINGS & LEAGUE LEADERS". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2000. Retrieved 30 April 2016.

External links[]

See also[]

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