2000 Women's Pro Softball League season

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2000 WPSL Season
LeagueWomen's Professional Softball League
Sportsoftball
DurationJune 19, 2000 - August 19, 2000
Number of teams4
TV partner(s)ESPN2
2000 WPSL Draft
Top draft pick P
Fresno State
Picked by
WPSL Championship Series
Champions
  Runners-up
WPSL seasons
← 1999
2001 →

The 2000 Women's Professional Softball League season was the fourth season of professional women's fastpitch softball for the league named Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL). It was the WPSL's final season until the league relaunched in 2004 under the name National Pro Fastpitch. In 1997 and 1998, WPSL operated under the name Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF).

Teams, cities and stadiums[]

Team City Stadium
Akron Racers Akron, Ohio Firestone Stadium
Plant City, FL Plant City Stadium

Milestones and Events[]

In October 1999, the WPSL announced a restructuring plan to consolidate the league and to facilitate a tour between the league's teams and the USA Softball Women's National Team. The plan was to take the 1999 roster of teams ( Akron Racers, , , , , and ) and reduce it to two teams in Ohio and two teams in Florida. The tour of exhibition games against team USA was called "From Central Park to Sydney" (the 2000 Olympics were played in Sydney, Australia) and ran from May to September.[1]

The WPSL's two Florida teams were revealed as the and , and the Ohio teams as the Akron Racers and . These locations in Florida and Ohio were intended to be developed as national training centers for fastpitch softball.[2]

On October 14, 1999 WPSL suspended operations of the , , , and . The contracted Roadsters' players were assigned to the newly created of Akron, Ohio. The contracted Georgia Pride players were assigned to the expansion Florida Wahoos of Plant City, Fla. Tampa Bay FireStix relocated to Plant City Stadium in Plant City, Fla.[3] The players of the Dragons and Diamonds became available for selection in the 2000 WPSL draft.

Player Acquisition[]

Player Drafts[]

Further information: 2000 WPSL Draft

WPSL held Draft Day 2000 on December 4 at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Petersburg, FL during the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Convention. Three drafts were held:[4]

  • The 2000 Elite/Supplemental Draft selected players from a pool of players on the rosters of the Dragons and Diamonds, 1999 USA Softball Olympic Trial and Olympic Festival invitees who had completed their collegiate eligibility, and WPSL players who were not on their teams' protected list. The Florida Wahoos selected Fresno State shortstop as the first elite/supplemental pick.
  • The 2000 Senior Draft selected from collegiate senior fastpitch players. The Ohio Pride chose Fresno State pitcher as the first senior pick.
  • The 2001 National Team Draft drew from the 2000 USA Olympic roster, with the hope the players selected would play in the WPSL in 2001. (However, the WPSL suspended play before the 2001 season.) The Akron Racers selected 1996 Olympic Gold Medal-winning pitcher Lisa Fernandez as the first overall National Team pick.

Central Park to Sydney tour[]

As part of the run-up to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, a nine-city tour, called “Central Park to Sydney Tour,” was scheduled between WPSL teams and the USA national softball team. USA pitcher Lisa Fernandez pitched five straight perfect games, and in one of those games she struck out all 21 batters.[5]

Tour schedule and results[]

DATE TEAMS STADIUM LOCATION[6]
Friday, June 2 USA Softball 1, 0[7] [8] Chattanooga, TN
Friday, June 9 USA Softball 1, Akron Racers 0[9] Firestone Stadium Akron, OH
Sunday, June 25 USA Softball 1, 0[10] Plant City Stadium Plant City, FL
Saturday, July 1 USA Softball 7, 0[11] Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field Stratford, CT
Sunday, July 16 USA Softball 2, Akron Racers 1[12] Husky Stadium Seattle, WA
Sunday, July 23 USA Softball 2, 0[13]
(renamed Margie Wright Stadium in 2014)		 Fresno, CA
Thursday, July 27 USA Softball 2, 0[14] ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK
Saturday, August 12 USA Softball 3, 1[15] Bloomington, IL
Saturday, September 2 USA Softball 1, WPSL All-Stars 0[16] Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium Honolulu, HI
Sunday, September 3 USA Softball 1, WPSL All-Stars 0[17]
Sunday, September 3 USA Softball 10, WPSL All-Stars 0
(ended in 6th inning due to 'mercy' rule)[18]

League standings[]

Source:[1]

Team GP W L Pct. GB
32 24 8 .750 -
32 16 16 .500 8
Akron Racers 32 15 17 .469 9
32 9 23 .281 13

WPSL Championship[]

The 2000 WPSL Championship Series was held at in on August 25 and 26. The top two WPSL teams met in a best-of-three series to determine the champion.[19]

2000 WPSL Championship Series
defeat 2–0[20]
Game Date Score Series
(FL–OH)
1 August 25 3, 0 1–0
2 August 26 1, 0 2–0
2000 NPF Championship Series MVP[21]
Player Club

Statistical Leaders[]

WOMEN'S PRO SOFTBALL LEAGUE LEADERS (THROUGH GAMES OF 8/19/00)[22]

BATTING TOP 10 (MINIMUM 76 PLATE APPEARANCES)

BATTER TEAM AVG G AB R H HR RBI
Patti Benedict .330 31 106 11 35 1 7
.311 32 90 12 28 3 6
Julie Smith .289 30 97 10 28 0 4
.284 32 95 12 27 5 13
Akron Racers .275 29 69 11 19 0 2
Kellyn Tate Akron Racers .274 30 84 8 23 1 6
.238 29 80 3 19 0 3
Kim Maher .217 30 92 7 20 1 10
.216 26 74 5 16 1 4
.214 29 84 9 18 0 8

HOME RUNS

PLAYER TEAM HR
5
4
3
Several Players Tied at 2

RBI

PLAYER TEAM RBI
13
11
Kim Maher 10
9
9

STOLEN BASES

PLAYER TEAM SB
Akron Racers 9
Traci Conrad Akron Racers 7
Julie Smith 7
6
Several Players Tied at 5

TEAM BATTING

TEAM AVG AB R H HR BB SO SB CS
.209 847 68 177 8 51 111 16 7
.196 838 65 164 11 44 165 23 8
Akron Racers .180 821 53 148 7 47 226 35 14
.139 779 36 108 8 63 187 16 9

TEAM PITCHING

TEAM W L ERA H CG SHO SV HR BB SO
24 8 0.85 131 28 15 0 6 52 212
Akron Racers 15 17 0.99 158 18 6 3 13 60 149
16 16 1.32 141 21 8 3 7 56 203
9 23 1.50 167 25 3 0 8 37 125

PITCHING TOP 10 (MINIMUM 32 IP)

PITCHER TEAM W-L ERA IP H BB SO
10- 2 0.25 84 31 11 68
Akron Racers 3- 5 0.83 68 43 22 60
Akron Racers 3- 3 0.89 47 27 11 29
Sarah Dawson Akron Racers 6- 5 0.92 76 49 15 41
8- 3 0.94 82 46 27 77
6- 7 0.98 107 69 17 87
3-10 1.09 96 74 9 44
7- 3 1.34 68 35 24 81
6- 3 1.44 73 54 14 67
Akron Racers 3- 4 1.44 49 39 12 19

WINS

PITCHER TEAM W
10
8
7
Several Players Tied at 6

SAVES

PITCHER TEAM SV
Akron Racers 2
Akron Racers 1
1
1
1

STRIKEOUTS

PITCHER TEAM SO
87
81
77
68
67

Annual awards[]

Source:[23]

Award Player Team Note
Most Valuable Player Patti Benedict
Hitter of the Year Patti Benedict
Home Run Champion[24] 5 HR
Pitcher of the Year league leader in wins and ERA
Defensive Player of the Year Julie Smith only committed two errors
Coach of the Year[25] regular-season record of 24-8 (.750), berth in the 2000 WPSL Championship Series.

WPSL All-Star Team[]

2000 WPSL All-Star Team roster

2000 WPSL ALL-STAR ROSTER[26]
Player Position WPSL Team College Hometown
3B UCLA Cypress, CA
Patti Benedict OF Michigan Lamont, FL
P UCLA Santa Maria, CA
OF Akron Racers Florida State Anniston, AL
C UNLV San Jose, CA
DP Hawaii La Mesa, CA
OF/1B Oklahoma State Edmond, OK
OF Granada Hills, CA
P Minnesota New Ulm, MN
P Scotts Valley, CA
P Akron Racers Cleveland State Marshallville, OH
SS Fresno State Anaheim, CA
Kim Maher OF Fresno State Oakland, CA
3B Texas A&M Eugene, OR
Julie Smith 2B Fresno State Glendora, CA
Kellyn Tate OF Akron Racers Michigan Chesterfield, MO

Head Coach: ,

The USA Olympic softball team played a doubleheader against each NPF All-Star Team on July 13. The Olympians swept the games beating the East 5-0, and edging the West 5-3 in 9 innings.[27] The West All-Stars beat the East by a score of 1-0 on July 14. was named the Most Valuable Player.[28]

References[]

  1. ^ ""From Central Park to Sydney"". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2000. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. ^ "WPSL teams select world's top fastpitch talent". ProSoftball.com. 4 December 1999. Archived from the original on February 29, 2000. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  3. ^ "NPF History". ProFastpitch.com. 11 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL) Holds "Draft Day 2000"". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Famous Softball Players - Lisa Fernandez". SoftballPerformance.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  6. ^ "WPSL Central Park to Sydney Tour". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  7. ^ "USA Softball Women's National Team edges Florida Wahoos 1-0 in "Central Park to Sydney"". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Florida Wahoos vs USA Softball Box Score". USASoftball.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  9. ^ "USA Softball Women's National Team tops Akron Racers in game two of "Central Park to Sydney"". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Tampa Bay FireStix fall to USA Softball Women's National Team 1-0 in game three of "Central Park to Sydney"". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  11. ^ "USA Softball slugs three home runs in 7-0 defeat of the Ohio Pride in game four of "Central Park to Sydney"". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Lori Harrigan leads the USA Softball Women's National Team past the Akron Racers 2-1 despite Liza Brown's homer". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Sheila Douty's two-run single gives USA Softball a 2-0 "Central Park to Sydney" victory over the Florida Wahoos". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Stacey Nuveman's two-run home run gives the women's national team a seventh consecutive victory over the WPSL". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Seventh-inning rally falls short as Williams leads the USA Softball past the Tampa Bay FireStix 3-1". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  16. ^ "O'Brien-Amico gives the USA Softball Women's National Team a 1-0 win over the WPSL All-Star Team". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Lori Harrigan and Sheila Douty lead USA Softball past the WPSL All-Star Team 1-0 in game one Sunday". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  18. ^ "USA Softball Women's National Team completes three-game sweep of the WPSL All-Star Team". Prosoftball.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  19. ^ "Florida Wahoos will battle the Ohio Pride in the fourth-annual WPSL Championship Series". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  20. ^ "2000 WPSL Season" (PDF). ProFastpitch.com. 26 August 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  21. ^ "Headlines". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  22. ^ "Women's Pro Softball League Standings and Highlights". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  23. ^ "Headlines". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Ohio Pride outfielder Jaime Foutch captures 2000 WPSL Home Run Championship with five blasts". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  25. ^ "Florida Wahoos skipper Cindy Bristow wins Women's Pro Softball League Coach of the Year Award". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  26. ^ "2000 WPSL All-Star Team roster". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  27. ^ "NPF All-Stars Put on Good Display But Fall Short". OurSportsCentral.com. 14 July 2000. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  28. ^ "Bolding's Sacrifice Fly Sends the West to a 1-0 Win; Nancy Evans named the game's most valuable Player". OurSportsCentral.com. 14 July 2000. Retrieved 11 June 2015.

External links[]

See also[]

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