Wikipedia

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).

1999 WPSL Season
LeagueWomen's Professional Softball League
Sportsoftball
DurationMay 13, 1999 - August 22, 1999
Number of teams6
TV partner(s)ESPN2
1999 WPSL Draft
Top draft pickIsonette Polonius 3B
East Carolina
Picked byDurham Dragons
Regular Season
Regular Season ChampionsTampa Bay FireStix
WPSL ChampionsTampa Bay FireStix
  Runners-upAkron Racers
Season MVPKaci Clark
Virginia Roadsters
WPSL Championship
Finals MVPPat Dufficy
Tampa Bay FireStix
WPSL seasons
← 1998
2000 →

Milestones and Events

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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 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.[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 Desarie Knipfer pitched the second perfect game in WPSL history, beating the Dragons 6-0.[4]

Teams, cities and stadiums

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Team City Stadium
Akron Racers Akron, Ohio Firestone Stadium[5]
Carolina Diamonds Gastonia, North Carolina Sims Legion Park[6]
Durham Dragons Durham, North Carolina Durham Athletic Park[3]
Georgia Pride Columbus, Georgia South Commons Softball Complex[7]
Tampa Bay FireStix Tampa, Florida Red McEwen Field [8]
Virginia Roadsters Hampton, Virginia War Memorial Stadium[9]

Player Acquisition

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College Draft

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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 Isonette Polonius of East Carolina University with the first pick.[10]

Notable Transactions

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League standings

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Source:[11]

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

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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 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[12] 1–0 Akron, Ohio
2 August 25 Akron Racers 4, Virginia Roadsters 1[13] 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)[14] 1–0 Akron, Ohio
2 August 28 Tampa Bay FireStix 2, Akron Racers 1[15] 2-0 Akron, Ohio
1999 WPSL Championship Series Most Valuable Player
Player Club
Pat Dufficy[15] Tampa Bay FireStix

Annual awards

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Source:[11]

Regular Season Champions
Tampa Bay FireStix
Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player Kaci Clark Virginia Roadsters [16]
Pitcher of the Year Kaci Clark Virginia Roadsters 23-8, 1.51 ERA, 168 Ks[16]
Hitter of the Year Marty Laudato Tampa Bay FireStix .311 BA, 8 HRs, 36 RBIs[17]
Defensive Player of the Year Randi Berg Georgia Pride .966 fielding %, 92 assists, 137 putouts, 237 total chances, 19 double plays[18]
Home Run Champion Monica Armendarez Carolina Diamonds 12 HR (WPSL record)[19]
Coach of the Year Linda Derk Tampa Bay FireStix [20]

1999 WPSL All-Star Game

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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 Scia Maumausolo 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
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

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Source:[23]

Batting

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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

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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

References

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  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.
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See also

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