USSSA Pride Defeat Chicago Bandits to Win NPF Championship

After finishing in first place in the National Pro Fastpitch regular season, the Chicago Bandits came up short in the championship series. The USSSA Pride took the first three games in the Best of Five series to win the 2019 Cowles Cup.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Bandits had a successful, exciting and fun season. The Bandits went 38-7 in the season. They showed a resilience all season. They should be as proud of themselves as their fans are of them. In this particular series, the Pride came up big. The Pride deserve the trophy, but the Bandits were right here with them in every game.

At the 2019 NPF Awards Banquet, the Bandits took home several pieces of hardware. Abbey Cheek was named the Rookie of the Year. Amanda Chidester was named the Offensive Player of the Year and the Player of the Year, while also being the Home Run Champion.. Lauren Flippen and her staff won the Coaching Staff of the Year award. The All-NPF team included Cheek, Chidester, Rachele Fico, Gwen Svekis, Aleshia Ocasio, Brenna Moss, Hannah Flippen and Abby Ramirez.

The Bandits were also well-represented on the NPF leaderboards. Along with the Homerun title, Chidester led the NPF in rbi's and slugging percentage. Cheek lead the NPF in batting average and on-base percentage. Svekis took the doubles title, with Flippen leading in triples. Fico led the league in wins, was tied for the lead in shutouts and pitched a perfect game.

On a personal front, I had the honor of interviewing Monica Abbott, Cat Osterman and Rachel Garcia of Team USA when they were in Rosemont for exhibition games. I interviewed Kelly Kretschman, who won the first Legacy Award and announced her retirement after a legendary 14 year career. I had the thrill of throwing out a first pitch. Most of all I had a summer's worth of fun covering the team, spending time with friends and enjoying the whole softball experience.

The Chicago Bandits are special. As I have previously written, what started as a one-time story for me, has turned into six seasons of enjoyment. Everyone who has ever joined me at the ballpark in Rosemont has returned multiple times.

Fall and winter are looming. The 2020 season seems a long way away. At least I have a lot of great memories from this season and prior years to warm my heart. I'll be back in 2020 and I hope to see more fans filling up the ballpark. Go Bandits!