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Chicago Bandits

Founded	2005
Ballpark	Judson University
Based in	Elgin, Illinois
Colors	Black, Orange, Navy Blue, White
World Championships	1 (2008)
Regular Season Championships	4 (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009)
League	National Pro Fastpitch
Head coach	Mickey Dean
Assistant Head Coach	Thomas Macera
Owner	Bill Sokolis
Previous Home	Benedictine, IL 2005-2007
Mascots	Outlaw and Bandits (raccoons)
Newspaper	Elgin Courier News, Northwest Herald Daily Herald
Online Television	Softball Channel, NiFY TV, MLBTV
Radio	WRMN 1410 Elgin
Television	Comcast SportsNet

The Chicago Bandits are a women's softball team based in Elgin, Illinois. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington Glory in the final game of the championship series. They play at Judson Field in Elgin.

[edit] USA Softball players

Stacy May-Johnson was the MVP of the 2008 Women's Professional Softball League.

A new 4,400 seat stadium is planned to be built in Elgin, Illinois along with a 45-acre (180,000 m²) entertainment and sports complex that could also include two miniature golf courses, gardens, batting cages, restaurants and shops, a Santa's Village-type amusement park and a 3-hole golf course.

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] 2005

The Chicago Bandits inaugural campaign took place at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL. Chicago recorded an NPF best 41-7 record.

[edit] 2006

Chicago posted a 30-12 record, tops in the NPF. The team won the Regular Season Championship but lost to Connecticut in the championship.

[edit] 2007

The 2007 Chicago Bandits went 23-21. Despite the winning record, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs and finished in sixth place in the National Pro Fastpitch softball league.

[edit] 2008

After posting the National Pro Fastpitch's best record in the Chicago Bandits first two seasons and finishing sixth in the 2007 standings, the Bandits 2008 season and first in Elgin would be hard to predict. After starting the season at 4-7, few outside the Bandits organization thought the team would compete for a playoff spot, let alone win the NPF title.

In the past, Chicago may have had better teams in the regular season but the 2008 squad simply refused to lose in the final stretch of the season. In 2005, Chicago finished 41-7 but fell to the Akron Racers(36-10) in the championship and the following year was upset by the Connecticut Brakettes despite posting the best regular season record (30-12).

With the team's move to Elgin in 2008, Jennie Finch and Vicky Galindo (United States National Team) and Caitlin Lever (Canadian National Team) would not be present because of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Bandits roster had many young rookies mixed in with NPF veterans.

Rachel Folden, Samantha Findlay, Mindy Cowles, Ashley Carlson, Aileen Morales, Tracie Adix and Kristina Thorson-who Chicago acquired in an offseason trade with the Philadelphia Force-quickly developed chemistry with Stacy May, Jamie Clark, Jessica Sallinger and Nicole Trimboli.

Sallinger and Thorson each won 12 games and were Chicago's first duo to record double-digit victories since 2005 when Finch and Amy Harre pulled that feat.

The brand new Judson Sports Complex also became a launching pad for home run bombs. Incredibly, the Bandits recorded 61 home runs in 2008, which was more home runs than in the franchise's first three years combined. May (13), Folden (11) and Clark (11) led the parade.

After getting swept in the double header against the New England Riptide on July 28 ending a 6-1 streak, the Bandits were on the playoff bubble, hoping that it wouldn't burst.

With three series left, Chicago broke out and began sprinting to the finish line. The Bandits swept the Akron Racers, New England Riptide and Rockford Thunder to finish the regular season 32-16 and on a 12 game winning streak. Towards the end it was clear that the NPF Regular Season title was a three way race between Chicago, Philadelphia and the Washington Glory. The Bandits finished one game ahead of the Force and earned the highest seed in the 2008 Championship Series.

In Kimberly, the incredible streak of 12 wins continued and Chicago swept the competition-winning all three games-and earned the franchise's first NPF Championship with a victory over the Washington Glory in the title game.

One constant that remained throughout the season was the excitement. Whether it was a suicide squeeze bunt that scored Mindy Cowles, walk off grand slam by Samantha Findlay, complete game pitching gem by Kristina Thorson or game winning blast by Rachel Folden, the Bandits not only won, but most of the time waited until the seventh inning to do it. Fans at the Judson Sports Complex were treated to more than their share of cliff hanger finales.

[edit] 2009

The Chicago Bandits began their second season at Judson University in Elgin, IL. Chicago finished the regular season with a 27-12 record, ranking first in the National Pro Fastpitch standings and earning the top seed for the playoffs in Akron, Ohio.

Olympians Jennie Finch, Vicky Galindo, and Caitlin Lever returned to the team.

Despite having the best record in the NPF in 2009, Chicago was abruptly upset in the NPF playoffs losing to the USSSA Pride two-games-to-one and lost the opportunity to repeat as league champions.

[edit] Season-By-Season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	Finish	Playoff results
2005	30	12	1st place National Pro Fastpitch	Regular Season Champions, Lost to Akron Racers in NPF Championship
2006	41	7	1st place National Pro Fastpitch	Regular Season Champions, Lost to Connecticut Brakettes in NPF Championship
2007	23	21	6th place National Pro Fastpitch	Did not qualify
2008	32	16	1st place National Pro Fastpitch	Won National Pro Fastpitch Championship (Defeated Washington Glory)
2009	27	12	1st place National Pro Fastpitch	Regular Season Champions, Lost to USSSA Pride 2-games-to-1 in first round of NPF playoffs
Totals	153	68

[edit] Moments

July 16, 2009, Jennie Finch pitches a perfect game for the Chicago Bandits. Finch did not allow a hit over seven innings in a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Force.
July 27, 2009, the Chicago Bandits played the Schaumburg Flyers of the Frontier League men's baseball team in what was dubbed as Battle of the Sexes 2. The game was played at Schaumburg's Alexian Field under softball rules. The Bandits won 4-2 before an Alexian Field record crowd of 8,918. The game was considered a success even though the original tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs garnered much more national press attention. For this event, the Chicago Bandits received the most press coverage than in the the previous years despite winning the 2008 NPF league championship and playing with Jennie Finch. Also just a few years earlier the USA's best softball players played a team of MLB All Stars and the game was televised on national television.

[edit] External links

Live updates are available on TheSoftballChannel.com

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