The Chicago Bandits were a women's professional softball team based in

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...

. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington Glory in the final game of the championship series. The team won their second NPF championship following the 2011 season when they won the championship series two games to none over the USSSA Pride. Following the 2015 season the team won its third NPF championship defeating the USSSA Pride two games to none. They played their home games at

Parkway Bank Sports Complex Parkway Bank Sports Complex, also known as the Ballpark at Rosemont, is an outdoor baseball park used for fastpitch softball and baseball located in the American city of Rosemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It hosted the National Pro Fast ...

. The team folded in 2021 when the NPF disbanded.

USA Softball players

Jennie Finch Jennie Lynn Finch Daigle (born September 3, 1980) is an American former softball player. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002, where she won the 2001 Women's College World Series and was named collegiate All-Amer ...

* Victoria Galindo * Eileen Canney *

Ashley Holcombe Ashley Kristina Holcombe (born February 20, 1987) is an American softball player who plays catcher for the USA national softball team. Holcombe is now in her third year with the Women's National Team. College Holcombe attended the University ...

* Kristal Perez

Franchise history

2005 The Chicago Bandits inaugural season took place at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL. Chicago recorded an NPF-best 41–7 record, but lost to the Akron Racers in the championship. 2006 Chicago posted a 30–12 record, which again was best in the NPF, but lost to the

Connecticut Brakettes The Connecticut Brakettes is a women's fastpitch softball team based in Stratford, Connecticut. The team has won many state, regional, national, and international tournaments (28 ). History The team was founded in 1947 by William S. Simpson a ...

in the championship series. 2007 The 2007 Chicago Bandits went 23–21, but failed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing in sixth place in the league. 2008 The Bandits began their first season in Elgin with a 4–7 record, playing without Jennie Finch and Vicky Galindo of the United States National Team, and Caitlin Lever of the Canadian National Team, due to the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. Jessica Sallinger and Kristina Thorson each won 12 games and were Chicago's first duo to record double-digit victories since Jennie Finch, Amy Harrein 2005. After moving to their new stadium, the Bandits recorded 61 home runs in 2008, which was more home runs than in the franchise's first three years combined. The team's home run leaders were

Stacy May Stacy May-Johnson (born Stacy Margarita May; May 15, 1984) is an American, former collegiate, three-time professional All-Star softball player and current head coach at Fresno State. She played college softball for Iowa, being named a three-tim ...

(13), Rachel Folden (11), Jamie Clark (11) The Bandits completed their season sweeping the Akron Racers,

New England Riptide The New England Riptide was a women's professional fastpitch softball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. Operations were suspended in February 2009. History 200 ...

and

Rockford Thunder Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United St ...

to finish the regular season 32-16 and on a 12-game winning streak, earning the highest seed in the 2008 Championship Series. In the Championship Series, Chicago won all three games and earned the franchise's first NPF Championship with a victory over the Washington Glory in the title game. 2009 The Chicago Bandits began their second season at

Judson University Judson University is a private Baptist university in Elgin, Illinois. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Judson was formed out of the liberal arts component of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. When the seminary moved f ...

Elgin, IL Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

with the return of Olympians

Vicky Galindo Victoria Noel Galindo-Piatt (born December 22, 1983), commonly known as Vicky Galindo, is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, three-time professional All-Star, softball player and current head coach at West Va ...

, and Caitlin Lever. 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 Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. Despite having the best record in the NPF in 2009, Chicago was upset in the NPF playoffs by the USSSA Pride two games to one, and lost the opportunity to repeat as league champions. 2010 In 2010, the Bandits once again won the regular season title, but once again, the USSSA Pride ended the Bandits championship hopes, winning their first Cowles Cup title. After the season, standouts Stacy May-Johnson and

announced their retirements from professional softball. 2011 The Bandits moved into their brand new home stadium,

Ballpark at Rosemont Parkway Bank Sports Complex, also known as the Ballpark at Rosemont, is an outdoor baseball park used for fastpitch softball and baseball located in the American city of Rosemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It hosted the National Pro Fastpi ...

, in

in time for the beginning of the 2011 season. The team officially opened the stadium for NPF play on June 16, 2011, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to the Bandits 1-0 walk-off win over the USSSA Pride. Caitlin Lever drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 7th. Unlike the previous three years, the Bandits did not win the regular season title. They finished third in the four-team NPF with a 20–20 record, after losing six of their final eight games at home to close out the regular season. The Bandits opened the playoffs in Sulphur, LA against the second-seeded Akron Racers and swept the Racers with two straight victories, capped off by a three-run walk-off home run in extra innings by Nikki Nemitz to advance to the finals. In the finals, they once again met the Pride. In the first game, the Pride took an early 2–0 lead, but rookie Megan Wiggins hit a three-run double off Pride starter

Cat Osterman Catherine Leigh Osterman (born April 16, 1983) is a retired American softball player. Osterman pitched on the United States women's national softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Su ...

. Two pitches later, Osterman went down with an arm injury, but the Pride came back to tie the game at 3 in the bottom of the 7th. In the 8th, Bandits right-fielder Amber Patton drove in the go-ahead run and NPF Co-Pitcher of the Year

Monica Abbott Monica Cecilia Abbott (born July 28, 1985) is an American professional softball player. Abbott was an All-American pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college before starting a professional career in the NPF and in the Japan Softball ...

made it stand up for a one-game lead in the best-of-three series. The next afternoon, Chicago got on the board early and often, scoring five times in the bottom of the first. The Pride got two back, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the day, as the Bandits cruised to their second Cowles Cup championship with a 10–3 victory. They became the first NPF team to win multiple Cowles Cup championships. 2012 2013 2014 2015 Before the season, the Bandits signed 2015 draftees shortstop

Sammy Marshall Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music *Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter * Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter * Sammy Davis Jr ...

of Western Illinois signed with the Bandits. and outfielder Brenna Moss of

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

AJ Andrews Ayanna Jeanene Andrews (born June 7, 1993) is an American professional softball player with the Akron Racers of National Pro Fastpitch. In 2016, she became the first woman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove Award. She is also the current host of t ...

of LSU signed with the Bandits on June 12. After tryouts, the Bandits signed free agents infielder Megan Blank of the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

, outfielder Kelsi Jones of

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, catcher Vicky Galasso of

Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

, and pitcher

Lacey Waldrop Lacey Waldrop (born March 6, 1993) is an American, former collegiate All-American professional softball pitcher and current assistant coach at Houston. Waldrop was a starting pitcher for Florida State, where she is the school career leader in w ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

. 2016 The Bandits announced an agreement with radio station 1590 WCGO to broadcast all Bandits home and road games for the 2016 season. After finishing the regular season with a 23–25 record (the first sub-.500 regular season in franchise history), the Bandits won their second consecutive Cowles Cup title, and fourth overall in franchise history, defeating the USSSA Pride 2–1 in a winner-take-all game three of the Championship Series finals. 2017 Head coach Mike Steuerwald stepped down and became assistant general manager of the Scrap Yard Dawgs. On February 1, the Village of Rosemont announced it would be assuming ownership of the Bandits from previous owner Bill Sokolis. The transaction included a $50,000 licensing fee paid to the NPF. Rosemont employee Toni Calmeyn will take over as general manager and will hire a new head coach. Later that month the Bandits hired

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

assistant coach Sharonda McDonald as their head coach. McDonald was an All-NPF player, playing with the

Philadelphia Force The Philadelphia Force was a women's professional softball team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. From 2006 to 2009, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league until a failed sale in September 2009 put an end to the team on hi ...

in 2007 and 2008, the Racers from 2010 to 2012, and 2014 with the USSSA Pride. Later, Chicago hired as their assistant coach Kyla Holas, who coached

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

from 1999 to 2016. On June 8, the Bandits announced the hiring of

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

alumna Annie Smith as assistant coach. 2018 The Bandits announced that McDonald would not be returning for the 2018 season. On September 19, they announced that their new coach would be Olympian medalist and NCAA champion Stacey Nuveman Deniz. Nuveman Deniz held the NCAA home run record of 90 from 2002 to 2015, when

Lauren Chamberlain Lauren Nicole Chamberlain (born July 2, 1993) is an American retired softball infielder. Chamberlain played college softball for the Oklahoma Sooners softball from 2012 to 2015. A collegiate All-American, she was part of the 2013 Women's Colle ...

broke it. She played in the NPF for the

Arizona Heat The Arizona Heat was a women's softball team based in Tucson, Arizona. From the 2004 season, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. The team's home games were played at historic Hi Corbett Field. Six of the players on the 2006 roster ...

in 2005.

General managers

* Aaron M. Moore (2009-2016) * Toni Calmeyn (2017–present)

All-time head coaches

Season-by-season

, - , , , 41 , , 7 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Regular Season Champions, Lost to Akron Racers in NPF Championship , - , , , 30 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Regular Season Champions, Lost to

in NPF Championship , - , , , 23 , , 21 , , 0 , , 6th place National Pro Fastpitch , , Did not qualify , - , , , 32 , , 16 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Won NPF Championship (Defeated Washington Glory) , - , , , 27 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Regular Season Champions, Lost to USSSA Pride 2-games-to-1 in first round of NPF playoffs , - , , , 30 , , 20 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Regular Season Champions, Lost to USSSA Pride in NPF Championship , - , , , 20 , , 20 , , 0 , , 3rd place National Pro Fastpitch , , Won NPF Championship (Defeated Akron Racers 2–0 in Semi-finals, Defeated USSSA Pride 2–0 in Finals) , - , , , 25 , , 19 , , 0 , , 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch, , Won Game 1 of NPF Championship series over USSSA Pride (Defeated

Carolina Diamonds The Carolina Diamonds, formerly known as the NPF Diamonds, Tennessee Diamonds, Rockford Thunder and Texas Thunder, was a women's softball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pr ...

2–0 in Semi-finals, Finals were rained out) , - , , , 36 , , 12 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch , , Regular Season Champions, Lost to USSSA Pride in NPF Championship , - , , , 30 , , 18 , , 0 , , 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch, , Lost to Akron Racers 2-games-to-1 in first round of NPF playoffs , - , , , 31 , , 17 , , 0 , , 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch, , Won NPF Championship 2-games-to-0 over USSSA Pride, Defeated Akron Racers 2-games-to-0 in NPF Semifinals , - , , , 23 , , 25 , , 0 , , 3rd place National Pro Fastpitch, , Won NPF Championship 2-games-to-1 over USSSA Pride, Defeated

Scrap Yard Dawgs The Scrap Yard Fast Pitch was an independent women's professional softball team based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston. Established in October 2015 as the Scrap Yard Dawgs, the team played in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) during the 20 ...

2-games-to-1 in NPF Semifinals , - , , , 25 , , 24 , , 0 , , 4th place National Pro Fastpitch, , Lost to USSSA Pride 2-games-to-0 in first round of NPF playoffs , - , , , 37 , , 10 , , 0 , , 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch, , , - , , , 38 , , 7 , , 0 , , 1st place National Pro Fastpitch, , Lost to USSSA Pride 3-games-to-0 in NPF Finals , - !Totals , , 448 , , 240 , , 0 , colspan="2",

Moments

*July 16, 2009, Jennie Finch pitches a perfect game for the Chicago Bandits in a 3–0 win against the

. *July 27, 2009, the Chicago Bandits played the Schaumburg Flyers of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

men's baseball team in what was dubbed as

Battle of the Sexes Battle of the Sexes refers to a conflict between men and women. Battle of the Sexes may also refer to: Film * ''The Battle of the Sexes'' (1914 film), American film directed by D. W. Griffith * ''Battle of the Sexes'' (1920 film), a 1920 Germ ...

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 Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's double ...

and

Bobby Riggs Robert Larimore Riggs (February 25, 1918 – October 25, 1995) was an American tennis champion who was the World No. 1 amateur in 1939 and World No. 1 professional in 1946 and 1947. He played his first professional tennis match on December ...

garnered much more national press attention. For this event, the Chicago Bandits received the most press coverage than in the previous years despite winning the 2008 NPF league championship and playing with Jennie Finch. Just a few years earlier, the USA's best softball players played a team of MLB All Stars with that game televised on national television. *July 9, 2010, Jennie Finch pitches a perfect game for the Chicago Bandits against the Akron Racers at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, Ill. Finch struck out 11 batters en route to a 2–0 win. *August 21, 2011, The Bandits defeat the USSSA Pride 10–3 in Sulphur, LA to clinch their second NPF Cowles Cup championship. They are the first team in NPF history to win multiple Cowles Cup titles. *August 15, 2015, The Bandits rode the left arm of

to a second-consecutive 1–0 victory in the NPF Championship Series finals over the USSSA Pride in Hoover, AL to clinch the franchise's third Cowles Cup championship. They are now tied with the Pride for most NPF titles at 3.

Retired numbers

The Bandits have retired the numbers of six players:

Players

References

External links

Chicago Bandits
*
The Softball Channel
{{2016 Chicago Bandits Softball teams National Pro Fastpitch teams Sports clubs established in 2005

Bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

Rosemont, Illinois 2005 establishments in Illinois