National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) announced the four teams that will participate in the 2004 NPF Playoffs and Championship Series at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio starting on Wednesday, August 25.
The Texas Thunder won the regular season title by finishing the season with a record of 41-17. The Thunder will take on the New England Riptide, who finished the season in fourth place with a record of 25-35. These two teams will play a best-of-three game series beginning at 8 p.m. EDT on Wednesday night. During the regular season, the Thunder won the season series from the Riptide by winning eight of the 12 games played.
In the second semifinal series, the Akron Racers will be the #2 seed over the third place NY/NJ Juggernaut. The two teams finished with identical 39-21 records on the regular season, but the Racers won the second seed by winning the season series by taking eight of 12 games from the Nauts.
Semifinals Round (Best-of-Three)
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Game #1 – #2 Akron Racers vs. #3 NY/NJ Juggernaut @ 6 p.m. EDT
Game #2 – #1 Texas Thunder vs. #4 New England Riptide @ 8p.m. EDT
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Game #3 – #2 Akron Racers vs. #3 NY/NJ Juggernaut @ 6p.m. EDT
Game #4 – #1 Texas Thunder vs. #4 New England Riptide @ 8p.m. EDT
Friday, August 27, 2004 (if necessary)
Game #5 – #2 Akron Racers vs. #3 NY/NJ Juggernaut @ 6p.m. EDT
Game #6 – #1 Texas Thunder vs. #4 New England Riptide @ 8p.m. EDT
BOLD – Denotes home team
Championship Series (Best-of-Three)
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Game #7 – No. 1/No. 4 series winners vs. No. 2/No. 3 series winner @ 7 p.m.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Game #8 – No. 1/No. 4 series winners vs. No. 2/No. 3 series winner @ 4 p.m.
Game #9 – No. 1/No. 4 series winners vs. No. 2/No. 3 series winner @ 6p.m. (if necessary)
Fans can purchase tickets now by calling the Akron Racers ticket office at 330-376-8188. Tickets for the entire series (Playoffs and Championships) can be purchased for:
¨ $40 for adults
¨ $35 for seniors
¨ $20 for student/youth
Individual game tickets are also available:
¨ $10 for adult
¨ $8 for seniors
¨ $5 for student/youth
The Radisson Hotel City Centre has been chosen as the official hotel of the NPF Playoffs and Championships. Reservations can be made by calling 330-384-1500 or by visiting the hotel website (www.radisson.com).
NPF Playoff and Championship apparel & collectibles will be available at Firestone Stadium throughout all the playoff games.
NPF, the world’s premier professional fastpitch softball league for women, consists of six teams located throughout the United States and features former USA Softball Women’s National Team members, collegiate All-Americans and all-conference selections. NPF’s 60-game regular-season schedule began on Tuesday, June 1 and concludes Wednesday, Aug. 18. The 2004 season features the inaugural NPF All-Star Game, the first-ever NPF Championship Semifinal and the first NPF Championship Series.
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Denver, and has been in operation since 1997 under the names Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL).
