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National Pro Fastpitch

2007 Awards Announced

August 24, 2007 - National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) News Release


August 23, 2007 - KIMBERLY, WI - National Pro Fastpitch announced its awards for the 2007 season today at a press conference and awards ceremony in Kimberly, Wisconsin, site of the 2007 NPF Championship Series.

Washington Glory Amber Jackson was named the Majestic Athletic 2007 Player of the Year. In her rookie season, Jackson led the league in just about every offensive category throughout the year and was also the Glory's mainstay at shortstop. She is second in the league in batting average at .372 and leads the league in homeruns at 15; RBI's at 38 and amassed a league leading slugging percentage of .814.

Washington Glory right-hander and Arizona Heat transplant Desiree Serrano earned the Diamond Sports 2007 Pitcher of the Year honors. Her 18 wins set an all-time NPF record for the regular season. Serrano also ranked 1st in total innings at 140.1 while only allowing an astonishingly low 20 walks during her 22 appearances.

Akron Racers second baseman Veronica Wootson slugged her way to the Nokona American Glove Award for the 2007 Offensive Player of the Year. Wootson is an un-drafted free agent who signed a contract to play for the Racers just prior to the start of spring training. Wootson clearly was the best leadoff hitter in the league having rocketed the Racers to victories with her surprising burst of power and her stellar defense. Wootson blasted nine homeruns, four doubles and collected 46 hits in 148 official at-bats for a .534 slugging percentage and a .311 average. The Florida State grad has been among the offensive league leaders since day one scoring 27 runs and chipping in 27 RBI for the second place Racers. She has been dangerous on the base paths having swiped 10 bases while posting a .329 on-base percentage. Wootson had seven game-winning hits, three of which were homeruns.

New England Riptide Jackie Pasquerella was presented with the Nokona American Glove Award as the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year for her stellar performance at 3rd base. During the 2007 season, Pasquerella made many great plays at third base taking away multiple hits from opponents and played in 40 games without committing a single error. Her quickness, athleticism and agility are matched by few others. Not only is Jackie one of the finest third basemen in softball, she makes those around her better players through her encouragement and on-field leadership.

Philadelphia Force ace Kristina Thorson was awarded with the Nokona American Glove Award as the 2007 Rookie of the Year honors. Coming from a prestigious softball school in Cal-Berkeley, her pitching command and amazing strikeout totals helped her rise to the top early on this season. Thorson finished the season with 115 strikeouts and a 5th place finish among NPF pitchers for strikeouts. Thorson posted a 14-5 record which put her second in league wins. The Lake Forest Park, Washington native pitched 12 complete games this season (T-1st), including a no-hitter against Team China and 7 shut-outs. Pitching 116.2 innings (5th in NPF), Thorson only allowed 20 earned runs with a 1.22 earned run average, putting her in 2nd place on the pitching leader-board. Thorson was a workhorse for the Force and started 18 games for the team. She currently holds numerous Philadelphia Force season and career pitching records in only her first year of NPF experience.

Carie Dever-Boaz was awarded the Diamond Sports 2007 Manager of the Year award. With only a few weeks to prepare her team before the start of the season Dever-Boaz led the new Washington Glory franchise to a regular season championship with a record of 34 and 10. Under Dever-Boaz 's leadership the Glory also set the regular season homerun record and the record for the most wins in a season by a pitcher. In addition, her team contributed five to the All-NPF team and had the Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year for the NPF.

The Majestic Cup was awarded to Paul Wilson, owner of the Washington Glory, for an outstanding season and their first place finish during the regular season. Under the leadership of Dever-Boaz, the Glory led the league for the entire season and finished the season with a 77.3 winning percentage. Wilson stated, "I needed someone that could deal with my high expectations. Diaz and the entire Glory team and staff understands and supports my dream of building something different and very special and we all came together this season to fulfill our goals. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by an outstanding organization of dedicated and talented individuals."

National Pro Fastpitch commissioner Cheri Kempf also recognized the league-wide effort by NPF players, staff, owners and sponsors for another great season and for their contribution to the development and growth of National Pro Fastpitch and to NPF fans for their continued support.

Sponsors of this year's awards include Nokona, official bat and glove of NPF, Majestic Athletic, official supplier of authentic NPF team uniforms, training apparel, and replica sportswear and Diamond Sports, official ball of NPF. THE GAME, the official headwear supplier of NPF, sponsored the Championship MVP trophy which will be awarded following the Championship game on Sunday, August 26th. Nike, official NPF Supplier, provided Nike Vision eyewear to the All-NPF Team which was also honored during the pre-Championship Series award ceremony.

National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL).

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