The Chicago Bandits were a women's professional softball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. 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 in Rosemont, Illinois. The team folded in 2021 when the NPF disbanded.[1]
The Chicago Bandits inaugural season took place at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. 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 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.
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 (13), Rachel Folden (11), Jamie Clark (11)
The Bandits completed their season sweeping the Akron Racers, New England Riptide and Rockford Thunder 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.
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 Jennie Finch announced their retirements from professional softball.
2011
The Bandits moved into their brand new home stadium, Ballpark at Rosemont, in Rosemont, Illinois in time for the beginning of the 2011 season.[2] 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. 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 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.
The Bandits announced an agreement with radio station 1590 WCGO to broadcast all Bandits home and road games for the 2016 season.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
The Bandits announced that McDonald would not be returning for the 2018 season.[14] On September 19, they announced that their new coach would be Olympian medalist and NCAA champion Stacey Nuveman Deniz.[15] Nuveman Deniz held the NCAA home run record of 90 from 2002 to 2015, when Lauren Chamberlain broke it. She played in the NPF for the Arizona Heat in 2005.
July 16, 2009, Jennie Finch pitches a perfect game for the Chicago Bandits 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 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.[16]
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 Monica Abbott 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:
