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Scrap Yard Fast Pitch
Information
LeagueNational Pro Fastpitch (2016–2017)
Independent (2018–2020)
LocationConroe, Texas
BallparkScrapyard Softball Complex
Founded2015
Folded2020
League championships1 (2017)
General ManagerConnie May
Websitescrapyardsports.com
scrapyardfastpitch.com

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 2016 and 2017 seasons. The Dawgs were the first NPF team to be based in the Houston area since the Texas Thunder became the Rockford Thunder in the 2007 season. In 2017, the Dawgs won their first NPF title against Pride in the best of three game series.

After having its franchise terminated by the NPF, the team went independent under the name Scrap Yard Fast Pitch.

In June 2020, all eighteen of the team's players quit in protest of a tweet by the franchise owner. Days later, the team became "This Is Us" and continued their series against the USSSA Pride.

Although the team has since disbanded, the facilities are still maintained by Scrap Yard Sports, which also runs recreational softball and baseball leagues.

History[edit]

On October 23, 2015, NPF announced the Scrap Yards Dawgs as an expansion team for the 2016 season.[1] Kevin Shelton, also the general manager of the Dallas Charge, was introduced as the Dawgs' GM.[2]

On May 5, 2016, the Dawgs signed free agent Monica Abbott to a six-year contract, believed to be worth $1 million; the contract was believed to be the most lucrative paid by an individual American professional franchise to an active female athlete in any team sport.[3]

2017[edit]

For the 2017 season, the Dawgs hired Texas A&M associate head coach Gerry Glasco as their head coach. Glasco's assistants would be Oregon's Jimmy Kolaitis and Joe Guthrie of Bucknell. Glasco was head coach of the USSSA Pride in 2014. Kolaitis was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bandits in 2013.[4] The Dawgs finished second during the regular season and won the 2017 Cowles Cup Championship.

2018[edit]

On January 28, the Dawgs announced via press release they would no longer be affiliated with the NPF. The NPF terminated their franchise on January 29 citing that the team had violated several league operating rules and franchise requirements.[5] The team indicated they would continue as an independent team under the name Scrap Yard Fastpitch.[6]

2020[edit]

In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests and after the first game of a planned seven-game series, franchise owner Connie May tweeted a photo of players standing with hands on heart captioned "Everyone respecting the flag," a reference to the U.S. national anthem protests. May tagged President and protest critic Donald Trump in the tweet. All eighteen players quit the team.[7] The players vowed to never play for Scrap Yard again and formed a new team tentatively named This Is Us.[8] Scrapping together donated uniforms, the players returned to the field days later, defeating the USSSA Pride.[9] Coach Michael Steuerwald and several former Scrap Yard staffers remained with the new team.[8]

Team[edit]

General managers[edit]

Current roster[edit]

Scrap Yard Dawgs roster
Active roster
(YYYY = Final season of player contract) 		Inactive roster Coaches

Pitchers

Catchers


Infielders

Outfielders

Unsigned Draftees
(Year Team's Rights Expire)
Head Coach
Assistant Coaches
Legend
  • * Franchise Player Tag
  • (C) Captain
  • (A) Alternate captain
→ All NPF rosters

All-time head coaches[edit]

# Name Term Regular season Playoffs
GC W L W% GC W L W%
1 Javier Vela, Tripp MacKay 2016 48 29 19 .604 3 1 2 .333
2 Gerry Glasco 2017 49 31 18 .633 5 4 1 .800

Season-by-season[edit]

Season records
Season W L T Finish Playoff results
2016 29 19 0 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch Lost to Chicago Bandits 2-games-to-1 in NPF Semifinals
2017 31 18 0 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch Won NPF Championship 2-games-to-1 over USSSA Pride, Defeated Akron Racers 2-games-to-0 in NPF Semifinals
Totals 60 37 0

Draft history[edit]

NPF Draft[edit]

Main article: 2016 NPF Draft
Main article: 2017 NPF Draft

References[edit]

  1. ^ "NPF adds sixth team, Houston". Observer–Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. October 23, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015. The National Pro Fastpitch added an expansion team for the 2016 season. The new team will be known as the Scrap Yard Dawgs and will be based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston.
  2. ^ "NPF announces Scrap Yard Dawgs as Newest Expansion Team". ScrapYardDawgs.com. October 23, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  3. ^ Graham Hays (May 5, 2016). "Monica Abbott wants change after signing $1 million contract with NPF expansion team". espnW.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  4. ^ Kayla Lombardo (October 17, 2016). "Scrap Yard Dawgs set coaching staff for second NPF season". Excelle Sports. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  5. ^ "National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Terminates Houston-Based Scrap Yard Dawgs". NPF. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ Chez Sievers (January 28, 2018). "Scrap Yard Dawgs Announce They Are Leaving NPF". FloSoftball.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  7. ^ Weiner, Natalie (2020-06-24). "A Softball Team's Tweet to Trump Leads Players to Quit Mid-Series". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  8. ^ a b Hays, Graham (June 26, 2020). "Softball players who protested GM start new team". ESPN.
  9. ^ @storm_fl (June 28, 2020). "This Is Us win 3-1 over USSSA Pride!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links[edit]

Achievements
Preceded by Cowles Cup NPF Champions
Scrap Yard Dawgs
2017 		Succeeded by
incumbent
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrap_Yard_Fast_Pitch