Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Shiny Hardware: National Pro Fastpitch Cowles Cup

The Chicago Bandits won the National Pro Fastpitch Cowles Cup championship in 2015. It was my second full year of covering the team.
Pitcher Sara Moulton starred at the University of Minnesota before joining the Bandits. Speedy outfielder Sammy Marshall excelled at Western Illinois University. Both were key parts of the championship run.
What started as me looking for a one-time fun event to cover turned into six awesome years of fun covering the Bandits. Over the years, I did more than 150 interviews with the Bandits and opponents. Those interviews can be found at the Chicago Bandits playlist on the Johngy's Beat YouTube channel.
Unfortunately, the league didn't play in 2020 or 2021 due to Covid. In early 2022, the league announced it was shutting down. This was disappointing, but not terribly shocking.
I still follow many of the former Bandits. Sara owns and operates a pitching facility in Minnesota. Sammy has done some coaching over the years.
It was a great six seasons and I made many friends from that time. I also got to cover two championships, including the one represented below.
Sara Moulton, Sammy Marshall and the Cowles Cup in Rosemont, IL-August 2016.

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