Pitching started off as the theme of the night for the Bandits during the 2014 NPF College Draft. With the fourth and fifth overall selections the Bandits chose Estela Piñon from Arizona and Sara Moulton from Minnesota.
After transferring to Arizona last season from Yavapai College where she won the 2011 NJCAA National Championship, Piñon led the Wildcat pitchers with a 3.53 ERA in 33 appearances. She excelled towards the end of the season, transitioning from a starter to a reliever. In her final 22.1 innings she allowed just two earned runs while striking out 18 batters.
This season, the right handed pitcher is boasting a 1.51 ERA with a record of 10-5 in 19 appearances while striking out 76 batters in 79 innings pitched.
Click here for more information about Estela Piñon.
Another right-handed pitcher, Moulton began her career at Minnesota with a team-leading 28 wins as a freshman. She ranked second in the Big Ten with 278.2 innings pitched and sixth overall with an ERA of 2.06. Her 330 strikeouts of opposing batters was 14th overall in the nation and second on Minnesota’s single-season records. Moulton rounded out her stellar rookie season by earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
During her sophomore season she earned All-Big Ten pitching honors after pitching 30 complete games in 2012, which tied her for fourth overall in school history while her 1.56 ERA was ranked in the top 30 pitchers in the nation.
Click here for more information about Sara Moulton.
In the third round, with the 15th overall selection, the Bandits selected Northwestern Wildcat, Emily Allard. In her freshman season she was named to the All-Big Ten second team and in 2011 was a one of 25 finalists for the USA Softball Player of the Year award as she started every game at shortstop for Northwestern. In addition, she was named to the All-Big Ten first team and earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Great Lakes Region second team honors. The following season she was on the USA Softball Player of the Year watch list and earned All-Big Ten second team honors. After missing part of the 2013 season due to injury, Allard was granted a medical hardship waiver and has been making the most of her final season in the Big Ten. So far in 2014, she’s batting .406 with 41 hits and 12 RBIs including a .417 on-base percentage and a .974 fielding percentage.
Click here for more information about Allard.
Arizona State’s Cheyenne Coyle became the newest Bandit with the 13th overall selection in the fourth round. A transfer from Florida, Coyle was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week in her first week as a Sun Devil. In addition, she was named the USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week after recording her second grand slam of the season in a win over Oregon State. Coyle earned Pac-12 First Team All-Conference honors after leading the conference and ASU in home runs with 19. In addition, she picked up NFCA All-Region First Team and Second Team All-America honors.
During the 2014 season, she’s batting .333 with 30 RBIs and a .657 slugging percentage including 8 home runs and a .473 on-base percentage.
Click here for more information about Cheyenne Coyle.
With the final selection of the 2014 NPF College Draft the Bandits selected Ole Miss outfielder RT Cantillo 20th overall. Cantillo finished her freshman season with a .315 batting average and 10 doubles earning Freshman All-SEC honors. She finished second on the team with seven successful stolen bases in eight attempts and a .441 slugging percentage.
In 2012 she was named to the Second Team All-SEC, and despite missing 12 games due to injury, she finished with the team’s highest batting average, .374, for the second straight season. During 2014 she is batting .348 with 17 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .559 and a slugging percentage of .626.
Click here for more information about RT Cantillo.
The Bandits 2014 home opener is set for Saturday, May 31 against the Akron Racers.
For more information about the Chicago Bandits, or to purchase tickets for the 2014 season, visit www.chicagobandits.com or call the front office at 877-722-6348.
About the Chicago Bandits
Since 2005, the Chicago Bandits have been members of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league. Located in Rosemont, the Bandits provide an opportunity for female fastpitch players to further their careers at a professional level, and the roster has included such names as Jennie Finch, Stacy May-Johnson and Monica Abbott. The two-time NPF Champions play at The Ballpark at Rosemont, the only stadium in the country built for a women's professional team. The 2014 season will be the Bandits 10th season in the NPF.
About National Pro Fastpitch
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. 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 of Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL). NPF is the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball in the category of women’s fastpitch softball since 2002.
