The Canadian Wild, officially the Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois, were a professional women's softball team based in Marion, Illinois. They were founded in 2019 as part of National Pro Fastpitch and are partnered with the Canada women's national softball team.[1][2] The team is composed entirely of Canadian players and is essentially the Canada women's national softball team and allows the team to play against top competition for most of the year,[3] although there are some other players from Softball Canada on the roster.[4]

Canadian Wild
Information
LeagueNational Pro Fastpitch
LocationMarion, Illinois
BallparkRent One Park
Founded2019
OwnershipSoftball Canada
CoachMark Smith
Websitecanadianwild.prestosports.com

History edit

They made their debut in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch season, playing out of Rent One Park, in Marion, Illinois.[5] They began the season with a six-game series sweep of the Beijing Eagles.[6] They finished their first season in third place out of six teams, finishing with a 22–20 record.[7]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team announced they were withdrawing from the 2020 NPF season, becoming the second team to withdraw from the season, after the Aussie Peppers, due to the pandemic.[8][9][10] The NPF eventually cancelled the entire season,[11] as well as the 2021 season.[12]

Current players edit

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

Pitchers

Catchers

Utility players

Infielders

Outfielders



Legend
  • * Franchise Player Tag
  • (C) Captain
  • (A) Alternate captain
→ All NPF rosters

References edit

  1. ^ "Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois set to join NPF in 2019". October 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "Softball Canada Joins National Pro Fastpitch". National Pro Fastpitch. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ Hefferman, Todd (June 26, 2019). "Canadian Wild Softball - Lye pursuing second gold medal". The Southern Illinoisan.
  4. ^ "Canadian Wild Return To Southern Illinois For 2020". Southern Illinois Miners. November 21, 2019.
  5. ^ LeBlanc, Gilles (May 28, 2019). "Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois Opens Inaugural Season Tonight". Softball Canada.
  6. ^ Hefferman, Todd (June 5, 2019). "Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois open 'home' schedule". The Southern Illinoisan.
  7. ^ "Wild end Season on a High Note". National Pro Fastpitch. July 29, 2020. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ Guerette, Jason (April 15, 2020). "Canadian Wild to miss upcoming NPF season due to COVID-19 complications". The Harrisburg Register.
  9. ^ "Canadian Wild Becomes Latest NPF Team To Sit Out In 2020". Flo Softball. April 13, 2020.
  10. ^ Martorano, Dion (April 15, 2020). "NPF Announces Canadian Wild Sitting Out 2020 Season". Journal & Topics.
  11. ^ "National Pro Fastpitch Cancels 2020 Season due to COVID-19". National Pro Fastpitch. May 15, 2020. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ Hefferman, Todd (December 3, 2020). "National Pro Fastpitch suspends 2021 season". The Southern Illinoisan.

External links edit