Monica Abbott Pitches a No-Hitter

I have been to hundreds of various ball games in my life, but I experienced a first last Wednesday. I witnessed my first no-hitter, compliments of Monica Abbott of the National Pro Fastpitch Scrap Yard (Houston) Dawgs. Unfortunately, it was against my beloved Chicago Bandits.
It was fantastic to see, but it wasn’t really shocking. Monica has been dominating the softball field for many years.
Monica compiled a record of 189-34 while at the University of Tennessee. She had an ERA of .79 with 2440 strike outs against 213 walks and a WHIP of .59. That is dominant. That is elite.
In 2007, she started her NPF career with the Washington Glory. She played one season there, followed by one season with the USSSA Pride and one with the Tennessee Diamonds, before joining the Bandits in 2011.
Monica pitched 5 seasons with the Bandits, winning 2 NPF championships (2011 and 2015). In 2015, she had an ERA of .31. That might be the most mind-blowing statistic of her entire career.
She seemed to have found an NPF home and a dynasty seemed to be developing in Chicago.
Unfortunately, expansion brought in the Dawgs and they offered Monica the largest contract in NPF history. We all hated to see her go, but it was good for her and good for future contracts of NPF players.
Monica went 19-3 in her first season with the Dawgs, with her ERA “jumping” to .98 (still ridiculously low). The Dawgs would ultimately get eliminated from the NPF playoffs by the Bandits (league champs).
This wasn’t Monica’s first NPF no-hitter. She has pitched 2 perfect games and one no-hitter, all during her time with Chicago. Her last perfecto and no-no occurred in 2015, but I missed both of those gems because I was working. (I really needed to get my priorities straight).
This season, when Monica and the Dawgs came to town, I made them “must see’ games. I would not miss another no-hitter possibility. That possibility became reality Wednesday.
Monica is always special, but I could tell very early in the game she was really “in the zone.” She did walk Brenna Moss early in the game and Emily Carosone got hit by a pitch, but nobody else reached base. In fact, Monica struck out an amazing 18 of the 23 batters she faced. That is dominant. That is elite.
As I sat in the bullpen runway, many of the non-playing Bandits joined me to watch the spectacle. I’m certain they did not want to see a no-hitter, but they weren’t going to miss it either.
I admit to being torn. The Bandits are in a playoff race and can’t afford losses. Besides, I never like seeing them lose. Still, if they were going to lose, I at least a no-hitter would be something to see.
With two outs in the 7th, hundreds of iphones came out to record the historic final out. In keeping with the trend of the night, the final out was a strike out and Monica’s no-hitter was in the books.
The Dawgs celebrated. The Bandits congratulated. The fans sat in awe.
I talked to Monica after the game. Naturally, she was all smiles (although Monica is usually in a good mood anyway). I thanked her for her time always and she thanked me for covering the NPF. I got a ball signed. We hugged and went our separate ways.
For the season, Monica is 15-2 with an ERA of .9. That is dominant. That is elite.
With seven games left, the Chicago Bandits are in a dogfight for a playoff spot in the NPF (National Pro Fastpitch). Currently, the Bandits are in 3rd place, 2.5 games ahead of the Akron Racers. The Dawgs are in second place, 6 games ahead of the Bandits. Assuming things end as is, the Dawgs and Monica will face the Bandits in a best of 3 series in the playoffs.
Monica will probably pitch (at least) twice in that series. She is dominant and elite, but she is beatable, as the Bandits proved in lasy year’s playoffs.
I’m getting ahead of myself and the team there. First things first. For now, I will just enjoy the fact that I witnessed something very special from someone very special.