Jan 8, 2015 3 min read

The National Pro Fastpitch softball league grew by 20 percent Thursday when Dallas-Fort Worth was added as the fifth team to the league.

The team will begin play in the NPF this season and will be known as the Dallas Charge. The Charge join the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Pennsylvania Rebellion and defending champion USSSA Pride in a five-team league. The Rebellion, which plays at Consol Energy Park in Washington, joined the NPF last season.

“We are looking for capable and qualified owners,” said Cheri Kempf, commissioner of the NPF. “We have been talking to them for four years about it.”

Kempf said the Dallas area was of value to the NPF because of its high interest in women’s softball.

“Texas has traditionally been a great hotbed of softball, ” Kempf said. “California, and in particular Southern California, has led the way in terms of softball (popularity) but Texas is right on its heels. When you look at the huge volume of players who are at Texas schools and the educated fan base, it’s very exciting. The Charge have(support) and is a major market.”

The Charge will have two home fields, one located at Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, and the other in Arlington. The Charge become the first NPF franchise to be based in Texas since the Texas Thunder (located in Houston), which left for Rockford, Ill., in the 2007 season.

“It’s an extremely exciting opportunity for women’s fastpitch and the entire DFW area,” Kevin Shelton, general manager of the Charge, said in a release. “The NPF is growing and we are pleased to be a part of that growth to provide these gifted women a chance to compete in the sport they love as professionals. North Texas has a vibrant fastpitch community. I am confident our entire area will benefit from a professional women’s fastpitch team’s presence.”

Kempf said the NPF schedule for the upcoming season will be released Tuesday after a league meeting in Orlando, Fla.

The date for the NPF draft also will be chosen to fit into a window where it can be televised.

Steve Zavacky, assistant general manager of the Rebellion, said the organization welcomes expansion and looks forward to even more for the 2016 season.

“Dallas will be great for the league,” he said. “It’s another major metro market. The league is looking to expand and that’s a good thing.”

In other news, Zavacky said the Rebellion are “very close” to naming a new manager for the team. He said the announcement could come as early as next week. The team’s first manager, California University head softball coach Rick Bertagnolli, resigned after 12 games over a disagreement with the organization. His assistant, Stacey Rice, coached the team for the remainder of the season.

Zavacky also said the organization and California University have agreed to a plan for housing the Rebellion players again for the 2015 season.

Zavacky said the Rebellion led the league in attendance last season, drawing close to 3,000 fans for a game on three separate occasions. He said the team is looking at options to play some home games away from Consol Energy Park.