Women's pro softball rips into Lowell

LOWELL -- Over the years, Lowell has developed its own niche in the landscape of local sports. From being home to both minor league baseball and hockey teams, as well as hosting a collegiate summer league baseball team, there's rarely been a shortage of events for fans to check out.

Now you can add another professional team, and in another sport, that is happy to call Lowell home. The New England Riptide, a professional women's softball team owned and operated by Joe and Lauri Adlman of Andover, is almost halfway through its inaugural season in the new National Pro Fastpitch league.

The league consists of six teams from California, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, and Lowell. They play 60 games each, starting in June and ending in August. The rosters boast some of the best softball players this country has to offer.

The Riptide plays home games at Martin Field in Lowell. The players are coached by Ralph Raymond, who led the US Olympic Team to back-to-back gold medals in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Burlington High School head softball coach Mary McGinn serves as an assistant.

As founders of Major League Soccer and Major League Lacrosse can confirm, the first-year venture into the world of professional sports can be extremely difficult, yet at the same time enjoyable, as everyone involved tries to build a foundation for long-term success.

Last week, the Riptide was in fourth place with a 12-17 record. The team faces front-running Akron this afternoon (1:05 p.m.) in the last game of a three-game series.

Attendance tends to be the best indicator of how a young league is doing in promoting the games and building a local fan base.

The Riptide drew big crowds earlier in the season, but attendance has dwindled.

"I forget what I envisioned," Joe Adlman said when asked his thoughts on how the league has taken shape compared with his vision of what might occur before the season began. "I think the one thing that I'm disappointed [about], because I overshot it, is the overall attendance.

"But this is actually probably what the league projected. We had 1,000 people for opening night, and we've had upwards of five or six hundred on other nights. Some nights we'll get 300 or so. But that's pretty typical across the league, and that's what they expected, so I guess I should be happy with that."

The players who make up the Riptide are just happy to be playing professional softball. They also like the paychecks, even though they range only from $2,400 to upwards of $10,000 for the season.

Because there was no such league last year, Riptide pitcher Jocelyn Forest, who two years ago led the University of California, Berkeley, to a NCAA National Championship, had to take her talents to a professional league in Holland. Now she's hoping this league can take off and become more of a full-time gig.

"Of course the goal is to be able to make a career out of it, instead of just a summer job," said Forest, who, as of Tuesday, led the league in strikeouts. She and fellow pitcher Leigh Ann Ellis, will play in the NFP All-Star Game this week in Oklahoma.

For that to happen, according to Forest, the league needs more exposure, something the power of television would be able to provide.

"When people see you on TV, it changes everything," Forest said. "I remember how it was after playing in the [College] World Series every year, especially the year we won. People enjoy the game when they see it on TV, especially when it's competitive and high scoring. Until we get some sort of a good ESPN contract or something else going, we need to get some local people involved."

Adlman said he's contacted Comcast and the PAX Network about possible broadcast opportunities, but nothing has come through yet. The YES Network, which is home to New York Yankee baseball, will broadcast four New Jersey-New York Juggernaut games this season.

The league is considering adding two more teams next year, which, combined with the lessons taught from the first season, could help even more.

"Hopefully, sponsorship will be a little easier to come by next year, now that they've seen the product," he said. "I've noticed when people come, they come back. They have a good time out here. There's been a lot of repeat business.

"I think a lot of people come . . . not knowing what to expect. I think some come expecting to see something like a girls recreational league softball game where there are five errors an inning and they cry when they're thrown out at the plate. It's nothing like that."

Andy Nesbitt can be reached at anesbitt@globe.com.