Athletes Unlimited / Softball

A Champion is Crowned After a Thrilling 2024 AUX Softball Season

- by LaDarius Brown

Without question, the 2024 AUX Softball Season was truly one for the record books. The games provided much excitement as the star-studded roster of talent shined. Entering this final doubleheader, the leaderboard saw rookie Jocelyn Alo ahead of veteran pitcher Mariah Mazon by 170 points.

Also, Tori Vidales and Bubba Nickles made a case as they rounded out the top four. That being said, here is a recap of Games Seventeen and Eighteen as Season Three of AUX comes to a close.

Games Seventeen: Extra Softball in Wichita

Nadia Taylor at the plate in Game Seventeen of the 2024 AUX season.
Photo Credit: Jade Hewitt/Athletes Unlimited

As mentioned earlier, the games have been exciting to watch, and this one between Team Mazon and Team Nickles was an instant classic. Following a scoreless first inning, Kalei Harding hit the grand slam in the top of the second to give Mazon’s squad an early lead. Nickles and his team tied up the game in the bottom of the fifth. Kelsey Stewart-Hunter and Sydney McKinney each had an RBI as Morgan Zerkle scored two with a double.

Next, the sixth inning saw a combined nine runs come across the plate at Wilkins Stadium. First, Harding became the sixth player in Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX history to hit two homers in the same game. This one by Harding was a three-run blast to left-center. Vidales and Jessi Warren added an RBI apiece in the top half of the inning.

Team Nickles responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by Billie Andrews and a three-run homer by Zerkle. Moreover, Delanie Wisz tied the game for Nickles’squad with a solo shot in the seventh. For the second time this season, a game went into extra innings. It marked the seventh extra-inning game in AU Pro Softball AUX history.

The eighth inning saw a run scored by each team, making it a 10-10 heading to the ninth. It is important to note that this matchup was the second game in league history to go nine innings or more. Harding added to her career night at the plate with two more RBIs in the top of the frame. This gave Team Mazon a 12-10 lead going into the bottom of the inning.

The Final Inning

For Team Nickles, Nickles closed the gap with an RBI single to make it a one-run game. Nadia Taylor is a seasoned player with big moments on her resume. Down 12-11, Taylor stepped up and hit a walk-off single up the middle, giving Team Nickles a 13-12 win. Harding took home MVP 1 honors as she had a record nine RBIs in the loss. Taylor and Zerkle won MVP 2 and MVP 3 honors, respectively while McKinney took home the honor of the game’s Defensive MVP.

Nickles ascended to second place on the leaderboard following the win. She entered the final game of the season down 94 points to Alo.

Game Eighteen: Nickles Vs. Alo for the Crown in AUX Softball

All things considered, the focus of the game between Team Alo and Team Nickles should be more about the game. In this case, it was pretty much over early on as Nickles’ squad scored six runs in the first inning as Taylor and Andrews each hit three-run homers. What’s more, Andrews went yard in the sixth to give Team Nickles an 8-0 lead.

Yet, Team Alo finally found the scoreboard in the seventh as Julia Cottrill slammed a solo shot and Taylor Edwards hit an RBI single to make it an 8-2 game. It would ultimately be the final score. Andrews and Taylor were the MVP 1 and MVP 3 as Taylor McQuillin was the MVP 2. McQuillin went the distance allowing three hits.

With the team win, Nickles took home the crown as the season’s champion (1,344 points) by a margin of six points over Alo (1,338). The six-point margin is the closest in the three-year history of the event.

Wisz took third place with 1,288 points after leaping up four spots. Warren took home the season’s Defensive MVP to the shock of few, winning for an unprecedented third season. Can Nickles take home the AU Championship season crown? We have to wait until it gets underway on July 26th at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois.

As always, it was a blast to cover another season of AUX and I’ll see you on the basepaths next month.

You can follow me on Twitter. Also, follow Beyond Women’s Sports for more from the world of sports. 

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About LaDarius Brown

I'm LaDarius Brown and I'll forever love the Seattle Storm and Sue Bird is my forever GOAT. Big time lover of wrestling and my love for women's sports is lifelong. P.S. I'm a UConn WBB fan (that's a secret between just you and I)

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