Softball

Athletes Unlimited Softball: A Massive and Thrilling Week Two

- by LaDarius Brown
Athletes Unlimited Softball

All in all, Week One of Season Two of Athletes Unlimited Softball was all about outstanding pitching and great games. We witnessed the first-ever no-hitter in the history of Athletes Unlimited Softball by the great Cat Osterman. Week One also gave us the first-ever game in Athletes Unlimited Softball history to go to extra innings. Without a doubt, Week One gave us everything and more for fans of Athletes Unlimited Softball. That being said, here is a recap of Week Two in Athletes Unlimited Softball.

Game 7: Zerkle was in the Zone

Similar to the start of Week One, Week Two started with the big bats from Team Osterman. Cat and her Orange squad launched five long balls in their 15-1 victory over Tori Vidales and Team Blue. To cap off Week One, Osterman’s Gold team also put up 15 runs. Five of the 15 runs came in the top of the first inning as outfielder Aliyah Andrews started the inning with a single.

On the next pitch from Team Vidales starting pitcher, right-hander Taran Alvelo, outfielder Morgan Zerkle hit a two-run homer. Also, infielder Amanda Chidester hit a two-run shot and catcher Jordan Roberts with an RBI single to complete the inning. In total, Team Osterman hit six home runs, including one each from infielders Kelsey Stewart, Jessi Warren, and Anissa Urtez.

Overall, Zerkle went three for four with a double, home run, and five runs batted in (RBIs). The lone run for Team Vidales came from the team captain as she homered off of Osterman in the bottom of the first. She earned MVP 1 honors, racking up 258 points, and her teammates, Andrews, and Warren were voted as MVP 2 and MVP 3, respectively.

Game 8: Ocasio Outstanding in a Complete Game Win

Lilli Piper, the captain of Team Purple, made Aleshia Ocasio the number one overall pick in the Week Two draft. In this case, it paid dividends as Ocasio threw a complete game. She had five strikeouts, one walk, and four hits. Her performance made her the MVP 1 of the game with 60 points. Infielder DJ Sanders slammed a two-run homer in the bottom of the second for Team Piper, earning her MVP 2 honors. Amanda Sanchez hit a home run in the same inning, giving her MVP 3 honors.

In the 4-1 victory for Team Piper, Ocasio allowed one run, which came off the bat of Sahvanna Jaquish, the captain of Team Gold. Team Piper adopted the unicorn as a mascot. Even though unicorns may not be real, their win over Team Gold was certainly real.

Game 9: Urtez Wins a Thriller in an Instant Classic

Compared to the other games in the two-year history of Athletes Unlimited Softball, this one might take the cake. Early on, this game looked to be secure for Team Piper as they were up 5-0 after two innings versus Team Osterman. Sashel Palacios provided the first RBI of the game, and Ocasio had two RBIs in the top of the first inning. Ali Aguilar added two more RBIs in the top of the second inning.

However, the eye of the tiger, or should I say cat, woke up at the bottom of the fourth. Team Osterman scored four runs, thanks to solo home runs by Warren and Chidester. In addition, Jordan added two more RBIs in the inning. The score was still 5-4 entering the bottom of the seventh. Andrews reached on a single. Next, Zerkle got on base via a throwing error by Ocasio and later stole second, advancing Andrews to third.

Andrews reached home after a throwing error by Gwen Svekis, tying the game 5-5. Then, Anissa, who represented Mexico in the 2020 Olympics, hit a single to the left, bringing home Zerkle. Urtez earned MVP 2 honors for her efforts. MVP 1 honors went to Team Osterman pitcher Randi Rupp. Rupp threw five and two-thirds scoreless innings. Roberts got the MVP 3 honors for her 2 RBI performance.

Game 10: The Hannah & Erika Show

Team Vidales brought their bats with them to Parkway Bank Sports Complex. Overall, they had 14 hits and five homers that have not landed yet. Although this may be true, Team Vidales nonetheless routed Team Jaquish 13-5. Of the thirteen runs, nine came courtesy of Hannah Flippen (four) and Erika Piancastelli (five).

Firstly, Piancastelli’s five RBIs came off a double in the first inning and a grand slam in the seventh. Flippen’s four RBIs came off a two-run big fly in the first inning and a two-run in the fourth. Piancastelli won MVP 2 honors while Flippen won MVP 3 honors. The MVP 1 of the game, Haylie McCleney, went four for five, including a homer in the third inning. Speaking of McCleney, check out this great defensive play she made to close out the game:

As for Team Jaquish, Jaquish and Samantha Show each had two RBIs and a home run.

Game 11: Southpaw Shines for Team Vidales in Win

While the offense is great and all, pitching is good as well. This was evident by Haylie Wagner’s execution in the circle. She threw a complete game as she had five strikeouts and allowing just four hits. She earned MVP 1 honors for her amazing game. Still, three of the four runs in Team Vidales’ 4-1 win over Team Piper came in the first two innings.

Flippen and Courtney Gano each had an RBI in the first inning while Victoria Hayward bunted in Aubree Munro for an RBI in the second. Lastly, Piancastelli singled home McCleney in the seventh. Team Piper’s lone run came as the team captain hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Ocasio in the top of the seventh. Piancastelli received 40 points for earning MVP 2 honors. Ocasio won MVP honors for Team Piper, pitching six and third innings.

Game 12: Gaffes Give Team Jaquish the Win

Closing out Week Two of Season Two in Athletes Unlimited Softball, Team Jaquish defeated Team Osterman 2-0. Till the bottom of the sixth inning, this game was scoreless. In that inning, infielder Sydney Romero of Team Jaquish reached base due to a fielding error by Warren. Osterman struck out Sam Fischer, and Romero was caught stealing as well.

Later on, Shelby Pendley hit a single, and the former Texas A&M Aggie, Riley Sartain-Vaughan, came up and hit a single of her own. Meanwhile, Janie Reed uncharacteristically misplayed the ball for the second error of the inning. That error, allowing Pendley to score, broke the scoreless game. Morgan Howe singled in Sartain-Vaughan to make 2-0.

Sartain-Vaughan was the MVP 1 of the game while a pair of former Golden Gophers pitchers, Amber Fiser and Sara Groenewegen, won MVP 3 and MVP 2 honors, respectively. Fiser and Groenewegen each pitched three and two-thirds innings, combining for three strikeouts.

Week Three Captains

Two of the four captains for Week Three were captains in Week Two: Cat Osterman (Team Gold) and Sahvanna Jaquish (Team Blue). The remaining two captains will be Haylie McCleney (Team Orange) and Aleshia Ocasio (Team Purple). Tori Vidales finished fourth on the leaderboard but, because of a known Week Three absence, Ocasio will fill that spot.

As has been noted, this week was full of big bats, big plays, and unbelievable pitching. In essence, another day at the office. Week Three of Athletes Unlimited Softball will start on Sept. 11th through the 13th.

Follow me on Twitter: @ladarius_brown and read other amazing articles on Beyond Women’s 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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