As the final week of the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball Championship Season is here, there is still much to play for. The leaderboard sees three great pitchers chasing down an outfielder to become this season’s champion. This has been one of the more unpredictable seasons in recent AU Softball. Games 25 and 26 had fans seeing a bit of déjà vu at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex. That being said, here is a recap of the first doubleheader in the last week of the Pro Softball Championship Season.
Game 25: Cluth Hitting In This AU Pro Softball Matchup
Photo Credit: Kristin Ostrowski/Athletes Unlimited
Here, pitcher Aleshia Ocasio and the Blue Team faced off against fellow pitcher Georgina Corrick and the Orange Team. Following a scoreless first and second inning, Team Ocasio got on the board in the top of the third. All three runs came from the powerful bat of this season’s AUX Champion, Bubba Nickles. She hit a three-run blast to left field to give Team Blue the early 3-0 lead. It was her third homer of the season, tying for the league lead.
Ocasio’s squad added another run in the fifth as rookie Skylar Wallace hit a solo homer to right field. It was her third home run of the season, tying her with Nickles and Sharlize Palacios. Speaking of Sharlize, she put Team Corrick on the board with a sacrifice fly RBI, scoring Aubrey Leach. Lastly, Nadia Taylor hit an RBI single to give Ocasio’s squad a 5-1 lead, which would be the final score.
DINGER CITY 🔔@Wallace2Skylar and @madilyn_nickles both absolutely CRUSHED homers in Game 25!#AUProSB pic.twitter.com/uk1Ixz4Olh
— AU Pro Softball (@auprosoftball) August 24, 2024
Nickles and Wallace won MVP 1 and 2 honors, respectively, while Ocasio was the MVP 3. Ocasio went four innings, allowing four hits with a strikeout. It’s important to note that Megan Faraimo notched the save as she pitched the remaining three innings. The right-hander allowed the lone run with one hit and a strikeout in the win. Also, Sis Bates took home Defensive MVP honors for Team Corrick.
Game 26: Stellar Pitching To Close The Doubleheader
Photo Credit: Athletes Unlimited
In this game, Amanda Lorenz and the Gold Team played pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl and the Purple Team. Team Lorenz got on the scoreboard first with three runs in the top of the second. Jessi Warren and Victoria Hayward each had RBI singles as McKenzie Clark hit an RBI triple. Next, Hayward added two more RBIs to her name with a double in the fourth inning.
FLEX ON ‘EM MC 💪 @mac_clark_7 with a RBI triple up the middle! #AUProSB x 📺 Bally Sports pic.twitter.com/cpkdzeex1e
— AU Pro Softball (@auprosoftball) August 24, 2024
Tori Vidales put Team Kilfoyl on the board in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single. Like in Game 25, this matchup ended with a 5-1 score but in favor of Team Gold here. In the case of MVPs, Hayward and Clark were the MVPs 2 and 3 and Warren was the Defensive MVP. For MVP 1, pitcher Rachel Garcia won it as she allowed one hit with six strikeouts in four-and-two-thirds innings of work.
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