Athletes Unlimited: Games 25 & 26 See Alyssa Denham & Rachel Garcia Move Up Leaderboard

The Athletes Unlimited 2023 softball season continues to roll on with another pair of games held Friday at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill.

Here’s a closer look at the results from Games 25 & 26.

Thanks to AU’s Jade Hewitt, who shoots the great photos for Athletes Unlimited; those used in this article were by all by her.

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Here are the point leaders after Friday’s two games…

Updated Athletes Unlimited Softball Top 10 Leaderboard (through August 25, 2023)

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Athletes Unlimited Softball Post-Game Notes/Game Recap

Game #25: Team Gibson 8, Team Flippen 0 | August 25, 2023 | Parkway Bank Sports Complex (Rosemont, Ill.)

Team Flippen Starters: Victoria Hayward (CF), Kelsey Harshman (2B), Tori Vidales (1B), Mia Davidson (C), Hannah Flippen (SS), Delanie Wisz (3B), Lilli Piper (DP), Jazmyn Jackson (LF), Sydney McKinney (RF), Megan Faraimo (P)
Team Gibson Starters: Bubba Nickles (LF), Megan Wiggins (CF), Sierra Romero (2B), Danielle Gibson (1B), Rachel Garcia (P), Nadia Taylor (3B), Taylor Edwards (C), Abby Ramirez (RF), Sis Bates (SS)

Winning Pitcher: Rachel Garcia (4-3)
Losing Pitcher: Megan Faraimo (3-3)
Save: n/a
Time of Game: 2:21
Game MVPs: 

#1 – Rachel Garcia (Team Gibson), +60 points
#2 – Danielle Gibson (Team Gibson), +40 points
#3 – Abby Ramirez (Team Gibson), +20 points

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Pitcher Rachel Garcia is going to make it very difficult for the league leaders to remain at the top of the leaderboard if she continues to accumulate points like she did in Friday night’s Athletes Unlimited Softball opener between Team Gibson and Team Flippen.

Garcia combined with Aleshia Ocasio to spin a three-hit shutout and also blasted a three-run home run to propel Team Gibson to an 8-0 shutout victory over Team Flippen to open the final week of the season.

Garcia, who authored her fourth career Championship Season game with 250 or more points, finished the night with 280 leaderboard points after taking home MVP 1 distinction. The former UCLA standout was 1-for-3 at the plate with her three-run blast and also scattered three hits over five innings with seven strikeouts.

Team captain Danielle Gibson followed with the MVP 2 award after posting a pair of hits, including a two-run double, with a run scored. Gibson remains in second place on the leaderboard after securing 180 points in her first Championship Season game as a captain.

Middle infielder Abby Ramirez, who played in right field for the first time this season, finished the MVP sweep with her MVP 3 commendation. Ramirez was 1-for-3 at the plate and scored a run, giving her 150 leaderboard points.

Outfielder Bubba Nickles also added a 2-for-4 effort with a double and two runs scored for Team Gibson, which saw eight of its nine starters record at least one hit.

Three different players tallied a hit in the loss for Team Flippen. Rookie Megan Faraimo suffered the loss in the circle and dropped to 3-3 after giving up five runs on six hits in 4.1 innings with three strikeouts.

How It Happened: After the teams battled through four scoreless innings, Team Gibson erupted for six runs in the fifth inning for a 6-0 lead. Outfielder Megan Wiggins started the outburst when she drew a bases loaded walk before Gibson added a two-run single to left field. Garcia followed with a three-run blast to center field, upping the advantage to six runs.

Leaderboard Impact: Garcia’s 280-point performance vaulted her into third place on the leaderboard with 1,556 points, while Nickles moved into fourth place with 1,508 points. Ramirez, meanwhile, improved her position by 10 spots with the shutout victory on Friday night and stands 22nd in the league standings pending the outcome of the nightcap between Team Alexander and Team Denham.

Game Notes:

• Team Flippen and Team Gibson combined to score eight runs in Friday’s Week Five opener, pushing the league’s season total to 175 runs through 25 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored this season as part of its ‘Round the Bases’ initiative.
• Team Gibson fashioned the 17th all-time shutout in Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season play, including the sixth this season … The six shutouts are the most in a season in the league’s four-year history.
• In addition, Team Gibson secured the league’s sixth win points sweep of the season … In four seasons of Championship Season play, there have been 29 win point sweeps.
• Garcia struck out corner infielder Tori Vidales in the first inning, marking her 50th strikeout of the season … It is the fifth time a pitcher has reached 50 strikeouts in a season in Championship Season history, including the second time by Garcia … Cat Osterman reached 50 strikeouts in the 2020 and 2021 campaigns while Aleshia Ocasio tallied 55 strikeouts during the 2021 season.
• Garcia, who now has 56 strikeouts this season, also registered seven or more strikeouts in a game for the sixth time in her Championship Season career, which stands second in league history behind Osterman’s nine career games with seven or more strikeouts.
• Nickles extended her hitting streak to a league-best 11 games with an infield single in the fifth inning … She also accrued her second multi-hit game of the season after hitting a double off the center field fence with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
• Outfielder Victoria Hayward has reached base safely in all 13 games after drawing a walk to lead off the game … She also moved her hitting streak to 10 straight games with an infield single in the top of the fifth inning.
• Middle infielder Kelsey Harshman also owns a streak of reaching base safely in 10 consecutive games after earning a walk in the third inning.
• Gibson extended her hitting streak to seven straight games with a single in the top of the second inning … She also recorded her fourth multi-hit game of the season with a two-run single in the fifth frame.
• Corner infielder Nadia Taylor has registered a hit in six of her last seven outings, including the last three in a row, after posting a single in the bottom of the fourth inning.
• Ramirez has a hit in five of her last six appearances, including the last three in a row, following a single to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning.
• Middle infielder Sis Bates has hit safely in five of her last seven games after opening the season without a hit in her first six contests … Bates singled down the left field line in the fifth inning.

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Athletes Unlimited Softball Post-Game Notes/Game Recap

Game #26: Team Denham 7, Team Alexander 1 | August 25, 2023 | Parkway Bank Sports Complex (Rosemont, Ill.)

Team Alexander Starters: Aliyah Andrews (CF), Morgan Zerkle (LF), Anissa Urtez (SS), Dejah Mulipola (C), Erika Piancastelli (DP), Jessi Warren (3B), Odicci Alexander (P), Josie Muffley (2B), Madi Huskey (RF)
Team Denham Starters: Amanda Lorenz (LF), Haylie McCleney (CF), Kelsey Stewart-Hunter (1B), Sydney Romero (SS), Sam Fischer (3B), Gwen Svekis (C), Jordan Roberts (DP), Caroline Jacobsen (RF), Aubrey Leach (2B), Alyssa Denham (P)

Winning Pitcher: Alyssa Denham (6-1)
Losing Pitcher: Odicci Alexander (2-1)
Save: n/a
Time of Game: 2:11

Game MVPs: 

#1 – Jordan Roberts (Team Denham), +60 points
#2 – Alyssa Denham (Team Denham), +40 points
#3 – Amanda Lorenz (Team Denham), +20 points

ROSEMONT, Illinois – New season, same late push up the leaderboard from pitcher Alyssa Denham.

After helping Team Alexander to a perfect 3-0 record in Week Four, the former Arizona standout turned the tables on her former squad by securing a 7-1 victory to complete Friday night’s Athletes Unlimited Softball doubleheader at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

The win allowed Denham to move into third place on the leaderboard after securing MVP 2 honors. She improved to 6-1 on the season after allowing one run on four hits over five innings with four strikeouts, collecting 210 leaderboard points in the process.

Catcher Jordan Roberts led the charge offensively for Team Denham to earn MVP 1 recognition and 230 leaderboard points after going 2-for-3 with a three-run home run.

Outfielder Amanda Lorenz completed the MVP trifecta after finishing a home run shy of the cycle with a 3-for-4 effort, giving the former Florida star 200 leaderboard points in the victory.

Pitcher Odicci Alexander took the loss in the circle for Team Alexander after giving up six runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings with four strikeouts. Outfielder Aliyah Andrews and catcher Dejah Mulipola each registered two hits in the setback.

How It Happened: Team Denham used a solo home run from Fischer in the second inning and a double from corner infielder Kelsey Stewart-Hunter in the third inning to build a 2-0 lead. The teams traded a run in the fourth frame before Roberts’ three-run homer in the fifth broke things open to give Team Denham a five-run cushion.

Leaderboard Impact: While Denham moved into third place on the leaderboard, Alexander remains the league leader with 1,776 points. However, her lead has shrunk to just 62 points over corner infielder Danielle Gibson. Roberts’ effort on Friday elevated her standing to 18th place, an increase of nine spots.

Game Notes:

• Team Alexander and Team Denham combined to score eight runs in Friday’s nightcap, elevating the league’s season total to 183 runs through 26 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored this season as part of its ‘Round the Bases’ initiative.
• Team Denham registered the seventh win points sweep of the season with its 7-1 victory on Friday night … It is also the 30th win points sweep in Championship Season history.
• Alexander saw an end to her personal 11-game win streak, including her six-game streak as a captain … It was her first loss since the season opener on July 28 against Team McCleney.
• Team Alexander challenged a caught stealing call against Andrews in the top of the first inning, which was unsuccessful.
• Andrews ran her hitting streak to nine consecutive games with her infield single in the first inning … She has also reached base safely in 12-of-13 games this season.
• Fischer’s home run upped her hitting streak to five games in a row.
• Mulipola fashioned her third multi-hit game of the season with a pair of singles in the second and fourth innings.
• Roberts authored her fifth career multi-hit game after posting a single in the fourth inning before her three-run blast in the fifth … It also marked her first hits since July 30.
• Catcher Gwen Svekishas hit safely in five of her last seven games after her single in the fifth inning.

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