Athletes Unlimited: Sunday Action in Games 23 & 24 Includes Rachel Garcia’s Big Day

The weekend’s six games – going from Friday through Sunday – in the Athletes Unlimited 2023 softball season concluded yesterday with a pair of games Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill.

Below are the results from Sunday’s two contests (Game 23 & 24) as well as the updated leaderboard.

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 the half dozen games over the weekend.

Updated Athletes Unlimited Softball Top 10 Leaderboard (through August 20, 2023)

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Athletes Unlimited Softball Post-Game Notes/Game Recap

Game #23: Team Urtez 4, Team Davidson 2 | August 20, 2023 | Parkway Bank Sports Complex (Rosemont, Ill.)

Team Davidson Starters: Victoria Hayward (LF), Andrea Filler (1B), Sierra Romero (2B), Mia Davidson (C), Haylie McCleney (CF), Nadia Taylor (DP), Sam Fischer (3B), Madi Huskey (RF), Sis Bates (SS), Myka Sutherlin (P)
Team Urtez Starters: Amanda Lorenz (LF), Megan Wiggins (CF), Anissa Urtez (SS), Taylor Edwards (C), Tori Vidales (1B), Sydney Romero (3B), Rachel Garcia (P), Jazmyn Jackson (RF), Josie Muffley (2B)

Winning Pitcher: Rachel Garcia (3-3)
Losing Pitcher: Mariah Mazon (5-1)
Save: Taylor McQuillin (1)
Time of Game: 2:18

Game MVPs: 

• #1 – Rachel Garcia (Team Urtez), +60 points
• #2 – Taylor Edwards (Team Urtez), +40 points
• #3 – Tori Vidales (Team Urtez), +20 points

ROSEMONT, Illinois – All it takes is one strong day and a player can move up the Athletes Unlimited Softball leaderboard very quickly. Just ask pitcher Rachel Garcia.

The former UCLA star surged into the top five in the league standings after an outstanding performance to lift Team Urtez to a 4-2 victory over Team Davidson in the penultimate game of Week Four at Parkway Bank Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon.

Garcia, who claimed the 2023 AUX Softball title earlier this summer, amassed 272 leaderboard points along with the MVP 1 honor after going 1-for-3 at the plate with a two-run home run while earning the win in the circle after registering seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings.Catcher Taylor Edwards earned MVP 2 distinction after going 1-for-2 with a walk and a RBI double in the fifth inning, giving her 178 leaderboard points in the victory. Corner infielder Tori Vidales finished the MVP trifecta with a RBI double in the fifth inning as part of her 2-for-2 performance, which garnered 168 points.

Pitcher Taylor McQuillin nailed down her first save of the season after pitching a scoreless seventh inning with a strikeout and a walk.

Four different players registered a hit in the loss for Team Davidson, including a RBI double by corner infielder Nadia Taylor. Pitcher Mariah Mazon (5-1) suffered her first loss of the season after giving two earned runs in 2.2 innings with one strikeout.

How It Happened: Team Urtez plated a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings to claim a 4-0 lead it did not relinquish. Garcia got the scoring started with a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning before Edwards and Vidales hit back-to-back doubles in the fifth inning to pad the lead. A two-run double by Taylor in the top of the sixth frame ended the shutout bid and cut the margin to 4-2.

Leaderboard Impact: Garcia’s 272-point outburst elevated her standing on the leaderboard by 13 places and she now stands just six points behind middle infielder Anissa Urtez for the fourth spot pending the results of the second game between Team Nickles and Team Alexander. Urtez, meanwhile, rose five spots to claim the No. 4 position, while McQuillin elevated her ranking by six positions.

Game Notes:

• Team Davidson and Team Urtez combined to score six runs in Sunday’s opener, raising the league’s season runs total to 161 through 23 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored this season as part of its ‘Round the Bases’ initiative.
• Garcia’s 272 points are tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in Championship Season history and match the fifth-highest single-game output in any Athletes Unlimited Softball contest (AUXor Championship Season) … She now owns three of the top five single-game point totals in Championship Season history in addition to four of the top six outcomes in combined history.
• CatcherMia Davidson extended her Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season record after being hit by a pitch twice in Sunday’s game, upping her season total to eight times being hit by a pitch … Davidson has now been hit by a pitch 12 times in her Championship Season career, which is also a league record.
• OutfielderVictoria Hayward became the first player in Athletes Unlimited Softball with 100 career hits in AUX and Championship Season play with her single in the third inning … Hayward also owns the Championship Season career record with 67 hits in addition to registering an AUX record 33 hits.
• Hayward has also hit safely in nine consecutive games while Taylor has registered a hit in five of her last six contests.
• Vidales owns a five-game hitting streak after notching her third multi-hit game of the season.
• Edwards has notched at least one hit in six of her last seven appearances.
• OutfielderHaylie McCleney ended an eight-game hitless streak with a double to left field in the sixth inning … McCleney was 0-for-21 since August 4 before her double.

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 Athletes Unlimited Softball Post-Game Notes/Game Recap

Game #24: Team Alexander 6, Team Nickles 0 | August 20, 2023 | Parkway Bank Sports Complex (Rosemont, Ill.)

Team Nickles Starters: Morgan Zerkle (LF), Kelsey Harshman (2B), Bubba Nickles (CF), Erika Piancastelli (RF), Jessi Warren (3B), Aubrey Leach (DP), Lilli Piper (1B), Jordan Roberts (C), Rachel Becker (SS), Kathryn Sandercock (P)
Team Alexander Starters: Aliyah Andrews (CF), Kelsey Stewart-Hunter (1B), Dejah Mulipola (DP), Danielle Gibson (LF), Gwen Svekis (C), Hannah Flippen (SS), Delanie Wisz (3B), Caroline Jacobsen (RF), Abby Ramirez (2B), Alyssa Denham (P)

Winning Pitcher: Alyssa Denham (5-1)
Losing Pitcher: Kathryn Sandercock (2-3)
Save: Odicci Alexander (2)
Time of Game: 1:53

Game MVPs: 

• #1 – Danielle Gibson (Team Alexander), +60 points
• #2 – Hannah Flippen (Team Alexander), +40 points
• #3 – Alyssa Denham (Team Alexander), +20 points

ROSEMONT, Illinois – The only bad thing about the performance Team Alexander put together in Week Four of the 2023 Athletes Unlimited Softball season is the fact the week ended and new teams will be drafted on Monday.

Led by stellar pitching from Alyssa Denham and Odicci Alexander along with home runs from infielders Danielle Gibson and Hannah Flippen, Team Alexander capped off a nearly perfect week with a 6-0 victory over Team Nickles to end Sunday’s doubleheader at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

Team Alexander, which finished the week with a 3-0 record, authored its second shutout of the weekend while Team Nickles closed the slate with a 1-2 mark.

Gibson earned MVP 1 honors and finished with 228 leaderboard points after blasting a solo home run in the fourth inning to give Team Alexander a 1-0 lead it did not relinquish. Flippen, meanwhile, followed with MVP 2 commendations after her grand slam in the sixth inning completed the scoring to give her 210 points.

Denham, the game’s MVP 3 honoree, secured her fifth win of the season after throwing four shutout innings with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts. Alexander collected her second save of the campaign after scattering two hits in the final three frames with four strikeouts.

Middle infielder Kelsey Harshman authored two of Team Nickles’ three hits in the setback. Rookie Kathryn Sandercock (2-3) suffered the loss after giving up two runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.

How It Happened: Gibson gave Team Alexander a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning with a solo home run before the squad erupted for five runs in the sixth frame, including Flippen’s grand slam.

Leaderboard Impact: Flippen’s performance vaulted her into third place on the leaderboard with 1,476 points, while Alexander remains the league lead with a 246-point advantage over Gibson, who also entered the top four spots after her MVP performance. Denham, meanwhile, rose nine spots and will start the final week of the season in fourth place.

Game Notes:

• Team Nickles and Team Alexander combined to score six runs in Sunday’s opener, raising the league’s season runs total to 167 through 24 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored this season as part of its ‘Round the Bases’ initiative.
• Team Alexander was 3-for-4 with runners in scoring position and 4-of-10 in advancement opportunities.
• Team Alexander won 19-of-21 innings during its three-game sweep with a pair of inning win sweeps.
• Denham has won her last three decisions in the circle and has conceded just one unearned run in those appearances, which span 13.0 innings of work.
• Gibson has hit safely in six consecutive games after blasting her solo home run in the fourth inning.
• Flippen hit the third grand slam of the season with her blast in the sixth inning … Catcher Mia Davidson hit the first grand slam on July 28 against Team Denham, while corner infielder Sydney Romero had a grand slam against Team Garcia on August 6.

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