Sunday was “Fan Appreciation Day” in the penultimate day of Season 2 and the fans had a LOT to be thankful for!
The busy day included an extra inning game in the early contest that was described as possibly the “most deliciously entertaining game in the two-year history of Athletes Unlimited” and saw one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the sport appear for, if not THE last time before retirement, then the second-to-last time!
And after the nightcap it looks pretty likely who the Season 2 individual point champion will be… read on to learn more about how both games played out!
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Game 27: Team Jaquish Squeezes by Team Chidester in 9 Innings, 10-8
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Sunday was Fan Appreciation Day in Rosemont for Athletes Unlimited Softball.
It’s also been Cat appreciation weekend at the Parkway Bank Sorts Complex.
That’s Cat as in Cat Osterman, who is retiring after Monday night’s season finale.
There was so much to appreciate on this warm and windy autumn afternoon, from power hitting to great defense to exciting plays at home plate.
When it was all done, it was the fans in the big crowd who were doing the appreciating after perhaps the most deliciously entertaining game in the two-year history of Athletes Unlimited.
Sahvanna Jaquish’s Team Purple recovered from squandering 3-0, 5-1 and 6-3 leads to beat Amanda Chidester’s Team Orange 10-8 in nine innings. The game featured seven home runs, three triples and a double as the teams combined for 23 hits.
Osterman figured prominently in the game, coming within inches of victory but eventually taking the loss in relief.
On one hand, the game was a great advertisement for Athletes Unlimited. Ever gracious in defeat, Osterman said everyone should be beyond that by now.
“I think at some point we need to be tired of calling it an advertisement because we’re putting great games up day in and day out right now,” she said. “Ninety percent of the games we’ve played this season have been tough, great games that no one wants to be on the losing side of.
“This sport is amazing. I just want to tip our hats to Athletes Unlimited for giving us the opportunity.”
Click on the video below to see highlights from the first game on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021:
There is a lot to unpack from this game.
The teams were tied at 7-7 after seven innings, thanks to heroics by both sides’ players. Each team scored in the eighth before Purple pushed across two in the top of the ninth against Osterman. Sydney Romero hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score the go-ahead run, Nadia Taylor bunted for a single to add an insurance run.
Taylor enjoyed the long and the short of it. Her solo homer in the top of the seventh with two outs tied the game. Riding a favorable wind, the ball hit the top of the wall in right-center and bounced over, preventing Osterman from getting a victory in relief.
Such are the vicissitudes of softball.
“I thought I hit it well,” Taylor said of the home run, her first of the year. She also earned 60 bonus points for being named MVP 1 of the game. “I didn’t know that it was going to get out. I was just trying barrel it up.”
As far as getting her hits off Osterman, Taylor said it was special.
“Honestly, she’s amazing,” Taylor said. “She is the best, I would say. Those are my first two hits ever off of her. Kudos to her and what she does. She’s amazing.”
In the half-inning before Taylor’s homer, Team Chidester scored three runs to go ahead 7-6. Jessi Warren hit a solo homer to lead things off, and Jordan Roberts later connected on a two-out, two-run homer to put her team up 7-6 against reliever Odicci Alexander.
In came Sara Groenewegen to relieve Alexander. She quickly ended the inning with a strikeout and then worked out of bases-loaded trouble in the top of the seventh.
“As long as you get the team back to your dugout with the least amount of damage, that’s all you can ask for,” said Groenewegen, the game’s MVP 3. “When you’re put in moment where you have to compete, it either elevates you or it makes people crumble. I think I’m built for those moments.. I was happy to get my team back in the dugout with the least amount of damage that I could so they could score runs.”
Team Jaquish jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, with two runs coming on a homer by Tori Vidales. Taylor later added a run-scoring double.
Amanda Lorenz led off the bottom of the first with a home run, her first of two on the day and her second multi-homer game of the season. She earned MVP 2 honors.
Morgan Zerkle hit a two-run homer for Team Jaquish in the second to make it 5-1, but Team Chidester refused to go away, scoring single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings before exploding later.
As for Osterman, she gets one more day in the sun – or under the lights Monday night. She credited Chidester for helping her soak up the sights and sounds of the final weekend.
“I have to actually thank Chiddy,” Osterman said. “She did a really great job. She told me I was going to be in relief the first two games, and we would figure Monday out later, just to kind of let me relax and be ready to go. For whatever reason this season, relief (pitching) has been better for me. I’ve come in a little bit looser.
“You know, I’ve known this is going to be it. It’s not like I’ve just decided this a couple weeks ago. I’ve known this. Just soaking up being around the great people, because that’s what this endeavor gives us – great people to hang around and be around. Just trying to pour into my team, pour into anybody I’m hanging out with to talk the game, talk life, whatever it is. But just trying to make the most of it and have fun out there on the field.
“I think for a while I had forgotten this game is supposed to be fun.”
— Bruce Miles, Athletes Unlimited
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Game 28: Team Ocasio Caps Evening with Late runs to Sweep Win Points
ROSEMONT, Ill. – It’s going to take some doing to keep Aleshia Ocasio from finishing atop the Athletes Unlimited leaderboard.
Ocasio took a major step Sunday night toward sealing the deal as she took to the circle and helped pitch her Gold Team to a 5-1 victory over Team Eberle at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.
The matchup featured the players ranked 1-2 atop the leaderboard entering the day: Ocasio with 1,808 points and Carrie Eberle with 1,582.
Ocasio started and worked five shutout innings as she pitched scoreless ball for her third straight start before giving way to reliever Haylie Wagner.
Click on the video link HERE to see highlights from the nightcap.
Eberle began the game as the designated player before putting herself in the circle to start the third inning. She was fresh off a complete-game victory Saturday and wound up working three innings of relief and giving up five hits and three runs.
When the night was over, the top of the leaderboard looked like this: Ocasio (2,036 points), Team Orange captain Amanda Chidester (1,596), Eberle (1,588) and Team Gold second baseman Kelsey Stewart (1,572)
The final night of the 2021 Athletes Unlimited season takes place Monday, with Eberle’s team taking on Sahvanna Jaquish’s Purple team at 6 p.m. CT in the first game. That will be followed by Ocasio’s Team Gold taking on Team Orange at 9 p.m. CT.
Ocasio has been hesitant to talk about finishing first overall, but it’s hard to ignore the math now.
“When I think about it, I try to shy away from a little bit,” she said. “I get a little bit of anxiety just thinking about it. But pressure is also privilege, and I give all the credit to the teams that I’ve had, the teams that have produced. It’s been fun.”
Ocasio did admit it would be an honor to be crowned individual champion.
“It would mean a lot to me,” she said. “Going into the season, I didn’t think that I was going to be this close to obtaining Athletes Unlimited Champion. To have representation for little girls who look like me, being atop the leaderboard whether I win it or not tomorrow, I think is so important for them to be able to see me and know that they can do this – be an Athletes Unlimited champion, be a pro softball player and be able to reach all their goals, whether it’s in softball or in life, to be able to be a role model for those younger athletes.”
Ocasio’s teammates gave her some early run support. Jazmyn Jackson’s RBI single gave Gold a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. A two-run homer by Amana Sanchez highlighted a three-run third, which also included another run-scoring single by Jackson.
It was in interesting setup to the third. While Ocasio decided – after much consideration – to give herself the start in the circle – Eberle had Taylor McQuillin start as her team’s pitcher. After McQuillin gave up the run in the second, Eberle put herself in to pitch the third.
She got Gwen Svekis to pop out but then walked Erika Piancastelli before Sanchez homered.
“I was just looking to attack,” said Sanchez, whose homer was her third of the season. She earned MVP 1 honors and 60 extra points. “I didn’t come through in the first inning. I had a plan of attack at something hard because I wanted nothing to do with her (Eberle’s) off-speed stuff. I stuck to my plan and got under the ball, and yeah, it just went over.”
Ocasio said she drafts players who can play defense, and Jackson did just that in the fifth, when she cut down Victoria Hayward at the plate as Hayward tried to score on a single to right by Anissa Urtez.
Team Eberle got a run in the top of the seventh to come within 4-1. Even though victory was assured for Team Ocasio, the teams played the bottom of the seventh because rollover innings points were at stake. Three errors by Team Eberle allowed Team Ocasio to score a run and take home all 70 innings points in the end as well as 50 for the team victory.
Ocasio took home 40 extra points for MVP 2 honors, with Hayward winning MVP 3 and 20 points. For her teammates, Ocasio has proved to be a popular captain.
“She’s probably my favorite captain, and I’ve been able to be on her team three weeks in a row,” Sanchez said. “It’s just been a very free atmosphere, and it’s easy to play for someone (like that). I would run through a wall for her, and I think she put together a really good team. She just makes you feel really comfortable in your environment, and it’s easy to be successful when you have a captain like that.”
— Bruce Miles, Athletes Unlimited
