Video Jaw-Dropper: Did You See Amanda Chidester’s Home Run Last Night in Athletes Unlimited Action That Hit the Lights?!?

Less than three weeks ago, we published a story on Amanda Chidester—one of the all-time greats in fastpitch softball history—announcing she was retiring from the sport after the end of Season 3 of Athletes Unlimited (click HERE to read the article).

The 32-year-old from Allen Park, Michigan has done just about everything in the game: at the college level, she was a two-time All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year at Michigan, she’s played for Team USA and won a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics and was even the first-ever No. 1 pick in the Athletes Unlimited pro draft.

After last night’s game, however, a Team Chidester 12-8 loss to Team Jaquish, many fans of the game—and of “Chiddy” herself—may beg for her to keep playing a while longer!

Amanda was on fire as she batted 2-for-3 with three RBIs, but what will be most remembered is a monster shot home run hit off pitcher Danielle O’Toole that—if not for a light tower—may have struck a passing jet (or, more likely, landed on the freeway behind the field):

The three-run blast came on a 3-1 count in the 4^th inning and struck the lights before descending back into the outfield. Note: it hit not the light pole, but the lights—and it was so high up that the ESPN camera didn’t even catch it at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois.

Followers of Athletes Unlimited say they’ve never seen anything like that; the lights have never been struck by a ball before. And Flight Scope, a system that tracks moon shots like this one had it at “only” 313 feet, although the ESPN broadcasters and many others feel the ball went so high it wasn’t tracked correctly.

Be it 313 feet or 313 yards, Amanda knew it was gone the moment she hit it.

“It felt amazing,” she told Extra Inning Softball this afternoon. “It was one of the best-feeling hits I probably have ever had. I was just trying to see the ball. ‘Tooly’ is one hell of a pitcher and we have battled it out for years. I have been working on hitting under the ball with the drop ball pitchers and it’s been helping a lot!”

The legendary player was thrown the one pitch she most definitely can turn on.

“It was a change-up and she left it a little high,” she explained. “I love hitting change ups—especially the elevated ones (laughs)!”

Amanda, like all of us, wonders how far into orbit the homer would have actually gone if not obstructed by a man-made object.

“I didn’t even know it hit the lights,” she continues. “I wish it wouldn’t have hit the lights as I would of loved to see how far it would have gone. That was a hit that doesn’t happen often.”

And, to save her fans from wasting time, energy and emotions—mainly because I asked her if she reallllllllly wants to retire—Amanda gently and kindly put the issue to bed.

“Yes, I’m all done,” she finished. “It’s time.”

— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball