Recap: Bubba Nickles Jumps to No. 1 Behind Team Nickles 6-1 Win

The win allowed Team Nickles to open the final series with a 1-0 record, while Team Mazon saw its record fall to 1-1 after dropping the second game of the twinbill.

McQuillin (5-1) fashioned her league-leading fifth victory of the season in the circle after limiting Team Mazon to one run on three hits en route to MVP 1 honors and 218 leaderboard points.

Catcher Jordyn Rudd-Lee acquired MVP 2 accolades and a season-high 200 leaderboard points after going 4-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in. Outfielder Bubba Nickles completed the MVP sweep after garnering MVP 3 honors and 198 leaderboard points. The former UCLA product notched a pair of hits, including a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning.

Nine players recorded a hit in Team Nickles’ victory, including five players with multi-hit performances.

Rookie Payton Gottshall allowed just one base runner over the last 3.0 innings to record her third save of the season.

Alyssa Denham (2-3) suffered the loss after yielding four runs and nine hits in 2.0 innings of work. Four different players tallied a hit in the loss for Team Mazon.

KEY MOMENT

With the contest tied at 1-all in the top of the second inning, Rudd-Lee started the frame with a single. Middle infielder Billie Andrews, outfielder Morgan Zerkle, and middle infielder Sydney McKinney registered three consecutive singles with one out to give Team Nickles a 3-1 advantage it did not relinquish.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Nickles jumped into first place on the leaderboard over designated player Jocelyn Alo with 1,094 points following her team’s victory on Saturday afternoon. McQuillin vaulted seven places up the standings into sixth place, while Rudd-Lee’s 200 leaderboard points moved her 15 spots up the standings as the biggest mover of the day.

GAME NOTES

• Team Nickles initiated a captain’s challenge on a base hit by outfielder Megan Wiggins with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning … The call was overturned to an out and the challenge was successful.

• Teams are now 6-for-14 in captain’s challenges through 14 games this season.

• Team Nickles established a new league season high with its 17 hits against Team Mazon in Saturday’s finale … It is the fourth time a team has posted 10 or more hits in a game this season.

• McQuillin set a new Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX single-season record with her fifth victory of the campaign … She eclipses the previous mark of four wins, which has occurred three times.

• Gottshall also established a new AUX single-season standard with her third save … She also matched the overall Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball mark set established by Rachel Garcia during the 2022 Championship Season and equaled by Kathryn Sandercock in the 2023 Championship Season.

• Nickles tied the Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX single-season record with her fifth home run of the campaign in the fourth inning … Catcher Mia Davidson had five home runs during the 2023 campaign at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

• Rudd-Lee became the sixth player in Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX history to register a four-hit game.

• Middle infielder Aubrey Leach upped her hitting streak to six consecutive games after leading off the bottom of the first inning with a double down the left-field line.

• Designated player Nadia Taylor also hit safely for the sixth game in a row after drilling a double to left center field in the top of the third inning.

• Corner infielder Jessi Warren registered the first triple of her Athletes Unlimited career in the bottom of the third inning with a three-base hit off the right field wall.

• McKinney, who celebrated her birthday on Saturday, posted her second three-hit game of the season with a 3-for-4 performance.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Taylor McQuillin (Team Nickles, +60)
• #2 – Jordyn Rudd-Lee (Team Nickles, +40)
• #3 – Bubba Nickles (Team Nickles, +20)