Recap: Corrick leads Team Denham to shutout victory, 4-0

Eric Rhew

Aug 26, 2023

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Team Denham was just a couple of plays away from being able to use the word ‘perfect’ to describe its performance against Team Gibson in the first game of Saturday’s Athletes Unlimited Softball doubleheader at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

Led by a dominating performance from pitcher Georgina Corrick, the squad posted its second consecutive win points sweep after blanking Team Gibson, 4-0, to move its record to 2-0 in the final week of the campaign. Team Gibson, meanwhile, dropped to 1-1 with the setback.

Corrick, who secured MVP 1 honors in the victory, tallied the maximum 264 possible points for a pitcher after giving up just two hits with five strikeouts. The former South Florida star was perfect through the first 4.1 innings before allowing a walk to pitcher Rachel Garcia.

Catcher Gwen Svekis claimed MVP 2 distinction and 200 leaderboard points after blasting a two-run home run in the third inning, while corner infielder Sam Fischer followed with MVP 3 honors after going 2-for-3 with a walk to earn 168 leaderboard points.

Garcia and middle infielder Sis Bates accounted for Team Gibson’s two hits in the loss. Pitcher Aleshia Ocasio suffered the loss in the circle after allowing two runs on five hits over 1.2 innings with a walk.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team Denham scored all four of its runs in the first three innings. After Fischer singled up the middle in the first inning for a 1-0 lead, outfielder Amanda Lorenz drove in a run with a single to left field. Svekis completed the scoring in the third inning with a two-run home run to left field. Corrick, meanwhile, was untouchable in the first four innings and did not allow a base runner until the fifth inning.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Team captain Alyssa Denham moved into second place on the leaderboard with 1,758 points despite not playing in Saturday’s contest. The former Arizona standout, who finished in second place last season, stands just 18 points behind league leader Odicci Alexander pending the outcome of the nightcap between Team Flippen and Team Alexander. Svekis, meanwhile, rose to fifth place with her 200-point performance.

GAME NOTES

Team Denham and Team Gibson combined to score four runs during Saturday’s opener, upping the league’s season total to 187 runs through 27 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored as part of its ‘Round the Bases’ initiative.
Team Denham challenged a safe call on a ground ball by pitcher Rachel Garcia with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, which was unsuccessful.
Team Denham fashioned the 18th shutout in Championship Season history with its 4-0 blanking against Team Gibson on Saturday … It is also the seventh clean sheet of the season.
Team Denham has won all 14 innings in its two victories this week while outscoring the opposition by an 11-1 margin.
Team Denham registered the 31st win points sweep in Championship Season history, including the eighth sweep this season … All three games to begin Week Five have resulted in a sweep of the win points.
Corrick becomes the fifth pitcher in Championship Season history to hurl a solo shutout, joining Garcia, Denham, Cat Osterman and Megan Faraimo … Osterman threw three shutouts in her two-year Athletes Unlimited career while Garcia, Faraimo and Denham have one clean sheet apiece.
Corrick retired the side five times in Saturday’s victory, giving her 12 ‘1-2-3’ innings this season.
Lorenz extended her hitting streak to four games with a single to lead off the game … Lorenz, who finished with two hits in the victory, is 8-for-13 during the four-game streak.
Fischer has hit safely in six consecutive outings after driving in a run with a single in the first inning.
Outfielder Haylie McCleney has reached base safely in eight straight games after drawing a walk in the second inning.
Outfielder Bubba Nickles had her 11-game hitting streak snapped after going 0-for-3 in Saturday’s loss against Team Denham … Gibson also had her seven-game hitting streak halted after an 0-for-3 effort.