Recap: Fifth-Inning Rally Guides Team Kilfoyl to 8-3 Victory

Team Kilfoyl closed Week Five with a 2-1 record, while Team Ocasio rounded out the final week of the season with a 1-2 mark.

Kilfoyl earned her league-high seventh victory of the season after tossing a complete game with five strikeouts. She yielded three runs on eight hits to earn MVP 1 plaudits and 214 leaderboard points in her final performance of the season.

Middle infielder Sydney Romero went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in a pair of runs en route to receiving MVP 2 accolades and 170 points toward the leaderboard, while corner infielder Tori Vidales belted a home run for MVP 3 honors and 180 leaderboard points to round out the Team Kilfoyl Game MVP sweep.

Catcher Kayla Kowalik scored a pair of runs and also received Defensive MVP in Team Kilfoyl’s victory, while outfielder Caroline Jacobsen registered a pair of hits with a run batted in to aid in the verdict.

Outfielder Erika Piancastelli delivered a 2-for-3 performance at the plate for Team Ocasio with a home run, while middle infielders Skylar Wallace and Anissa Urtez each registered a pair of base hits in the defeat.

Pitcher Aleshia Ocasio (5-2) was saddled with the loss after pitching 4.2 innings and allowing five runs on eight hits. She struck out five batters compared to just two walks.

KEY MOMENT

Trailing by a 2-1 count entering the fifth inning, Team Kilfoyl rallied by plating four runs in the top of the frame, all with two outs, to retake the lead. Vidales started the scoring with a solo homer before Romero stroked a two-out RBI double and came in to score on a triple by Kowalik. Jacobsen drove in one more run to give Team Kilfoyl a 5-2 advantage it did not relinquish.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Kilfoyl moved ahead of Ocasio on the leaderboard and holds second place with 1,734 points. Ocasio ranks third with 1,606 points, while Vidales surged into fourth place with her 180-point performance.

GAME NOTES

• Teams are now 6-for-32 in captain’s challenges through 29 games this season … Team Ocasio initiated a captain’s challenge in the bottom of the first inning when Wallace was called out on a ground ball to shortstop … The challenge was successful as the play was overturned to give Wallace an infield single.

• Catcher Gwen Svekis played the final game of her professional career on Sunday … Svekis closed her career as the Championship Season’s all-time leader with 48 game wins, including 13 victories during the inaugural 2020 season … Svekis also owns the Championship Season career record for inning win points (3,220) and game win points (2,400).

• Wallace registered a hit in six of her final seven games after her infield single in the first inning.

• Eight of Team Kilfoyl’s nine starters registered at least one hit … Sydney McKinney was the only person without a hit, going 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.

• Kilfoyl registered her league-leading fifth complete game of the season, becoming the second pitcher in Championship Season history with five or more complete games in a single campaign … Pitcher Cat Osterman owns the league record with six complete games during her 2020 championship-winning season.

• Kilfoyl also joined Osterman and Alyssa Denham as the only pitchers in Championship Season history to record seven or more victories in a single season … Osterman set the standard with 10 wins during the inaugural season, while Denham authored seven victories in 2023.

• Kilfoyl posted her sixth game with 200 or more leaderboard points this season, the second-highest single-season total in Championship Season history … Only Osterman has more 200-point outputs in a single campaign, fashioning seven games with 200 or more points during the 2020 season.

• Corner infielder Tori Vidales became the second player in Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball history with 20 or more career home runs between AUX and Championship Season play with her solo shot in the fifth inning … Catcher Dejah Mulipola owns the all-time record with 21 career homers.

• Team Kilfoyl scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning, marking the 12th time this season a team has plated four or more runs in a single frame.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Lexi Kilfoyl (Team Kilfoyl, +60)
• #2 – Sydney Romero (Team Kilfoyl, +40)
• #3 – Tori Vidales (Team Kilfoyl, +20)
• Defensive MVP – Kayla Kowalik (Team Kilfoyl, +20)