Recap: Flippen collects 210 points, rises 7 spots on the leaderboard in 12-7 victory

Eric Rhew

Aug 13, 2022

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Softball is a team sport and while there are individual components within the Athletes Unlimited model, there are still times where a complete team effort is needed to earn a victory.

Team Mulipola showed just that in its Saturday night contest against Team Jaquish, getting hits from nine different players en route to a 12-7 victory at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

Along with nine different players getting at least one base hit, Team Mulipola also saw 11 different players score at least one run in the victory, including a pair of runs from middle infielder Hannah Flippen.

Flippen, who posted a 3-for-5 effort with two runs batted in, earned MVP 1 honors as part of her 210 leaderboard points. She registered a single in the first inning before adding a double in the fourth inning. In the seventh inning, she added her second home run of the year with a solo shot to left field.

Corner infielder Lilli Piper garnered MVP 2 distinction after registering three hits, including a double, with two runs batted in. Piper finished the evening with 170 leaderboard points.

Pitcher Carrie Eberle upped her record to 3-2 after scattering four hits over 3.2 innings with two strikeouts.

Outfielder Kelsey Harshman led Team Jaquish with a 2-for-4 effort and four runs batted in, receiving the game’s MVP 3 recognition. She finished with a team-high 100 leaderboard points in the loss.

Shannon Saile (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up six runs on seven hits over 3.1 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team Jaquish plated three runs in the top of the fourth inning before Team Mulipola erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the frame. Piper opened the scoring with an RBI single to center field before a two-run single by outfielder Aliyah Andrews evened the score at 4-all. A single by outfielder Jazmyn Jackson and Flippen’s double brought home three more runs before corner infielder Andrea Filler upped the margin to 8-4 with a single to left center field.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Team captain Dejah Mulipola rose into the top spot on the leaderboard after becoming the first player this season to accrue 1,000 leaderboard points. Flippen, meanwhile, jumped seven spots into the No. 3 position and enters Sunday’s finale with 942 points.

GAME NOTES

Team Mulipola scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, marking the most runs by a team in a single frame this season … The previous high for an inning was six runs, which were scored by Team Mulipola on Aug. 7 in a victory over Team Harshman.
Harshman and infielder Tori Vidales hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning on consecutive pitches … It is the second time this year back-to-back home runs have been hit after Amanda Chidester and Erika Piancastelli accomplished the feat against Team Eberle on July 29.
Harshman also became the 20th player this season to hit a home run with her fourth inning blast.
A total of 31 runs were scored in Saturday’s doubleheader, upping the season total to 164 runs through 16 games … Aspiration has committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored during the season as part of its “Aspiration Round the Bases” initiative.