Recap: Jaquish earns 278 points with 3 hits in 9-3 victory

Eric Rhew

Aug 01, 2022

ROSEMONT, Ill. — It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone watching Sunday’s Athletes Unlimited Softball game between Team Zerkle and Team Eberle that infielder Sahvanna Jaquish was named as the game’s MVP 1 selection.

All Jaquish did was register three extra-base hits, including two home runs and a triple, and set a league record with 11 total bases in Team Zerkle’s 9-3 victory over Team Eberle at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

The win allowed Team Zerkle to close the opening weekend with a 2-1 record while handing Team Eberle its first loss in three games.

Jaquish, who went 3-for-3 with a walk, three runs scored and five runs batted in, finished the game with 278 leaderboard points, including 118 stat points. She also led Team Zerkle to 100 win points.

Catcher Dejah Mulipola followed with 198 leaderboard points on the strength of a 2-for-3 effort, including a two-home run in the fourth inning, while claiming MVP 2 commendations.

Relief pitcher Alyssa Denham earned MVP 3 honors after allowing one run on two hits over 3.0 innings with a strikeout. Denham, who secured her first win in the circle this season, tallied 146 leaderboard points.

Shortstop Hannah Flippen led Team Eberle in the loss by going 3-for-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored. Pitcher Greta Cecchetti took the loss after allowing three runs, including two home runs, without retiring a batter in the third inning.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After Team Eberle took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second inning, Team Zerkle responded by scoring seven unanswered runs in its next two trips to the plate for a 9-3 advantage it did not relinquish. The squad plated four runs in the third inning before adding three more markers in the fourth frame, including Mulipola’s two-run home run to left center field.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Jaquish’s 278 leaderboard points vaulted her into the No. 2 position in the league standings, an improvement of 24 spots from Saturday night. Eberle still holds a slim 14-point lead over Jaquish pending the results of the second game between Team Chidester and Team Ocasio.

GAME NOTES

Hayward has hit safely in 10 consecutive games dating back to last season after registering a single in the first inning.
Jaquish set an Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season single-game record with 11 total bases with a triple and two home runs … She also posted the first triple in the league this season.
Seven pitchers were used in the game, equaling the league single-game record set by Team Warren and Team Osterman on Aug. 30, 2021.
Garcia became the second pitcher in league history to author a three-inning save … Pitcher Cat Osterman secured a three-inning save against Team Piancastelli on Aug. 28, 2021.
Team Eberle matched a league single-game record by leaving 13 runners on base in the loss.
Five of Team Zerkle’s nine runs came with two outs.
The 12 combined runs are the most in a game so far this season … A total of 37 runs have been scored through five games, upping the total number of trees committed to be planted by Aspiration to 370 as part of the “Aspiration Round the Bases” initiative.