Recap: Montana Fouts Guides Team Leach to 3-1 Victory
WICHITA, Kansas – Rookie pitcher Montana Fouts threw 4.2 innings of scoreless relief and designated player Jocelyn Alo collected three hits as Team Leach outlasted Team Wiggins to secure a 3-1 victory in the nightcap of Tuesday’s Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX doubleheader at Wilkins Stadium.
The win upped Team Leach’s record to 2-1 while Team Wiggins dropped to 1-2 after losing both ends of the twinbill.
Fouts, who upped her record to 2-0, secured MVP 1 distinction and 226 leaderboard points after scattering two hits and posting six strikeouts in relief of Payton Gottshall. Gottshall allowed two hits and conceded an unearned run in 2.1 innings.
Alo, meanwhile, posted a 3-for-4 showing at the plate with two singles and a double to earn MVP 2 status and 190 leaderboard points. She drove in Team Leach’s first run of the night with a single in the first inning.
Rookie outfielder McKenzie Clark completed the Game MVP sweep for Team Leach after going 1-for-2 with a triple and a sacrifice fly that plated a run in the second inning.
Mariah Mazon suffered the loss in the circle for Team Wiggins, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with a strikeout while garnering the first complete game effort in the league this season. Middle infielder Sydney McKinney went 2-for-3 at the plate in the loss.
KEY MOMENT
Team Leach scored a run in each of its first two trips to the plate for a 2-0 lead it did not relinquish. Team Wiggins trimmed the deficit to 2-1 in the third inning on a double steal by outfielder Jadelyn Allchin and catcher Kayla Kowalik, but Team Leach added an insurance run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by outfielder Morgan DeBord.
LEADERBOARD IMPACT
Fouts rose six spots on the leaderboard with her 226-point outburst against Team Wiggins, elevating the former Alabama star into third place heading into Thursday’s action. Alo holds the overall lead with 420 points, while outfielder Bubba Nickles follows in second place entering the final day of the opening series.
GAME NOTES
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Team Leach and Team Wiggins combined to leave 12 runners on base while going 3-for-27 with runners on base … However, Team Leach saw its leadoff hitter reach base in 5-of-7 innings.
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Fouts has posted a league-best 10 strikeouts in her two appearances this season, while Gottshall has yet to allow an earned run in her 6.1 innings through three outings.
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Mazon registered the sixth complete-game effort in Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX history while becoming the fifth different player to accomplish the feat.
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Clark has registered a hit in all three games so far this season after her triple on Tuesday night … McKinney also notched a hit in her third consecutive contest.
GAME MVPS
- #1 – Montana Fouts (Team Leach, +60)
- #2 – Jocelyn Alo (Team Leach, +40)
- #3 – McKenzie Clark (Team Leach, +20)
