Recap: Mulipola, Fischer earn captain spots to close out Series 1

Team Chidester used a five-run sixth inning to secure 50 game win points with a 6-3 victory over Team Eberle in the final game of the opening series at SDSU Softball Stadium.

Team Chidester finished the series with a 3-1 record, while Team Eberle dropped both games of its doubleheader to end at 1-3.

Catcher Dejah Mulipola continued her torrid start to the season by going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in along with scoring a run. Mulipola, who claimed her third consecutive MVP 1 honor, finished the night with 170 leaderboard points and secured her spot as the Gold team captain in this weekend’s series.

Corner infielder Sam Fischer will join Mulipola as a captain after closing the series with a 2-for-3 showing, marking her fourth consecutive two-hit performance. The former Loyola Marymount standout will captain the Blue team, while corner infielder Danielle Gibson rounds out the captain trio as the Orange captain.

Rookie Georgina Corrick earned the win in the circle for Team Chidester, giving up one run on two hits over 2.2 innings of relief. Corrick, who upped her record to 2-0, also registered five strikeouts in the victory.

Outfielders Victoria Hayward and Megan Wiggins combined to go 5-for-7 with two runs batted in. Hayward authored three hits while Wiggins had her third straight multi-hit effort after going 2-for-3.

Team captain Carrie Eberle suffered the loss in the circle after allowing five earned runs on nine hits over 5.2 innings. Eberle also tallied three strikeouts while throwing 139 pitches.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing by a 2-1 margin, Team Chidester went to work in the sixth inning and erupted for five runs on five hits. Middle infielder Andrea Filler started the rally with a solo home run to left field with one out before a two-run single by Mulipola gave Team Chidester a 4-2 advantage. Fischer followed with a two-run double to left center field, extending the margin to 6-2.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Mulipola secured the top spot on the leaderboard heading into Thursday’s Series Two Draft and owns a 174-point lead over Gibson, who tallied 476 points during her first series as a professional. Fischer, meanwhile, held steady in the No. 3 position after registering 118 points in the Series One finale.

GAME NOTES

• Rookie pitcher Maggie Balint made her professional debut in the seventh inning … The San Diego State standout authored a pair of strikeouts as part of a 1-2-3 inning.

• Eberle’s 139 pitches were just four shy of equaling the most by a pitcher in Athletes Unlimited Softball history … Kelly Barnhill threw 143 pitches against Team Jaquish on Sept. 13, 2020, during the inaugural Championship Season.

• The visiting team won five of the six games during the opening series.

• The team playing both games of a doubleheader went a combined 1-5 … Team Eberle and Team Ocasio lost both of its games on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, while Team Chidester split its two contests on Tuesday night.

• The first series of the AUX season featured 74 runs over six games … Aspiration has committed to planting 10 trees as part of its “Aspiration Round the Bases” initiative.

• In addition, a total of 13 home runs were hit in the first six games of the season, including five in Wednesday’s twinbill.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Dejah Mulipola (Team Chidester, +60)
• #2 – Sydney Littlejohn Watkins (Team Chidester, +40)
• #3 – Andrea Filler (Team Chidester, +20)