Recap: Peyton St. George seals victory for Team Leach

The win allowed Team Leach to begin Series Two with a 1-0 record, while Team Taylor suffered its second loss of the day and dropped to 0-2.

Pitcher Peyton St. George claimed MVP 1 honors after securing the win in relief, allowing just one run on one hit over 4.1 innings with five strikeouts. The former Duke hurler secured a game-high 192 leaderboard points, allowing her to rise 13 spots on the leaderboard.

Team captain Aubrey Leach followed with a MVP 2 award after going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Leach, the league’s second-leading hitter with a .526 batting average, authored her third multi-hit game of the campaign.

Team Leach also received a 3-for-4 performance from designated player Danielle Gibson. The former Arkansas star moved into the league batting lead with a .529 mark after registering her second multi-hit contest in five outings.

Corner infielder Sydney McKinney continued her torrid start to the AUX season by posting a pair of hits while driving in two runs. McKinney, who earned her first career Game MVP award, has four consecutive two-hit efforts and has hit safely in all five games.

Pitcher Carrie Eberle (1-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing six runs, including four earned runs, on five hits over 3.0 innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing by a 5-3 margin, Team Leach plated four runs in the top of the fourth inning to claim a 7-5 advantage. Designated player Jordan Roberts got the rally started with her second home run of the season, a leadoff shot to left field. Leach followed two batters later with a two-run home run of her own for a 6-5 margin. Corner infielder Sam Fischer extended the cushion with an RBI groundout to complete the rally.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Leach reclaimed the top spot on the league leaderboard following her 190-point effort in Sunday’s victory, but holds a slim four-point edge over pitcher Rachel Garcia. McKinney, meanwhile, moved into seventh place with her 90 points. The pair of losses dropped Team Taylor captain Nadia Taylor eight places in the league standings as she holds 10th place with 520 points.

GAME NOTES

• Team Leach and Team Taylor combined to score 13 runs in Sunday’s second game, moving the league’s season total to 104 runs through eight games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored as part of its ‘Round the Bases’ initiative.

• Team Leach challenged an out call against outfielder Aliyah Andrews in the top of the seventh inning, which was unsuccessful … Teams are now 1-for-7 in captain’s challenges in eight games this season.

• Team Taylor became the third team to lose both games of a doubleheader this season … The designated home team now stands at 1-7 with the lone victory coming from Team Zerkle last Thursday in a 7-6 verdict against Team Garcia.

• Rookie pitcher Megan Faraimo earned the first save of her professional career after pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the final frame … It was her second 1-2-3 inning of the season.

• St. George posted three 1-2-3 innings in her winning effort on Sunday … She retired the side in order during the third, fourth and sixth innings.

• The teams combined to post a 19-for-29 success rate in advancement opportunities, including a 12-for-19 showing by Team Leach … The teams also saw a lead-off hitter reach base six times.

• Team Leach recorded four runs in the seventh inning, marking the ninth time a team has scored four or more runs in a single frame this season … Four of the nine occurrences have come in the seventh inning.

• Andrews went 2-for-4 with a run scored, signaling her third two-hit game of the season.

• After seeing just one stolen base in the first seven games of the season, Team Leach and Team Taylor combined to swipe three bases in Sunday’s nightcap.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Peyton St. George (Team Leach, +60)
• #2 – Aubrey Leach (Team Leach, +40)
• #3 – Sydney McKinney (Team Taylor, +20)