Recap: Garcia rises to No. 1 in complete game victory

Jessi Warren takes third captain spot

Eric Rhew

Jun 22, 2023

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Pitcher Rachel Garcia did everything she could in the Series Two finale to make a return to the captain’s seat for the final set of games in the 2023 Athletes Unlimited AUX Softball season.

And her teammates made sure to help Garcia make that happen as Team Filler closed the penultimate series of the season with a 7-2 victory over Team Leach at Parkway Bank Sports Complex on Thursday night.

The win allowed Team Filler to finish the set with a 2-2 record while handing Team Leach (3-1) its first loss.

Garcia, who was named MVP 2 for her efforts, threw her first career AUX complete game after giving up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts. She finished with 214 leaderboard points, giving her three games with 200 or more leaderboard points this season.

Corner infielder Jessi Warren claimed MVP 1 honors after going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in and a run scored. She also reached the 200-point mark after setting a season high with 228 leaderboard points.

Outfielder Amanda Lorenz completed the MVP trio with her MVP 3 selection after registering a pair of hits, including a home run, with two runs batted in. Lorenz finished with a season-high 180 leaderboard points to end Series Two in eighth place in the league standings.

Three players posted a hit in the loss for Team Leach. Pitcher Haylie Wagner suffered the loss in the circle after giving up three runs on four hits in the first inning.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team Filler surged to a 6-0 lead in the first five innings after a pair of three-run outbursts. The squad plated three runs in the opening frame on an RBI single by middle infielder Anissa Urtez and a two-run home run by Lorenz. The cushion expanded to 6-0 on Warren’s three-run homer with one out in the fifth frame.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Warren’s 228-point performance allowed her to move into a captain’s seat for Series Three, while Garcia will serve as a captain for the second time this season after compiling 214 points in the Series Three finale. Garcia will begin the final set of games with a 114-point advantage over middle infielder Aubrey Leach.

GAME NOTES

Team Filler and Team Leach combined to score nine runs in Wednesday night’s Series Two finale, increasing the league’s season total to 145 runs through 12 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored as part of its ‘Round the Bases’ initiative.
Team Leach initiated a challenge of a safe call on a base hit by Urtez in the top of the sixth inning, which was unsuccessful … Teams are now 1-for-11 (.091) in captain’s challenges this season.
Designated player Mia Davidson was hit by a pitch for the ninth time in her Athletes Unlimited career when she was plunked in the bottom of the seventh inning … Davidson is now tied with Caleigh Clifton and Sahvanna Jaquish for the most times hit by a pitch in Athletes Unlimited Softball history (AUX and Championship Season).
Davidson also established a new AUX single-season record by being hit by a pitch for the fifth time in eight games … The five times also equal the single-season mark in any Athletes Unlimited Softball campaign after Jaquish and Nerissa Myers were hit by a pitch five times during the 2020 Championship Season.
Designated player Danielle Gibson extended her hitting streak to eight games with a single in the first inning.
With her five strikeouts against Team Leach on Wednesday night, Garcia established a new AUX single-season standard with 30 strikeouts this season … Garcia also moved into third place in Athletes Unlimited Softball history (AUX and Championship Season) with 106 career strikeouts.
Garcia notched her fourth career complete game in Athletes Unlimited Softball play, including her first effort in AUX competition … It was her first complete game since August 27, 2022, when she threw a three-hit shutout against Team Mulipola.
Outfielder Haylie McCleney ran her hitting streak to six consecutive games after notching a season-high three hits against Team Leach … During the six-game streak, she has tallied 10 hits.
Each of the top six hitters in Team Filler’s lineup registered a hit, including four players with multi-hit performances.