Recap: Team Romero finishes the week undefeated with 5-2 win over Team Garcia

Eric Rhew

Aug 06, 2023

ROSEMONT, Ill. — In her first two games as an Athletes Unlimited Softball captain, middle infielder Sierra Romero made all of the right calls and guided her squad to a pair of victories.

Team Romero followed the same script on Sunday in its Week Two finale against Team Garcia and the plan worked with the squad earning a 5-2 victory at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

The win allowed Team Romero to close the week with a perfect 3-0 record, while Team Garcia lost for the third time in as many days.

Pitcher Odicci Alexander earned MVP 1 honors after allowing one earned run on five hits over 5.0 innings of relief. Alexander, who also registered five strikeouts while earning her first win in the circle this season, closed the weekend with 220 leaderboard points.

Corner infielder Sydney Romero secured the game’s MVP 2 commendation after going 1-for-1 with a home run. She also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch twice, giving her a game-high 224 leaderboard points.

Catcher Mia Davidson completed the MVP trio for the winning side after blasting her third home run of the season, a solo shot to center field in the fifth inning. Davidson, who also scored a pair of runs, fashioned 186 leaderboard points as a result of her 1-for-2 performance that included being hit by a pitch twice.

Catcher Taylor Edwards notched a two-hit effort in the loss for Team Garcia, while four other players recorded a hit. Team captain Rachel Garcia (1-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing five runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over 6.0 innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team Romero sent eight hitters to the plate in the opening inning and used a grand slam by Sydney Romero to take a 4-0 lead. Team Garcia trimmed the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the second frame before Team Romero tacked on an insurance run with a Davidson home run in the fifth inning.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

The three-game sweep allowed Davidson, Sierra Romero and Alexander to join pitcher Megan Faraimo as captains for Week Three. Davidson lifted her league standing by eight places with her outstanding Sunday performance while Alexander moved ahead three spots.

GAME NOTES

Team Romero and Team Garcia combined to score seven runs in Sunday’s Week Two finale, raising the league’s season scoring output to 84 runs over 12 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored as part of its ‘Aspiration Round the Bases’ initiative.
Pitcher Aleshia Ocasio threw a perfect seventh inning to nail down her first career Championship Season save … It is the second save of her Athletes Unlimited career after registering a save during the inaugural 2022 AUX Softball campaign.
Team Garcia became the first Gold squad in Athletes Unlimited Softball history to lose all three of its games in a single week.
Alexander authored a 200-point game for the third time in her Championship Season career, while Sydney Romero secured her first career 200-point outing.
Alexander threw 5.0 or more innings for the third time in her Championship Season career.
Garcia recorded seven or more strikeouts in a game for the third time in her Championship Season career.
Garcia also established a new Athletes Unlimited Softball single-game record with eight walks against Team Romero on Sunday … She also matched her own league mark with four hit batters.
Team Romero batters were hit by a pitch five times, setting a new Championship Season single-game standard … The previous mark was held by Team Mulipola, which saw four batters hit against Team Denham on August 27, 2022.