Recap: Team Wiggins Waits Out Delay to Defeat Team Warren, 5-4
WICHITA, Kansas – Middle infielder Sydney McKinney and catcher Taylor Edwards combined for five hits and four runs batted in as Team Wiggins rallied to down Team Warren, 5-4, in the final game of Thursday’s Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX doubleheader at Wilkins Stadium.
The win allowed Team Wiggins to close the opening series of the season with a 2-2 record, while Team Warren split its two contests on Thursday night to finish with an identical 2-2 mark.
McKinney, the game’s MVP 1 selection, completed a stellar opening series by going 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a single and a sacrifice fly to collect 220 leaderboard points. The former Wichita State star also drove in a pair of runs, including the game-winning marker in the top of the seventh inning.
Edwards secured MVP 2 distinction after posting a 2-for-4 effort with two runs batted in, finishing the evening with 170 leaderboard points.
Pitcher Taylor McQuillin completed the Game MVP sweep for Team Wiggins after earning the win in relief. McQuillin upped her record to 2-1 after allowing one run on four hits over 4.0 innings with three strikeouts.
Designated player Billie Andrews paced Team Warren in the loss with two hits, while rookie Karli Spaid belted a three-run home run in the second inning. Alyssa Denham (0-2) was tagged with the loss in the circle after giving up one run on four hits over 3.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts.
KEY MOMENT
After Team Warren evened the score in the bottom of the fourth inning, Team Wiggins plated the game-winning marker in the top of the seventh frame. With runners on first and second, McKinney sent a double down the left field line that allowed corner infielder Kelsey Stewart-Hunter to score. McQuillin retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to seal the victory, including a strikeout to Spaid for the final out.
LEADERBOARD IMPACT
Edwards vaulted into third place on the leaderboard following her Game MVP performance. She will serve as the Orange team captain in the second series due to outfielder Bubba Nickles not being available for the draft, which removes her from being a captain. McKinney rose into fifth place in the league standings after hitting .800 in the series (8-for-10).
GAME NOTES
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The game was delayed due to weather for 2 hours, 7 seven minutes with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning.
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Team Warren initiated a captain’s challenge after a stolen base attempt by pinch runner Kayla Kowalik with one out in the seventh inning … Kowalik left the base early, so the call was reversed and the challenge was successful.
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Corner infielder Tori Vidales saw her 15-game AUX hitting streak come to an end after going 0-for-3 in the series finale … However, she drew the first intentional walk in Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX history in the sixth inning.
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McKinney finished the opening series with three consecutive multi-hit affairs … Her eight hits in the series are the most by any player since Aubrey Leach had eight hits in the opening series of the 2023 AUX campaign … The league record for hits in a series belongs to Victoria Hayward, who collected nine hits during Series Two in 2022.
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McQuillin leads the league with 12 strikeouts over three appearances in the first series.
GAME MVPS
- #1 – Sydney McKinney (Team Wiggins, +60)
- #2 – Taylor Edwards (Team Wiggins, +40)
- #3 – Taylor McQuillin (Team Wiggins, +20)
- Defensive MVP – Jadelyn Allchin (Team Wiggins, +20)
