Recap: Team Zerkle bounces back with 13-4 win over Team Garcia

Eric Rhew

Aug 05, 2023

ROSEMONT, Ill. — After dropping a heartbreaking defeat to begin its Week Two slate, Team Zerkle wanted to do everything possible to keep history from repeating itself.

And the squad did just that by erupting for 13 runs on 17 hits to surge past Team Garcia by a 13-4 count in the nightcap of Saturday’s Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season doubleheader at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

Team Zerkle has split its first two games to begin the weekend, while Team Garcia dropped to 0-2.

Rookie outfielder Caroline Jacobsen claimed her first career Game MVP honor after taking home MVP 1 honors. The former Duke and Clemson standout went 2-for-5 with a double and a home run while scoring two runs en route to accumulating 210 leaderboard points.

Catcher Gwen Svekis followed with MVP 2 recognition after scoring a pair of runs in addition to hitting her first home run of the campaign, giving her 178 leaderboard points in the victory.

Rookie middle infielder Rachel Becker drove in four runs while collecting a pair of hits to secure her first career Game MVP commendation with an MVP 3 selection and 140 leaderboard points.

Middle infielder Kelsey Harshman led Team Garcia in the loss by going 3-for-3 with a home run and two singles to go with two runs scored, while catcher Dejah Mulipola was 2-for-4 with a single and a double.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After giving up two runs in the first inning, Team Zerkle responded by scoring 12 consecutive runs over the next four frames to take a commanding 12-2 advantage. The squad scored three runs in the second inning before adding two more markers in the third stanza with a six-run fourth frame.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Outfielder Morgan Zerkle remains in ninth place on the leaderboard with 534 points, while pitcher Alyssa Denham and outfielder Amanda Lorenz rose two spots to 12th and 13th places, respectively. Jacobsen, meanwhile, jumped 22 positions in the league standings to 15th place with 472 leaderboard points.

GAME NOTES

Team Zerkle and Team Garcia combined to score 17 runs in Saturday’s second game, raising the league’s season run total to 76 through 10 games … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored this season as part of its ‘Round the Bases’ initiative.
Team Zerkle set league season highs for runs (13) and hits (17) in the win on Saturday … The squad’s six runs in the fourth inning are the most by a team in a single frame this season.
After the first eight games this season featured a combined 46 runs, there were 30 runs scored in the doubleheader on Saturday … Team Romero downed Team Faraimo, 10-3, in the first game.
Harshman authored her third career three-hit game, including her second this season … She also went 3-for-3 against Team McCleney on July 29.
Svekis, who has recorded a hit in 31 of her 50 career Championship Season games, fashioned her 12th career multi-hit outing.
Mulipola now owns 10 career multi-hit games in Championship Season play after her first two-hit outing of the season.
Rookie middle infielder Josie Muffley went 3-for-4 in the win for Team Zerkle, marking her first career multi-hit performance as a professional.
Rookie catcher Gianna Boccagno made her professional debut as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.
Lorenz remains the only player in the league to hit safely in all five games this season after a 3-for-5 performance in the win for Team Zerkle.