Season Notes of Interest

ASPIRATION ROUND THE BASES

Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every run scored during the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Softball season.

RUNS SCORED TREES COMMITTED 289 2,890

GOLD STANDARD

Catcher Dejah Mulipola became the third champion in the history of Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season play after moving past pitcher Alyssa Denham on the leaderboard on the final day of the 2022 campaign. The former Arizona standout won the title after compiling 1,782 points in 15 games.

ATHLETES UNLIMITED SEASON-BY-SEASON CHAMPIONS Season Player

2020 Softball Cat Osterman 2021 Volleyball Jordan Larson 2021 Lacrosse Taylor Cummings 2021 Softball Aleshia Ocasio 2022 Basketball Tianna Hawkins 2022 Volleyball Bethania De La Cruz 2022 AUX Softball Danielle O’Toole 2022 Lacrosse Taylor Moreno 2022 Softball Dejah Mulipola

BEST OF THE BEST

Middle infielder Hannah Flippen was named GEICO Defensive Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s players and members of the Unlimited Club. Flippen became the second middle infielder in three years to earn the award after Anissa Urtez claimed the honor during the 2021 campaign.

GEICO DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Season Player

2020 Haylie McCleney (OF) 2021 Anissa Urtez (MIF) 2022 Hannah Flippen (MIF)

GETTING DEFENSIVE

Headlined by GEICO Defensive Player of the Year Hannah Flippen, a group of 10 players were selected to the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Softball All-Defensive Team in a vote of the league’s players. In addition, there were five players named to the All-Defensive Team for the second straight season.

2022 ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM Position Player

Pitcher Danielle O’Toole Catcher Taylor Edwards Middle Infielders Hannah Flippen *, Anissa Urtez * Corner Infielders Amanda Chidester *, Lilli Piper Outfielders Haylie McCleney *, Bubba Nickles, Aliyah Andrews * Utility Kelsey Harshman

* - Repeat Selection

NICE WORK ROOKIE

Outfielder Shannon Rhodes was named the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Softball Rookie of the Year in a vote of the league’s players. Rhodes finished the season in sixth place on the leaderboard with 1,564 points, while her 524 stat points were good for second in the league. She also tied for the league’s top spot with 15 runs scored while blasting eight home runs.

ROOKIES OF THE YEAR • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Season Player

2021 Carrie Eberle (P) 2022 Shannon Rhodes (OF)

WINNING WAYS

Outfielder Nicole Rangel-Mendes and corner infielder DJ Sanders finished the 2022 season as the league leaders in win points. Rangel-Mendes and Sanders each compiled an 11-4 game record during the campaign while securing the inning win points for 65-of-105 possible innings.

WIN POINTS LEADERS • 2022 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON No. Player Game Wins Inning Wins*

1,200 Nicole Rangel-Mendes 11 1,200 DJ Sanders 11 65 65

1,160 Sam Fischer 10

1,160 Aubrey Leach

11 1,140 Alyssa Denham 9 66 61 69

YOU’VE GOT MY VOTE

Pitcher Rachel Garcia, catcher Dejah Mulipola and outfielder Amanda Lorenz closed the 2022 campaign as the only players in the league with 200 or more MVP points. The trio was among a group of six players to earn a league-high five MVP awards during the season. Mulipola paced the league with three MVP 1 honors.

MVP POINTS LEADERS • 2022 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON No. Player MVP Honors

240 Rachel Garcia 5 200 Dejah Mulipola 5 200 Amanda Lorenz 5 180 Alyssa Denham 5 180 Haylie McCleney 4 180 Amanda Chidester 5 180 Shannon Rhodes 5

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST

Pitcher Rachel Garcia put together the highest single-week leaderboard point total of the 2022 season when she closed the campaign with 596 points in Week Five. Garcia, who finished eighth on the final leaderboard standings, also secured the fourth-highest point total in any week in the three-year history of Athletes Unlimited Softball.

MOST LEADERBOARD POINTS IN WEEK FIVE • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Points Player Season 596 Rachel Garcia 2022

580 Jordan Roberts 2020 540 Anissa Urtez 2020 538 Aleshia Ocasio 2021 520 Tori Vidales 2020

MOST LEADERBOARD POINTS IN A SINGLE WEEK • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Points Player Season Week

624 Cat Osterman 2020 2 604 Cat Osterman 2020 1 604 Carrie Eberle 2021 4

596 Rachel Garcia 2022 5

580 Jordan Roberts 2020 5

CONNECT FOUR

Catcher Dejah Mulipola and infielder Amanda Chidester served as a team captain four times during the 2022 campaign, marking the fourth and fifth times a player has been a captain four times in a single Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season. Pitcher Cat Osterman was a captain four times in the 2020 and 2021 campaigns, while catcher Sahvanna Jaquish earned a spot in the captain’s seat four times in 2021.

FOUR-TIME CAPTAINS IN A SINGLE SEASON • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Player Season Record as Capt.

Cat Osterman 2020 10-2 Sahvanna Jaquish 2021 7-5 Cat Osterman 2021 6-6

Amanda Chidester 2022 4-8 Dejah Mulipola 2022 7-5

CAPTAIN’S LOG

Catcher Sahvanna Jaquish finished the 2022 season with 11 career victories as a captain, which rank second in Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season history. Jaquish, who has been a captain seven times in her career, trails pitcher Cat Osterman for most career wins by a captain and most weeks as a captain.

MOST WEEKS AS A CAPTAIN • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Weeks Player Season(s)

8 Cat Osterman 2020-21

7 Sahvanna Jaquish 2020-22 6 Aleshia Ocasio 2020-22 6 Amanda Chidester 2020-22

MOST VICTORIES AS A CAPTAIN • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Wins Player Season(s)

16 Cat Osterman 2020-21

11 Sahvanna Jaquish 2020-22

9 Jessi Warren 2020-21 8 Aleshia Ocasio 2020-22 8 Amanda Chidester 2020-22

AN EMPTY PITCHER

Week Three and Week Four marked the first times in Athletes Unlimited Softball history where a pitcher did not serve as a team captain, ending a streak of 12 straight weeks with at least one pitcher serving as a team captain. Pitcher Alyssa Denham was a team captain in Week Five.

TWO OF A KIND

Outfielder Haylie McCleney and infielder Amanda Chidester each tallied 500 or more leaderboard points during Week Two, marking the sixth time in league history that two or more players reached the 500-point plateau in a single week. Since the start of the 2020 campaign, a player has fashioned 500 or more points in a week 17 times.

EXCLUSIVE COMPANY

Infielder Amanda Chidester joined pitchers Aleshia Ocasio and Cat Osterman as the only players in Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season history with multiple 500-point weeks after finishing Week Two with 508 points. Ocasio owns three career 500-point weeks, while Osterman and Chidester hit the 500-point plateau twice.

GOOSE EGGS

After posting just seven shutouts in the first two seasons of Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season play, teams had four shutout efforts during the 2022 campaign. Team Eberle blanked Team Ocasio by a 1-0 count on July 30 before a pair of shutouts took place on Aug. 21 with Team Chidester and Team Mulipola earning the wins. Team Denham claimed the final clean sheet with a 4-0 decision over Team Mulipola on the penultimate day of the season.

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE

The Week Four finale doubleheader on Aug. 21 ended with a pair of shutout verdicts, signaling the first time in Athletes Unlimited Softball history that both games in a single day were decided in shutout fashion. Team Chidester blanked Team Jaquish by a 1-0 count while Team Mulipola secured a 3-0 victory over Team McCleney.

ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER

The July 30 contest between Team Eberle and Team Ocasio marked the first time in the three-year history of Athletes Unlimited Softball history where a game ended with a 1-0 score. Team Eberle scored the game’s lone run in the second inning on a RBI single by infielder Kelsey Harshman.

MIGHT NEED SOME WHITE OUT FOR THAT

Team McCleney and Team Chidester combined to score 25 runs in the highest-scoring game in Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season history in the first game of a doubleheader on Aug. 20. The game featured several single-game records, including: • Team McCleney scored the most runs (20) in a single game in league history • Outfielder Haylie McCleney set a single-game record with six at-bats • Outfielder Amanda Lorenz accumulated six runs batted in, tying the single-game record set by Amanda Sanchez against Team Sanders on Sept. 14, 2020.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Here are some additional notes on Team McCleney’s record-setting 20-5 triumph over Team Chidester from Aug. 20: • Team McCleney scored seven runs in the second and sixth innings. • Every player who went to the plate reached base at least once ... In addition, every starter also registered a hit, including six starters with two or more hits. • Team McCleney tallied 12 of its 20 runs with two outs ... Outfielder Amanda Lorenz also collected all six of her runs batted in with two outs. • Team McCleney’s four home runs tied a league season high ... Team Zerkle belted four home runs against Team Eberle on July 31. • Team McCleney’s nine walks were a league single-game season high. • Team McCleney’s 17 hits equaled the most in a game this season ... Team Mulipola also had 17 hits during Week Two against Team Eberle. • The first four hitters in Team McCleney’s lineup went 7-for-15 while scoring 10 runs with 13 runs batted in. • Pitcher Mariah Mazon threw a season-high 5.0 innings while claiming her second victory of the season. • Team McCleney was 20-for-30 in advancement opportunities.

VIEW FROM THE #SCTOP10

Athletes Unlimited Softball players made eight appearances on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays segment during the 2022 season. Outfielder Bubba Nickles had a pair of plays showcased to lead the league.

SPORTSCENTER TOP 10 PLAYS • 2022 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON Date Player Rank

July 30, 2022 Bubba Nickles 6

July 31, 2022 Kelsey Harshman Aug. 5, 2022 Bubba Nickles 8 6

Aug. 6, 2022 Aliyah Andrews Aug. 14, 2022 Haylie McCleney Aug. 22, 2022 Lilli Piper 2 9 6

Aug. 27, 2022 Anissa Urtez Aug. 27, 2022 Sis Bates 4 8

CURTAIN CALL

Infielder Amanda Chidester and pitcher Danielle O’Toole finished their professional careers during the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season. Chidester and O’Toole, a pair of three-year Athletes Unlimited Softball veterans, end their careers among the Championship Season’s all-time leaders in several categories.

AMANDA CHIDESTER IN ATHLETES UNLIMITED CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Career Category No. Rank

At-Bats 143 5th Runs Scored 33 T-4th Hits 52 T-3rd Triples 3 T-2nd Home Runs 17 1st Runs Batted In 41 T-1st Walks 20 T-4th Times Hit by Pitch 3 T-9th Total Bases 113 2nd Leaderboard Points 4,336 7th Stat Points 1,276 3rd MVP Points 400 4th

DANIELLE O’TOOLE IN ATHLETES UNLIMITED CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Career Category No. Rank

Games Pitched 32 T-2nd Games Started 19 2nd Wins 7 6th Complete Games 5 2nd Innings Pitched 130.0 1st Strikeouts 84 4th MVP Points 340 8th

TRIPLE THREAT

Catcher Dejah Mulipola became the first player in Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season history to finish a season as the league leader in batting average, home runs and runs batted in. The former Arizona star authored a .432 batting average with nine home runs and 19 runs batted in.

YEAR-BY-YEAR STATISTICAL LEADERS • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Season Batting Average * Home Runs Runs Batted In

2020 Jessi Warren (.510) Sahvanna Jaquish (9) Sahvanna Jaquish (19) Erika Piancastelli (9) 2021 Amanda Chidester (.413) Amanda Chidester (7) Amanda Lorenz (16) 2022 Dejah Mulipola (.432) Dejah Mulipola (9) Dejah Mulipola (19)

* - Minimum 2 AB/game

POWER BROKER

Catcher Dejah Mulipola led Athletes Unlimited Softball with nine home runs in 2022, a mark that tied the single-season record established by catchers Erika Piancastelli and Sahvanna Jaquish in the inaugural 2020 season. Mulipola hit seven of her home runs in the final nine games of the season, including a home run in the season finale to seal the league championship.

MOST HOME RUNS IN A SEASON • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY No. Player Season

9 Erika Piancastelli 2020 9 Sahvanna Jaquish 2020

9 Dejah Mulipola 2022

8 Shannon Rhodes 2022 7 Amanda Chidester 2021

DEJAH VU

Catcher Dejah Mulipola became the second player in league history to hit a home run in four consecutive games when she accomplished the feat from Aug. 12-19, 2022. She matched the standard set by outfielder Haylie McCleney, who had a home run in four straight games from Sept. 14-21, 2021.

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A HOME RUN • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Games Player Dates

4 Haylie McCleney

4 Dejah Mulipola

Sept. 14-21, 2021

Aug. 12-19, 2022

3 Gwen Svekis 3 Amanda Chidester Sept. 27, 2020-Aug. 28, 2021 Aug. 29-Sept. 5, 2021

3 Amanda Chidester Sept. 11-13, 2021

3 Bubba Nickles 3 Shannon Rhodes July 30-Aug. 5, 2022 Aug. 14-20, 2022

DOUBLED OVER

Middle infielder Sydney Romero set the Athletes Unlimited Softball single-season mark with eight doubles during the 2022 campaign. The former Oklahoma standout tallied a double in 7-of-15 games this summer, including two doubles against Team McCleney in the Week Five opener on Aug. 26.

ALL BY MYSELF

Pitchers Rachel Garcia and Alyssa Denham earned the only two solo shutouts in 2022, marking the fourth and fifth solo clean sheets in the three-year history of Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season play. Denham allowed just three hits and struck out five batters in a 1-0 victory over Team Jaquish on Aug. 21. Garcia also gave up three hits and posted three strikeouts in her 4-0 win over Team Mulipola on Aug. 27.

SOLO SHUTOUTS • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Player Date Opponent Final Score

Cat Osterman Aug. 31, 2020 Team Wagner 5-0 Cat Osterman Sept. 21, 2020 Team Reed 2-0 Cat Osterman Sept. 13, 2021 Team McCleney 3-0

Alyssa Denham Aug. 21, 2022 Team Jaquish 1-0 Rachel Garcia Aug. 27, 2022 Team Mulipola 4-0

PITCH PERFECT

Pitcher Rachel Garcia became the third pitcher in Athletes Unlimited Softball history to earn all 264 possible points in a game with her three-hit shutout in Team Denham’s 4-0 victory over Team Mulipola on Saturday. Garcia also added a walk in four appearances at the plate, giving her 272 total points, which rank third by any player in a single game in league history.

MOST SINGLE-GAME LEADERBOARD POINTS BY A PITCHER • AU SOFTBALL HISTORY No. Player Date Opponent 272 Rachel Garcia Aug. 27, 2022 Team Mulipola

264 Cat Osterman Aug. 31, 2020 Team Wagner 264 Cat Osterman Sept. 21, 2020 Team Reed 264 Alyssa Denham Aug. 21, 2022 Team Jaquish 256 Aleshia Ocasio Sept. 5, 2020 Team Show

MOST SINGLE-GAME LEADERBOARD POINTS BY ANY PLAYER • AU SOFTBALL HISTORY No. Player Date Opponent

290 Amanda Sanchez Sept. 14, 2020 Team Sanders 278 Sahvanna Jaquish July 31, 2022 Team Eberle

272 Rachel Garcia Aug. 27, 2022 Team Mulipola

264 Cat Osterman Aug. 31, 2020 Team Wagner 264 Cat Osterman Sept. 21, 2020 Team Reed 264 Alyssa Denham Aug. 21, 2022 Team Jaquish

TWO FOR ONE SPECIAL

Pitchers Alyssa Denham and Rachel Garcia both fashioned a complete game effort in the Aug. 21 contest between Team Chidester and Team Jaquish, marking the only time during the 2022 season a game had just two pitchers. It is also the sixth time in league history where two pitchers have authored a complete game in the same contest.

TWO COMPLETE GAMES IN SAME CONTEST Date Game Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher

Sept. 14, 2020 Team Osterman 2, Team Piancastelli 1 Cat Osterman Haylie Wagner Sept. 19, 2020 Team Warren 2, Team Reed 1 Aleshia Ocasio Danielle O’Toole Sept. 19, 2020 Team Hayward 4, Team Osterman 1 Haylie Wagner Cat Osterman Sept. 21, 2020 Team Osterman 2, Team Reed 0 Cat Osterman Danielle O’Toole Sept. 6, 2021 Team Vidales 4, Team Piper 1 Haylie Wagner Aleshia Ocasio

Aug. 21, 2022 Team McCleney 1, Team Jaquish 0 Alyssa Denham Rachel Garcia SPIN THAT RECORD

Pitcher Taylor McQuillin established an Athletes Unlimited Softball record by pitching in 14 games during the 2022 campaign. McQuillin, who finished the season with a 4-3 record and a save, also completed the campaign ranked second in the league with 46 strikeouts, including a trio of five-strikeout performances.

FEELING GRAND

Catcher Erika Piancastelli hit the third grand slam in Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season history on Aug. 7 in the bottom of the fifth inning of Team Mulipola’s 13-8 victory over Team Harshman. It was the first grand slam in a game since Sept. 5, 2021, when Piancastelli also belted a grand slam against Team Jaquish.

GRAND SLAMS IN ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY Player Opponent Date Inning

Jazmyn Jackson Team Pendley Aug. 29, 2020 4th Erika Piancastelli Team Jaquish Sept. 5, 2021 7th Erika Piancastelli Team Harshman Aug. 7, 2022 5th

CONNECT FOUR

Outfielder Haylie McCleney fashioned the only four-hit game of the 2022 season on Aug. 13 after going 4-for-5 with three runs scored against Team Chidester. McCleney, who posted her second career four-hit game, became the first player with four hits in a game since outfielder Victoria Hayward did it against Team Ocasio on Sept. 26, 2021.

FOUR-HIT GAMES (ATHLETES UNLIMTED SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON HISTORY) Player Opponent Date

Samantha Show Team Pendley Aug. 29, 2020 Aubrey Leach Team Ocasio Sept. 27, 2020 Tori Vidales Team Warren Sept. 28, 2020 Haylie McCleney Team Jaquish Sept. 5, 2021 Victoria Hayward Team Ocasio Sept. 26, 2021

Haylie McCleney Team Chidester Aug. 13, 2022

THIS ONE GOES TO ELEVEN

Catcher Sahvanna Jaquish totaled an Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship Season single-game record 11 total bases during Team Zerkle’s 9-3 victory over Team Eberle in the Week One finale on July 31. Jaquish hit a pair of home runs and also registered a triple as part of her 278-point day.

OH SO CLOSE

Middle infielder Abby Ramirez just missed earning the first cycle in Athletes Unlimited Softball history on Aug. 14 with her 3-for-4 performance against Team Jaquish. Ramirez hit a double in the second inning before an RBI single in the fifth inning. She completed the day with a triple to center field in the top of the seventh inning.

A NEW BRONX BOMBER?

Catcher Erika Piancastelli participated in Major League Baseball’s FTX Home Run Derby events in London, England, and Seoul, South Korea during the summer. Piancastelli was named MVP in London after leading the Yankees to the win with 15 home runs over the two rounds. In addition, she blasted nine home runs in Seoul on Sept. 17.

FAMILY TIES

Catcher Taylor Edwards and her twin sister, Tatum, teamed up again during the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Softball season, but participated in different capacities. While Taylor stepped to the plate, Tatum served as a facilitator during the 2022 campaign. The duo played together at Nebraska from 2011-14 and guided the Huskers to 163 victories and four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a berth in the 2013 Women’s College World Series.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Hitters finished with a .282 batting average during the 2022 season, an improvement of .016 from the 2021 campaign. • Pitchers combined to record 10 saves in 2022 after posting just five totals during the first two seasons ... Rachel Garcia earned a league-record three saves while Odicci

Alexander added two saves. • Pitchers also fashioned nine complete games during the 2022 campaign ... Danielle

O’Toole led the league with four complete game efforts, while Rachel Garcia tallied three complete games ... Alyssa Denham notched the first two complete games of her Athletes Unlimited career. • Outfielder Amanda Lorenz (Aug. 13) and catcher Dejah Mulipola (Aug. 28) were issued an intentional walk in 2022 ... Infielder Amanda Chidester owns the league record with four career intentional walks, while Lorenz has two intentional walks to her credit.