The Athletes Unlimited Softball League All-Star Cup returned to Rosemont, Ill. Team Garcia took on Team Corrick and came away with the 3-1 win. In the end, Team Garcia picked up 110 win points as a team, and Karlyn Pickens finished the night with MVP 2 honors, and at the top with Sami Williams with 190 points.
Lexi Kilfoyl stepped into the circle in her home ballpark and retired the side in order in the first inning. She threw 10 pitches and struck out Bandits teammate Sami Williams for the final out. Rachel Garcia matched her with a perfect bottom half. Additionally, she struck out Bella Dayton to start the inning and got two flyouts to close it.
Ailana Agbayani recorded the first hit of the game, a two-out single off her Bandits teammate Kilfoyl in the top of the second. However, Kilfoyl stranded her, striking out the next batter for her second strikeout of the inning and third of the game.
Garcia recorded two quick outs in the bottom of the second and picked up her second strikeout. Sharlize Palacios then hit a solo home run to center. The homer put Team Corrick up 1-0.
Kilfoyl ran into trouble in the top of the third. Sydney Stewart reached on a fielding error to start the inning. Aubrey Leach dropped down a bunt single, and Skylar Wallace singled to load the bases with no outs. After Kilfoyl struck out Rylie Boone on a 10-pitch at-bat, Stewart scored on a wild pitch. Williams followed with a two-RBI double to give Team Garcia a 3-1 lead.
After Garcia retired the first batter in the bottom of the third, Sam Landry took the ball in the circle for Team Garcia. Then Landry recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. Team Corrick escaped the top of the fourth without damage. Landry went on to retire two more, recording her third strikeout of the game.
Then Garcia went to Pickens, who faced Bri Ellis to start. Ellis took a two-out base hit up the middle on a 1-2 pitch. Pickens then retired the side on a Sydney Sherrill groundout.
Through four innings, Team Garcia used three pitchers. Meanwhile, Team Corrick stayed with Kilfoyl until the beginning of the fifth inning. Megan Faraimo then took the ball and retired the side in order on seven pitches.
Pickens recorded a scoreless inning in the bottom of the fifth. She gave up a one-out single to Sydney McKinney. Then she put Jessi Warren on with a two-out hit by pitch. Pickens bounced back to strike out Dayton and end the inning.
In the sixth, after Jadelyn Allchin led off with a single, she was wiped away as Grant hit into a double play. Leach fielded it and flipped to Ana Gold for the force at second. Gold got it to first in time. Pickens and Team Garcia retired the side to protect the two-run lead.
Faraimo did what she was brought in to do and kept Team Garcia off the board. She finished the day with 3.0 innings of one-hit ball. In the top of the seventh, she picked up her only strikeout and went on to retire the side in order.
Pickens needed just three outs to close out the game and keep Team Corrick scoreless for the inning points. Sherrill fought and singled on an eight-pitch at-bat to lead off. But Pickens responded with a strikeout of Palacios and went on to complete the save, with Landry taking the win.
