Game two of the AUSL All-Star Cup brought Team Corrick and Team Ricketts together in Rosemont, Ill. After Team Ricketts led early, a grand slam from Megan Grant propelled Team Corrick into the lead, and they went on to win 4-3.
Kat Sandercock opened with two outs on six pitches for Team Ricketts. Then, Sandercock lost Sharlize Palacios and Bri Ellis on walks before retiring the side. Reese Atwood got the start at catcher and looked great paired with Sandercock.
Georgina Corrick took the start for her team and immediately put Maya Brady on via a hit by pitch as the ball barely grazed Brady’s elbow. That brought Morgan Zerkle to the plate, and she capitalized with an RBI double to give Team Ricketts a 1-0 lead. Then, Sydney Romero followed with an RBI double of her own to make it 2-0.
Corrick’s start was uncharacteristic. Next, she put Atwood on with another hit by pitch. But she got out of the inning without further damage. Corrick also picked up her first strikeout of the game, fanning Tiare Jennings. Team Ricketts picked up 10 points for winning the first inning.
Sandercock kept the top of the second inning quiet and recorded 2 strikeouts. Alyssa Brito singled, and Kenleigh Cahalan reached on a fielder’s choice, but nothing came of it. Through two innings, Sandercock struck out 3. Corrick had an improved second inning. She retired the side without incident and picked up her second strikeout.
Atwood and Sandercock worked well together as a battery. Sandercock worked her dropball with her changeup and rise mixed in early. However, after Sandercock struck out back-to-back hitters to open the third inning, things went left.
After Palacios worked a walk, Bri Ellis gapped a two-out double to move Palacios to third. Then, Sandercock missed her spots with Sydney Sherrill and loaded the bases with a walk. That is when Grant ambushed Sandercock and jumped on the first pitch of her at-bat for a grand slam to put Team Corrick up 4-2. Sandercock then gave up a hit to Brito before exiting for Keilani Ricketts, who retired the side on a strikeout of Cahalan.
Corrick returned to the circle with the lead in the bottom of the third and retired Team Ricketts in order for the first time. Corrick picked up her third strikeout by sitting Atwood down on three pitches. Team Corrick also picked up 20 win points for the third inning. That was Corrick’s last inning, as she turned it over to Megan Faraimo in the bottom of the fourth.
After Ricketts retired the top of the fourth in order, Faraimo got to work. After Jordan Woolery led off with a single, Faraimo responded by striking out the next 3 to end the inning. She hit her mixed and hit spots with her teammate from Utah, Palacios, as normal.
The game took a standstill over the next few innings, as solid pitching and defense ruled. Both Hannah Flippen and Jessi Warren came up with big plays for both teams. That also allowed inning win points to build up. With no score in the fourth or fifth innings, 20 points rolled over heading into the sixth inning.
In the top of the sixth, Cahalan recorded a one-out single after Ricketts struck out Brito. Then, with two outs, Bella Dayton singled up the middle to put two on. But Ricketts escaped with no damage. Team Ricketts broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Tiare Jennings worked a one-out walk.
Then, after advancing to second on a wild pitch, she came home on a two-out RBI single from Baylee Klingler, pulling Team Ricketts within one and taking 30 inning-win points. Ellis ended the inning by retiring Hannah Flippen unassisted, with a diving stop at first base.
Team Ricketts went to Kenzie Brown to begin the seventh. Brown opened with a strikeout of Palacios. However, with two outs, she issued back-to-back walks to Sydney Sherrill and Grant but stranded both as Brito flew out to deep center.
Faraimo returned for the bottom of the seventh and struck out Amari Harper on a nine-pitch at-bat. Then, she handed the ball to Lexi Kilfoyl for the finish. Cahalan laid out to rob Brady of a hit before a Zerkle lineout ended it. Faraimo picked up the win, with Kilfoyl snagging the save.
Grant finished the night with MVP 1 honors and now stands with a total of 220 points, which puts her in the All-Star Cup lead. Faraimo finished with MVP 2 and now has a total of 216 points for second overall. Ricketts earned MVP 3, and she sits with 100 total points on the board. Cahalan picked up defensive MVP for the game, and she has accumulated 140 total points.
The final game of the opening series takes place Monday night at 7 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. CDT, as Team Ricketts faces Team Garcia. The game will be televised on ESPNU. For a look at the whole All-Star Cup leaderboard, the link is below.
