Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities. Swag Week continues with a Friend Encounters Special Swag Week edition.
Don Martukovich is another friend I never met. Based in Ohio, Don is a huge softball fan, who attends many games and posts hundreds (thousands?) of pictures of the action and players. I live vicariously through him at these games. I appreciate his pictures, but the players and families appreciate them even more. I occasionally reach out to Don for help in identifying players in my own pictures and Don always is willing to help.
Today, I feature Don with Nadia Taylor and her jersey. I am guessing Don won it in an auction.
Nadia starred at the University of Texas, before turning to National Pro Fastpitch, signing with the Akron Racers as an undrafted free agent in 2014.She played for the Dallas Charge 2016-2017 and then joined the Chicago Bandits.
I wonder how many other jerseys Don has. I would guess a few, but probably many more signed balls. Everyone knows Don. Players are great with signing autographs, but I bet they nejoy signing stuff for him even more, because of all he has done for the players.
With the NPF suspending play in 2020-2021, we are all hopeful for a return in 2022. Akron is gone, but the Cleveloand Comts are an Ohio team I might visit and maybe see Don finally.
Don Martukovich and Nadia Taylor in Akron, OH-August 2014.
Week Four of Athletes Unlimited Softball produced some interesting results. There's a new overall leader and reigning champ Cat Osterman has dropped out of the top ten in the standings. Mid-season arrival Kayla Wedl had her first pro hit. Anissa Urtez won a game MVP on Hispanic Heritgae Day.
Amanda Chidester led Team Gold to a perfect 3-0 record. Aleshia Ocasio's Team Purple went 2-1 and Sahvanna Jaquish's Team Orange went 1-2. Surprisingly, Cat Osterman's Team Blue went 0-3.
Despite her team going 3-0, Chiddy actually dropped one spot in the standings and now trails new leader Aleshia Ocasio by 52 points. Newcomer to the top four is Carrie Eberle with 1,378 points. Rounding out the top four spots is Sahvanna Jaquish, who dropped two spots, with 1,336. Osterman dropped to 12th place with 1,186. While it is possible to jump a lot of places (see Eberle's jump of 16 places), I don't see Osterman rebounding that much. I think it's Ocasio's time to win it all.
On her way to her big vault in the standings, Eberle picked up two MVP awards. Alyssa Denham and Anissa Urtez finished in the top three for two of the games.
Game 19-Alyssa Denham, Tori Vidales, Nadia Taylor
Game 20-Anissa Urtez, Sam Fischer, Sara Groenewegen
Game 21-Gwen Svekis, Odicci Alexander, Kelsey Stewart
Game 22-Carrie Eberle, Anissa Urtez, Morgan Zerkle
Game 23-Amanda Sanchez, Lilly Piper, Alesia Ocasio
Game 24-Carrie Eberle, Ali Aguilar, Alyssa Denham
The AU Week Five Draft is tonight at 5 PM CST. The teams return to the softball field Saturday as Eberle's Team Blue faces Chidester's Team Orange at noon CST. The nightcap sees Ocasio's Team Gold battling Jaquish's Team Purple at 3 pm CST. The season ends on Monday with the final game at 9 pm CST featuring Team Orange and Team Gold.
The postgame press session for Saturday featured Tori Vidales, Alyssa Denham, Nadia Taylor, Anissa Urtez, Sara Groenewegen and Sam Fischer. That interview session can be found at On the Beat With Athletes Unlimited Softball 09/18/2021.
Go to AUProSports.com for more info on all of AU leagues. Check back here for my continuing coverage of all AU Sports.
Another week is in the books for Athletes Unlimited. Like the previous weeks, Week Three provided a little bit of everything.
The final two games saw a pitchers' duel and a blowout. One Pendley sister (Nicole) robbed the other Pendley sister (Shelby) of a hit, but Shelby rebounded with a big home run. Speaking of home runs, there were many hit this weekend, including two off the bat of Stephanie Mauga in one game.
Some things remained the same however. Cat Osterman came out on top with three team victories and two pitching wins, including a brilliant 2-1 win over Team Piancastelli and Haylie Wagner, who also pitched a masterpiece.
Week Three final results are:
September 12
Team Piancastelli (Orange) beat Team Sanders (Purple) 7-4
Team Osterman (Yellow) beat Team Reed (Blue) 6-4
September 13
Team Piancastelli (Orange) beat Team Reed (Blue) 8-7
Team Osterman (Yellow) beat Team Sanders (Purple) 12-9
September 14
Team Reed (Blue) beat Team Sanders (Purple) 18-1
Team Osterman (Yellow) beat Team Piancastelli (Orange) 2-1
Standings
Team Osterman (Yellow) 3-0
Team Piancastelli (Orange) 2-1
Team Reed (Blue) 1-2
Team Sanders (Purple) 0-3
Week 4 Captains
Osterman, Reed, Victoria Hayward and Jessie Warren
Scoring was up this week. With a bit of help from the 18 run explosion yesterday, 79 runs were scored in total. That is up big time from Week Two's 61 runs. Again, the sample size is still too small to draw real conclusions, but it's interesting to note the scoring differences.
Osterman has a big lead in overall points and looks to be at the top when the season ends. While these athletes are all competitive, Osterman now has a bigger target on her back. Who, if anyone, will be the first to beat her or her team?
In other Athletes Unlimited news, pitcher Aleshia Ocasio will rejoin the league and is eligible for the Week 4 draft. Also, former Cal State Fullerton pitcher Trisha Parks has been added to the roster pool. Parks joined AU when Ocasio left for a family emergency. After passing the AU health protocol, both players will practice and remain with the league for the remainder of the season.
In media sessions with the players, AU writer Bruce Miles covered the game situation topics for articles on AUProSports.com. I ventured into other topics, including the players' causes, the playing conditions after the rain, the upcoming draft and more general interest topics.
One especially interesting part was Aubrey Leach discussing her grandmother Wilma Ann Williams-Leach, who played professional baseball for the Rockford Peaches in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The elder Leach played in 1953, but died in 1993, before Aubrey was born. Still, she remains a source of pride for Aubrey.
Also especially fun was Megan Wiggins, who is obviously enjoying the league immensely. Wiggins joked about the wet conditions, speed on the bases and hitting home runs, She also gave a big shout out to playing in Rosemont.
Games resume on Saturday, September 19 at noon CST as Team Warren will face Team Reed. All Week Four games will be televised on an ESPN station or the CBS Sports Network, but check your local listings.
Athletes Unlimited Softball wrapped up another exciting weekend of softball action at the Ballpark in Rosemont, Illinois. The six games had a little bit of everything.
Cat Osterman's teams remained perfect, adding three more wins to the three wins from the first week of play. Osterman pitched two gems, including a 2-1 nail-biter to end the week.
Team Ocasio had a solid week, but just couldn't beat Osterman. Despite losing two of three, Team Hayward had the biggest offensive explosion, scoring 13 runs in their second game. Team Show went 0-3, but lost two tight games.
Week 2 final results are
September 5
Team Ocasio (Purple) beat Team Show (Orange) 6-4
Team Team Osterman (Gold) beat Team Hayward (Blue) 5-2
September 6
Team Hayward (Blue) beat Team Show (Orange) 13-5
Team Osterman (Gold) beat Team Ocasio (Purple) 5-4
September 7
Team Ocasio (Purple) beat Team Hayward (Blue) 9-5
Team Osterman (Gold) beat Team Show (Orange) 2-1
Standings
Team Osterman (Gold) 3-0
Team Ocasio (Purple) 2-1
Team Hayward (Blue) 1-2
Team Show (Orange( 0-3
Week 3 Captains
Cat Osterman, Aleshia Ocasio, Janie Reed and DJ Sanders
Overall, scores were down from last week. It's too small of a sample size to call any trend. Last week, there was more offense, with teams scoring a total of 74 runs, while this week, 61 runs were scored.
Going into Week Three, one question is a main topic of discussion. Will Osterman ever lose? She's running away with overall points. She'll be captain again. As a captain, it is important to have a dominating pitcher and Osterman immediately starts off with the best, herself.
In the media session, I asked Osterman about the pressures and duties of being the captain. Would she like to just be a player for once? Of course, knowing her, I could have guessed tht answer. Sh loves it. She even stated she is having as much fun as ever. Competitors l;ike Osterman are never “just players” regardless of captian tiles.
One aspect of Athletes Unlimited that doesn't get enough exposure features the athletes playing for various causes they chose. Part of the financial aspect of the game involves players earning bonuses which go to these chosen causes. In the media sessions, I asked the athletes to discuss their chosen causes.
As seemingly everything else with Athletes Unlimited, this is a unique situation. I know of no other professional sports league where the players earn money for their charities. Many athletes have charitable causes, but there is no other league that does it like Athletes Unlimited. The next time someone mentions the greed of athletes, feel free to mention Athletes Unlimited.
We see the athletes' passion on the field every game, but this was an opportunity to see their passion for a given cause. As you will hear, some athletes are playing for local organizations, which others are playing for world-wide organizations.
In media sessions all weekend, I asked players about their chosen causes. Hannah Flippen, Nerissa Myers, Morgan Howe, Erika Piancastelli, Jessica Warren, Nadia Taylor, Janie Reed, DJ Sanders and Cat Osterman discussed their chosen causes. As I wrote, the causes are varied, but the emotions in these athletes. In a league for and by the athletes, this is something they decided to do to give back. It's a part of the league that deserves more exposure.
The Week Three draft is being held tonight. Check Global Women's Sports Radio for the results and our continuing coverage of Athletes Unlimited. For more info on the players and the league, go to http://www.AUProSports.com.
Today we are back with more Chicago Bandits interviews, as we continue to work our way through the roster. You can also check the Johngy's Beat Chicago Bandits YouTube playlist for all of our interviews over the last 5 seasons.
This time, we feature Aleshia Ocasio, Nadia Taylor and Gwen Svekis. All three are newcomers to the Bandits. Nadia is a 5 year veteran of the NPF, while Aleshia and Gwen are rookies.
We also interviewed Director of Operations and Promotions Jourdan Skirha. A graduate of Drexel and a former softball player (ask her about his biog pinch hit grand slam), Jourdan has been with the team for several years. Bandit Nation requested this interview and we are happy to have Jourdan/ She works very hard to make games extra fun for fans.
Thank you to Bandits Director of Media Relations Jason Lowenthal for facilitating these interviews. Thanks to the elite athletes of the Bandits for their time and consideration. Thanks to Mark Pandocchi for his video help. Thanks to Kenzie Parker for contributing questions. Thanks to Bandit Nation for the continued support.
There are still several home games left this season. The NPF championship series will be held in Rosemont, too. Check ChicagoBandits.com for all of the info, including the game times. Also, check back here for recurring coverage of the Bandits!
