On the Beat With Athletes Unlimited Week 3 - 09/12-14/20

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.

Go to AUProSports.com for more info on the league and the players. Also check the Athletes Unlimited Facebook page for more frequent updates.