On the Beat With Athletes Unlimited Softball 2021 Week 1 Part 1

Less than a week after Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse ended, AU Softball started its second season. After a year away from live action, it was great to be back live "On the Beat" in Rosemont.

Opening Weekend for Athletes Unlimited Softball featured the first no-hitter in AU history, walk-off home runs and more all played in front of a packed stadium in Rosemont. Softball was back and fans couldn't have asked for more.

In addition to pitching a no-hitter, Cat Osterman led her Team Gold to a 3-0 record. Victoria Hayward's Team Blue was 2-1, Jessie Warren's Team Orange went 1-2 and Erika Piancatelli's Team Purple went 0-3. 

Despite her dominating performance, Osterman is in the unfamiliar second spot on the leaderboard with 490 points. Sahvanna Jaquish claimed the top spot with 498 points. Tori Vidales (468 points) and Lilli Piper (438 points) round out the top four spots. These four will be captains next week, drafting those teams later today. Just missing the top four were Odicci Alexander (428 points), Haylie McCleney (420 points) and Aliyah Andrews (418 points).

The individual game MVP's were:

Game 1-DJ Sanders, Aleshia Ocasio, Amanda Chidester

Game 2-Tori Vidales, Odicci Alexander, Sahvanna Jaquish

Game 3-Taylor McQuillin, Sashel Palacios, Carrie Eberle

Game 4-Cat Osterman, Tori Vidales, Aliyah Andrews

Game 5-Gwen Svekis, Aleshia Ocasio, Ali Aguilar

Game 6-Lilli Piper, Haylie McCleney, Sahvanna Jaquish

The Week Two Draft takes place at 5 PM CST today. Team captains are Jaquish (Gold), Osterman (Orange), Vidales (Blue) and Piper (Purple). Check back here tomorrow for the draft results.

The Ballpark in Rosemont never looked better. In the right field concourse, there is a batting cage and a pitching area. There is a merchandise truck out front, featuring a large line of cool AU apparel. In-game host Kacy Standohar is all over the place, interviewing players and having fun with fans. The Ballpark was alive.It was a fantastic Opening Weekend and it looks to continue all season.

The media session featured Gwen Svekis, DJ Sanders, Aleshia Ocasio, Cat Osterman, Odicci Alexander and Tori Vidales. That media session can be found at On the Beat With Athletes Unlimited Softball 2021 Week 1. 

AU returns to the field Saturday, September 4 at 3 PM CST. Team Osterman battles Team Vidales. For the second game, Team Jaquish faces Team Piper at 6 PM CST. Check GWSR social media for updates and back here for the Week Two recap. Also, be sure to check out AU Softball coverage by Bruce Miles on AUProSports.com for more info on the league and players.

On the Beat With Athletes Unlimited Week 2 - 09/05-07/20

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.

On the Beat With the Chicago Bandits (Interviews Part 6)

The Chicago Bandits are firmly in second place with a record of 28-7. They trail the first place USSSA Pride by 5.5 games, but they do have 3 more games at home against the Pride. First place is not out of the question, but either way, it will be these two teams when the NPF championship series starts in mid August.

I was back "On the Beat" Friday and I interviewed shortstop Abby Ramirez, pitcher Ally Carda, infielder DJ Sanders and pitcher Shelby Turnier. Again it was a nice mix including a rookie (DJ), second year Bandit (Abby), a second year NPF, a first year Bandit (Ally) and a veteran (and 2016 NPF championship series hero Shelby).

Each athlete brings something interesting and different to the interviews. These world class athletes have played all over the world with different dreams, goals and futures and all landed here in Chicago for the 2018 season.

Once again I thank Director of Media Relations Jason Lowenthal for facilitating these interviews. I thank the Bandits organization for the opportunity and access. I thank the elite athletes for their time and consideration. I thank Bandit Nation for the continued support. I thank Mark Pandocchi for his fine video work always.

There are still 3 more home games (August 10-12) for the Bandits. The NPF championship series starts Thursday, August 16 and is a best of 5 on successive days as needed.

Go to ChicagoBandits.com for more info, updates and scheduling. You can also check the Bandits Facebook page for timely updates and fun stuff. Of course, I'll have continual coverage here as always!