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.

On the Beat With Athletes Unlimited 08/31/20

Athletes Unlimited finished their first round of play on Monday with a shutout and a nail-biter. It was an exciting and fun weekend for the players and the fans alike. 

Week 1 final game results are:

Game 1 - Team Warren (Orange) beat Team Fagan (Purple) 11-3

Game 2 - Team Wagner (Gold) beat Team Pendley (Blue) 18-4

Game 3 - Team Warren (Orange) beat Team Pendley (Blue) 10-2

Game 4 - Team Wagner (Gold) beat Team Fagan (Purple) 6-2

Game 5 - Team Fagan (Purple) beat Team Pendley (Blue) 7-6

Game 6 - Team Wagner (Gold) beat Team Warren (Orange) 5-0

Team Wagner (Gold) 3-0

Team Warren (Orange) 2-1

Team Fagan (Purple) 1-2

Team Pendley (Blue) 0-3

The final leader board is

1 Osterman-604

2-Show-524

3-Hayward-490

4-Ocasio-464

5-Leach-440

6-Piancastelli-440

7-Reed-440

8-Warren-440

9-Mauga-430

10-Ramirez-410

10T-Sveiks-410:

As the top four positions on the leader board show, next week's captains are Cat Osterman, Samantha Show, Victoria Hayward, and Aleshia Ocasio. Drafting will take place Tuesday.

The first weekend of games proved several points. With two pitchers and two offensive players in the top four spots, the scoring system is solid and represents both aspects of the game.

Additionally, 18 of the top 20 player scores came from the undefeated Gold team and the Yellow team who was 2-1. The Purple team at 1-2 took two slots and the Blue team, without a win, was shut out of the top 20 spots. That proves the scoring does balance team performance with individual performance.

I admit I was a bit skeptical about how the scoring system would balance all things, but I knew the league had run the numbers and various scenarios and I gave them the benefit of any doubt. The first round of games wiped out all doubt and proved the viability of the system.

Last weekend also proved that the fans are watching and loving it. Social media was on fire all weekend on the Athletes Unlimited pages and various softball and player pages. The overwhelming response is positive. At first, the lack of softball this summer might have been a contributing factor to the interest level, but in the end, the players, games and concept are the main draw.

Finally, Round One showed how much the players love the game. Every player had smiles all weekend. Even in the toughest of moments, maybe even especially in those moments, players couldn't and wouldn't hide their enthusiasm.

The press sessions were equally as interesting. Players took turns patiently explaining the scoring system. I think we all get it now fortunately as we head into week 2. Players stressed how team performance is not undervalued in the system and the results prove that. Players also explained how the scoring system mirrors the existing softball mindset of win the inning, win the game, keep it going. The difference is now points are officially awarded for achievements.

Once most of the scoring questions passed, thoughts turned to the next draft, the fan appreciation, the love of the game and other regular softball questions. As I have previously stressed, it is a new concept, but it doesn't affect the beauty of the game. In the end, this is softball at the highest level played by the most elite players in the world.

Go to AUProSports.com for more info and updates. Also, check here, GlobalTravelerUSA.com, Patch.com, GlobalWomensSportsRadio.com and here, of course, for recurring coverage of Athletes Unlimited.