Leach powers Team Ricketts to 3-1 win in final game

The Quick Story: Team Ricketts used a three-run home run by middle infielder Aubrey Leach and an eight-strikeout performance from pitcher Georgina Corrick to spoil Team Garcia’s hopes of a three-game sweep with a 3-1 decision in the penultimate game of the 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League All-Star Cup campaign at Parkway Bank Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon.

Key Moment: After Team Garcia took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run by corner infielder Jessi Warren in the bottom of the second inning, Leach responded by blasting a three-run shot over the right field fence in the top of the third inning to give Team Ricketts a 3-1 edge it did not relinquish.

Leaderboard Update: Pitcher Rachel Garcia, who went the distance in her final appearance of the season, finished with 1,448 points and stands second in the league standings behind catcher Kayla Kowalik entering the last game of the campaign. Pitcher Keilani Ricketts rose into third place after collecting 128 points in her season finale. Corrick also elevated her standing by six spots and holds fifth place pending the result of the season finale.

Team Ricketts Notes

• Team Ricketts was 4-for-9 in advancement opportunities, but just 3-for-9 with runners on base.
• The top four hitters in the Team Ricketts lineup accounted for four of the team’s six hits in the victory on Sunday.
• Middle infielder Aubrey Leach, who collected a season-high 210 leaderboard points after earning MVP 1 honors, smashed her first home run since June 18, 2023, against Team Taylor in an AU Pro Softball AUX contest … It is just the third home run of Leach’s Athletes Unlimited career.
• Leach also closed the season with a hit in six of her final seven outings, including the last three in a row.
• Pitcher Georgina Corrick notched eight strikeouts against Team Garcia on Sunday, marking the fourth time she has posted five or more strikeouts in her last six appearances … In addition, she tallied 23 strikeouts over her last three outings, including a season-high nine strikeouts against Team Ricketts on August 26.
• Corrick threw 4.2 innings in relief on Sunday and scattered just two hits … She retired the first 13 hitters she faced before giving up a double to catcher Taylor Edwards with two outs in the seventh inning.
• Corrick, who earned MVP 2 honors, also ended the season by winning five of her final six games … In addition, she surpassed 200 leaderboard points for the third time in her last four games after ending Sunday’s contest with 206 points.
• Corrick ends the season tied with pitcher Rachel Garcia for the league lead with four victories … She will also end the All-Star Cup campaign as the league leader with 34 strikeouts.
• Catcher Sharlize Palacios garnered her second Defensive MVP award of the season, joining corner infielder Ana Gold and outfielder Kendra Falby as the only players in the league to earn multiple Defensive MVP commendations.
• Corner infielder Danielle Gibson Whorton and middle infielder Anissa Urtez played the final game of their professional careers on Sunday afternoon … Urtez registered a single in the third inning while Gibson Whorton went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Team Garcia Notes

• Team Garcia initiated a captain’s challenge in the bottom of the seventh inning after outfielder Kendra Falby was called out at third base … The challenge was unsuccessful after the call was upheld.
• Team Garcia was 3-for-9 in advancement opportunities in addition to being 2-of-9 with runners on base.
• Five different players recorded a hit in the loss for Team Garcia.
• Corner infielder Jessi Warren extended her hitting streak to six games in a row when she slugged a solo home run to right-center field in the second inning … All three of her home runs have come during the six-game run.
• Pitcher Rachel Garcia, the game’s MVP 3 honoree, finished with a season-high 10 strikeouts in Sunday’s opener, marking the fourth time she has notched six or more strikeouts in her last six appearances.
• Garcia’s 10 strikeouts are the most by a pitcher in the All-Star Cup this season, besting the previous mark of nine strikeouts set by pitcher Georgina Corrick against Team Ricketts on August 26.
• In addition, Garcia’s 10 strikeouts are the most in any game during her Athletes Unlimited career … She joins Corrick and Cat Osterman as the only pitchers to register 10 or more strikeouts in any Athletes Unlimited softball game.
• Outfielder Ciara Briggs authored her second straight multi-hit game after going 2-for-3 with a pair of infield singles.
• Catcher Taylor Edwards played the final game of her professional career on Sunday afternoon … She went 1-for-3 with a double to right center field in her final at-bat during the seventh inning.