Corrick tosses complete game, earns 5-1 win for Team Kowalik

The Quick Story: Team Kowalik (3-0) erupted for five runs in the second inning and used a complete game effort from pitcher Georgina Corrick to defeat Team Ricketts (1-2) by a 5-1 count in the finale of Tuesday night’s Athletes Unlimited Softball League All-Star Cup doubleheader at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.

Key Moment: After falling behind by a 1-0 margin in the top of the second inning, Team Kowalik scored five runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame to take a 5-1 lead it did not relinquish. Corner infielder Jessi Warren evened the score with an RBI single before outfielder Victoria Hayward followed with a two-run double for a 3-1 advantage. Outfielder Amanda Lorenz completed the outburst when she belted a two-run home run to left field for a four-run cushion.

Leaderboard Update: Catcher Kayla Kowalik will enter the final series of the season in first place on the leaderboard with 1,360 points after guiding her team to a 3-0 record in Series Three. Middle infielder Erin Coffel rose four spots into second place in the league standings and will captain the Orange squad in Series Four. Lorenz, meanwhile, surged up the leaderboard into eighth place after collecting a season-high 230 leaderboard points.

Team Ricketts Notes

• Team Ricketts was just 3-for-16 in advancement opportunities and 3-for-13 with runners on base in the defeat.
• Catcher Sharlize Palacios posted a 2-for-4 effort with a run scored to mark her first mutli-hit outing of the AUSL All-Star Cup season … She also extended her hitting streak to three games.
• Outfielder Bubba Nickles-Camarena recorded her first extra-base hit of the campaign after sending a double into right field during the second inning … It was the only extra-base hit for Team Ricketts in the series finale.
• Middle infielder Sydney Romero upped her hitting streak to seven games after going 1-for-4 … She joins Kayla Kowalk as the only players in the circuit to have a hit in all seven possible games.
• Middle infielder Hannah Flippen extended her hitting streak to three games after starting the season 0-for-5 in her first two appearances.
• Pitcher Emma Lemley (0-2) suffered the loss after surrendering four runs on four hits in 1.1 innings.
• Captain Keilani Ricketts pitched 3.2 innings of relief and yielded just one run on three hits with one strikeout … Pitcher Montana Fouts finished the game with her fourth scoreless appearance of the campaign after allowing one hit in the sixth inning.

Team Kowalik Notes

• Team Kowalik finished Series Three with an unblemished 3-0 record for the second series in a row … Teams wearing the Gold jersey own a perfect 7-0 record entering the final segment of the season.
• Team Kowalik captured all 130 win points to complete the sixth win points sweep of the All-Star Cup campaign … Three of the six sweeps have been recorded by Team Kowalik in the past two series.
• Captain Kayla Kowalik is the only player in the league with a perfect 7-0 record this season … Kowalik is joined by teammates Amanda Lorenz (6-0) and Erin Coffel (5-0) as the only remaining unbeaten players in the All-Star Cup field.
• Team Kowalik erupted for five runs on four hits in the second inning, marking the third time they scored five or more runs in an inning during Series Three … The squad outscored its opponents by a 16-1 margin in the second inning during the series.
• In three wins during Series Three, Team Kowalik outscored its opponents by a 25-12 margin … The 25 runs are the most by any team in the All-Star Cup this season.
• Lorenz became the 14th different player to hit a home run during the All-Star Cup after she deposited a two-run home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the first inning.
• Lorenz snapped a two-game hitless stretch by going 3-for-4 in the victory … She had not recorded a hit since a 2-for-4 performance in the season opener against Team Corrick on August 2 at Ting Stadium.
• Lorenz secured MVP 1 plaudits and a season-high 230 leaderboard points in Tuesday’s series finale.
• Outfielder Victoria Hayward, who claimed MVP 2 distinction and a season-best 170 leaderboard points, notched her first hit since August 4 when she laced a two-run double to right field as part of Team Kowalik’s five-run second inning.
• Pitcher Georgina Corrick became the third pitcher to toss a complete game in the All-Star Cup this season … Corrick, who tallied a career-high 264 leaderboard points, allowed one run on seven hits with a season-high nine strikeouts to improve to 2-1.
• Corrick’s 264 leaderboard points rank as the fourth-highest single-game total in the league this season.
• Corrick threw 158 pitches, including 99 strikes, in her complete game effort … The 158 pitches are the most by any pitcher in an Athletes Unlimited softball game since Rachel Garcia hurled 159 pitches on August 6, 2023, against Team Romero.
• Corner infielder Jessi Warren authored her third consecutive multi-hit outing with a 2-for-3 performance against Team Ricketts on Tuesday night … Warren closed Series Three with a league-high 510 leaderboard points, allowing her to rise 37 spots into 20th place.
• Kowalik, who was recognized as the game’s Defensive MVP, closed Series Three with 500 leaderboard points after going 5-for-11 with five runs batted in along with four runs scored … She has received MVP accolades in 6-of-7 games this season.