Team Ricketts picks up win against Team Netz in AUSL All-Star Cup game on Monday

On the second day of Series 3 in the AUSL All-Star Cup, a victory by the orange team earned Keilani Ricketts her first win as the team captain, moving her up to third place on the leaderboard.
Keilani Ricketts, Team Orange captain in Series 3 of the AUSL All-Star Cup, pitches for the Oklahoma City Spark during a Women's Professional Fastpitch game against the Texas Smoke at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium on July 1, 2023 in Oklahoma City.
Keilani Ricketts, Team Orange captain in Series 3 of the AUSL All-Star Cup, pitches for the Oklahoma City Spark during a Women's Professional Fastpitch game against the Texas Smoke at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium on July 1, 2023 in Oklahoma City. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

On Monday, Aug. 25, the first half of the AUSL All-Star Cup doubleheader at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill. saw Team Ricketts (Orange) take a 3-2 victory over Team Netz (Purple). After losing to Team Coffey in the week three opening contest on Sunday, pitcher Keilani Ricketts captured her first win as the captain this season.

Orange roared ahead with top two MVP picks

The first inning had Ricketts toss her first strikeout on the mound, but the second saw Devyn Netz take the lead for her own team by scoring the first run. After Bubba Nickles-Camarena of Team Ricketts evened the score at the bottom, a double-RBI single by Sydney Romero put the Orange squad up front by two runs.

For the next three innings, Team Ricketts held onto the lead as both sides went on defense. In the sixth inning following a single by Cori McMillan of Purple, Netz touched the home plate and scored again, but her team still trailed Keilani's crew. As neither team scored for the remaining duration, the game ended with Team Ricketts winning 3-2.

On the mound for Orange, Ricketts struck out two batters while seeing the most action with 5.1 innings pitched, which awarded her 60 points as the first MVP. Following her were Montana Fouts with 1.0 and Emma Lemley with 0.2 innings in the circle. Four players each had one hit at the plate including second MVP Sy. Romero, while Nickles-Camarena, Sharlize Palacios and Paige Sinicki contributed the offense with one run.

For the Purple team, Lexi Kilfoyl struck out two batters in 3.2 innings while Megan Faraimo threw one K and commandeered the mound in 2.1 innings. Netz, McMillian, and Defensive MVP Bella Dayton led the batting lineup with two hits each, while Netz also scored both runs and was awarded 20 points as the third MVP.

All-Star Cup leaderboard top ten after 11 games

Rank

Player

Points

1

Kayla Kowalik

1200

2

Rachel Garcia

924

3

Keilani Ricketts

846

4

Erin Coffel

828

5

Danieca Coffey

780

6

Mariah Mazón

670

7

Sierra Romero

670

8

Korbe Otis

658

9

Delanie Wisz

650

10

Devyn Netz

648

In the Series 3 finale on Tuesday, Team Netz will face Team Coffey (Blue), while Team Ricketts is playing against Team Kowalik (Gold). First pitch of game one is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT at Parkway Bank Sports Complex, followed by game two scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT. Both games will be broadcasted on ESPNU.

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