Rachel Garcia goes the distance and Dejah Mulipola powers the offense in a 4-2 victory over Team Ricketts
Team Coffey Strikes First, Team Ricketts Responds
Series 3 of the Athletes Unlimited All-Star Cup got underway in Rosemont, Illinois and everything felt back to normal as players returned from their commitments at the World Games in China. Team Coffey and Team Ricketts squared off, and after a quiet first inning the top of the second swung in favor of Team Coffey.
After Montana Fouts retired the side on eight pitches in the first, Rachel Garcia opened the second with a double down the right field line. Ana Gold followed with an RBI double, and Dejah Mulipola crushed a two run homer to left that gave Team Coffey a quick 3-0 lead.
Aliyah Andrews and Sahvanna Jaquish singled to put two on. Danieca Coffey battled for an 11 pitch walk to load the bases, but Sierra Romero lined into a double play and the rally ended.
In the bottom half, Kendra Falby struck out before an error put Aliyah Binford aboard. Sharlize Palacios made it count, drilling a two run shot to left to cut the deficit to 3-2. Garcia bounced back with strikeouts of Paige Sinicki and Sierra Sacco, recording all three outs in the inning via strikeout.
Garcia and Ricketts Settle In
Team Ricketts went to the bullpen in the third, bringing in Binford. Danielle Gibson Whorton greeted her with a single, and after a groundout and a hit by pitch Team Coffey had two on. Mulipola added a single to load the bases, but Binford leaned on her changeup and worked out of it with a strikeout of Jaquish. The score held at 3-2 heading into the bottom of the third.
Garcia then worked a quick 1-2-3 inning to keep Team Coffey in front. In the fourth, Binford issued a leadoff walk to Ciara Briggs, which prompted captain Keilani Ricketts to call her own number and take over in the circle. Coffey reached on a fielder’s choice as Hannah Flippen flipped to second to retire Briggs. She moved into scoring position on a Sierra Romero groundout, and Danielle Gibson Whorton came through with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Coffey to extend the lead to 4-2.
Garcia continued to show great command in the bottom of the fourth, opening with a strikeout of Kendra Falby to push her total to four on the day. She looked every bit as sharp as she was in China with Team USA, retiring the side on just eight pitches.
Ana Gold reached to lead off the fifth after being hit by a pitch, her third time reaching base on the day and the second by HBP. Dejah Mulipola quickly erased the chance, lining into a double play at first where Baylee Klingler made it look routine. The game moved along with the score still 4-2 as both Garcia and Ricketts settled in. Garcia kept dealing, while Ricketts steadied the ship for her side, allowing just one hit across her first three innings.
Garcia Shuts the Door
Baylee Klingler tried to spark Team Ricketts in the sixth with a leadoff single, but Garcia answered with back to back strikeouts of Bubba Nickles-Camarena and Caroline Jacobsen to bring her total to six on the day. She did put Aliyah Binford aboard with a hit by pitch, giving Ricketts two on with two outs and Sharlize Palacios at the plate. Palacios lifted a fly ball to end the inning, and Team Coffey carried its 4-2 lead into the final frame.
Ricketts and her defense shut down the top of the seventh, with Sierra Sacco making a highlight diving catch in center to keep Team Coffey off the bases. Ricketts had done everything she could, tossing four scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and a hit by pitch. The trust in her defense was evident, as was the trust in her own stuff. She did not record a strikeout, but she did not need to.
Now it was down to the last chance for Team Ricketts to steal a win from Team Coffey and Rachel Garcia, who had pitched a fantastic game. Sierra Sacco reached with a one out single through the 5-6 hole to bring the tying run to the plate in Hannah Flippen.
Flippen followed with a single to right just beyond the glove of Aliyah Andrews, who dove for a ball that was caught in the wind swirl of outfield, and suddenly Team Ricketts had two on with one out and momentum building. However, Rachel Garcia held firm, retiring Sydney Romero and Baylee Klingler on back to back outs to close the door.
Team Coffey secured the win to open Series 3, with Garcia delivering another complete game performance. She finished the day allowing two runs, only one earned, on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Mulipola’s second inning homer stood as the key swing that set the tone.
