Athletes Unlimited Softball Week One Recap

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.

After an exciting first weekend of softball, Athletes Unlimited held the draft for Week Two of play. First week leader Cat Osterman had the first pick for Team Gold, followed by Samantha Show (Orange), Victoria Hayward (Blue) and Aleshia Ocasio (Purple).

Not shockingly, ace pitcher Osterman selected catcher Gwen Sveklis. Since Osterman already has a dominating pitcher (herself) on her staff, there wasn't an urgent need for pitching on Team Gold. Show (Orange) selected pitcher Haylie Wagner, Hayward (Blue) took pitcher Danielle O'Toole and Ocasio picked catcher/infielder Jessica Warren.

There really wasn't a major surprise in the first several draft picks. A pitcher herself, Show's first pick of Wagner was probably the most interesting. Wagner is certainly worthy of a first pick selection and with three of the four captains being pitchers, it wasn't a shock. It also shows the importance of pitching, which is not lost in the new scoring system.

Svekis was joined by Amanda Chidester, Sashel Palacios and Erika Piancastelli as catchers picked in the first three rounds. Once you have a stud pitcher, you need to complement her with a great catcher.

With the draft done, the players have two days of practice, workouts and rest, before resuming play on Friday. The weekend broadcast schedule is as follows, but be sure to check AUProSports.com for any broadcast changes as a few Week One games were moved to ESPN U.

Saturday
1:00 PM ET ESPN3 & 3:30 PM ET ESPN3
Sunday
1:00 PM ET ESPN3 & 3:30 PM ET ESPN3
Monday
4:00 PM ET ESPN3 & 8:00 PM ET CBS Sports Network