Nickles, Vidales, Fouts shine on Day 2 of AUX

Team Warren and Team Leach both took down Team Wiggins on the second day of AUX in Wichita.

Team Warren vs. Team Wiggins

Tori Vidales will probably wish she got a home run when AUX comes to an end, but her ground-rule double was enough to propel Team Warren to a 6-5 extra-inning win over Team Wiggins.

Vidales lifted a ball to left field and over the make-shift net monster at Wilkins Stadium. It was originally ruled a ground-rule double and even after a long discussion among the umpires after another out was recorded, it stayed that way despite replay showing it should’ve been a three-run home run. In the end, the winning result wasn’t affected but Vidales individual points will be.

closed the door 🚪

Team Warren secures the 6-5 win in extra innings thanks to @vidalestori with the game winning double! #AUProSB | 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/3aCAleIQuL

— AU Pro Softball (@auprosoftball) June 12, 2024

Team Warren only scored in the first and eighth innings. Kalei Harding became the next rookie to hit her first home run. She launched a three-run bomb to close out the five-run first inning for Team Warren. Jessi Warren hit a two-run two-RBI double before Harding’s blast.

Then the offense went quiet and that allowed Team Wiggins to rally.

Bubba Nickles and Taylor Edwards picked up where they left off on Monday. Edwards hit her second home run in as many days in the first inning. Nickles hit a leadoff home run and then hit her third of the AUX season in the fifth inning to spark the comeback.

Nickles was also a thorn in the side of Haylie McCleney. She robbed McCleney of a hit with a diving catch in center and caught another ball at the wall.

WHAT. A. CATCH. 🤯@madilyn_nickles tracks this one down and makes a spectacular diving catch to close out the inning! #AUProSB | 📷 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/8TEd6jkFB2

— AU Pro Softball (@auprosoftball) June 12, 2024

Jadelyn Allchin nearly hit a three-run homer in the sixth. The ball she hit was just foul. She came back on the next pitch against Maddie Penta and dropped it into right field for an RBI-single. A wild pitch tied the game in the next at-bat.

Team Wiggins couldn’t respond in extra innings as Team Warren earned the victory points. Nickles earned 40 MVP points and 170 total points, the most of any player. Vidales earned 140 points and Harding came away 130 points in the win.

Team Leach vs. Team Wiggins 

Payton Gotshall and Montana Fouts were excellent again as they continued their first professional season. The rookie pitching duo led Team Leach to a 3-1 win over Team Wiggins.

Gotshall started in the circle and went two innings without a hit. While her day ended in the second inning, it wasn’t because she was being tagged. Jadelyn Allchin and Kayla Kowalik laid down two perfect bunts to put runners on the corner. Team Leach turned to Fouts.

While Team Wiggins scored on a double steal, Fouts was lights out the rest of the way. The Alabama alum picked up six strikeouts in the win after 4.2 innings of work including getting Kowalik looking to end the game.

She was stellar using her full array of pitches from her drop to her riseball. Fouts also spotted her pitches very well on both sides of the plate. She retired nine of the last 10 batters she faced.

The only time she ran into trouble was the fifth. Sydney McKinney led off the frame with a single and moved over to third with one out. Nickles stepped up to the plate, needing a productive out to tie the game. Fouts got her to pop up in foul territory and held her hitless before closing out the inning with a groundout by Megan Wiggins.

Jocelyn Alo hit one of her two rockets in the first inning to drive in the first run over the leaping Aubrey Leach. McKenzie Clark drove in the second run on a sacrifice fly. Clark helped produce an insurance run in the seventh after hitting a triple and coming in to score on a sac-fly herself.

Fouts (226 total points), Alo (190) and Clark (170) all earned MVP honors.

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