45 Stars, One Leaderboard
The AUSL All-Star Cup opens in Rosemont, Ill.; North Carolina shuts out Kentucky for the Little League title; and the pros take over Greenville.
The championship confetti is swept up. Now the sport's best 45 are playing for themselves.
Lead Off
The AUSL All-Star Cup opened Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Stadium at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois: 45 players, 12 games, four series, and exactly one champion — an individual one. Team Garcia took the opener 3–1 behind Sami Williams' tie-breaking two-RBI double. A night later, Megan Grant's grand slam — the first of the Cup — carried Team Corrick past Team Ricketts 4–3. The rosters get torn up after every series: the top three on the individual points leaderboard become the next slate of captains and draft new teams. Through two games, Baylee Klingler leads at 260 points, eight clear of Kelly Brown, with Keilani Ricketts third at 242 and Grant fifth at 220. Series 1 closes Monday night.
Why it matters: Two weeks after the first pro softball game ever aired on network television, the league is refusing to go dark. Twelve games run through Aug. 30 across ESPN platforms, MLB Network and CBS Sports Network — a month of the sport's biggest names in one ballpark, in the stretch of the calendar where softball usually vanishes. Full Cup guide →
By the Numbers
41 — strikeouts by Johnston County right-hander Anna-Lynn Clark across the Little League Softball World Series, 15 more than any other pitcher in the field. She threw shutouts on back-to-back days to close it out. Source · MLB.com
Scoreboard
Last 7 days — championships and a fresh leaderboard
| Final | Note |
|---|---|
| Johnston County (N.C.) 2–0 Kentucky (LLSWS final) | Clark's second straight shutout; North Carolina's fourth title. |
| Team Corrick 4–3 Team Ricketts (All-Star Cup) | Megan Grant's grand slam, the first of the Cup. |
| Team Garcia 3–1 Team Corrick (All-Star Cup) | Sami Williams cleared the bases and took MVP 1. |
| Team Watley 6–2 Team Fernandez (AUSL Pro Game) | Six unanswered after Devyn Netz's two-run shot. |
| Grand Blanc, Mich. 6–4 Delaware D3 (Senior League WS) | Central repeats, and the host team's run ends in the final. |
This week — 5 to watch
| When | What | Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Mon Aug 10 | Series 1 finale: Team Ricketts vs. Team Garcia; top three then draft Series 2 | ESPNU |
| Wed Aug 12 | Utah Talons championship celebration | Salt Lake City |
| Sat Aug 15 | MLBx: Atlanta Home Run Derby — Grant, Ellis, Woolery, Romero | Truist Park |
| Mon Aug 17 | Deadline for 2028 HOT 100 player nominations | Line Drive Media |
| Sun Aug 30 | All-Star Cup finale; the individual champion is crowned | ESPN family |
Youth ball crowned two champions and the pros started keeping score again — all in the same weekend.
Hot Corner
1. North Carolina shuts out Kentucky for the Little League title
Johnston County Little League (Clayton, N.C.) beat Kentucky 2–0 on Sunday at Stallings Stadium in Greenville to win the Little League Softball World Series — North Carolina's fourth. Anna-Lynn Clark threw 93 pitches of three-hit, six-strikeout ball less than 24 hours after an 11-strikeout shutout, and right fielder Abbey Robinson ended two rallies with inning-ending catches. Belle Cox drove in the game's only RBI; both North Carolina runs were unearned. Source →
2. The pros take Greenville: Team Watley rallies in the first AUSL Pro Game
Twenty-four AUSL players staged an exhibition at the Little League Softball World Series on Aug. 5, and Team Watley erased Devyn Netz's two-run homer with six unanswered runs to win 6–2 on ESPN2. Kyleigh Sand went 2-for-4 with two RBI; Odicci Alexander-Bennett got the win. Beforehand the pros ran a T-Ball Experience for local Little Leaguers, and DICK'S Sporting Goods handed Twin River Little League a $25,000 grant. Source →
3. Grand Blanc goes back-to-back at the Senior League World Series
Michigan's Grand Blanc, representing the Central region, beat host Delaware District 3 6–4 on Sunday to repeat as Senior League Softball World Series champion. Both teams walked into the final unbeaten. The 13-to-16-year-old event marked 50 years of Senior League softball this summer, its 21st at the Lower Sussex complex in Roxana, Delaware. Source →
4. Four AUSL sluggers get a big-league stage in Atlanta
Megan Grant, Bri Ellis, Jordan Woolery and Sydney Romero will swing in the MLBx: Atlanta Home Run Derby at Truist Park on Aug. 15, each paired with a Braves alum and a Georgia or Georgia Tech player in a four-team format that starts at 5:30 p.m. ET. It's the second MLBx event to feature AUSL players this summer. Source →
5. The 2027 commit wave surges with Sept. 1 in sight
With PGF Nationals and Alliance Nationals in the rearview, another 100 Class of 2027 verbals landed this week — Boston College, Louisiana-Lafayette, Michigan State and Tennessee among the destinations, plus Iowa Premier outfielder AJ Lincoln to Georgia Tech. The clock now points at Sept. 1, when college coaches can finally contact the Class of 2028. Source →
From the Dugout
Podcast pick: Everything Fastpitch — The Podcast (Aug. 5) — Coaches Tory Acheson and Don McKinlay work through the International Cup, building a winning culture in rec ball, rule-bending scandals, NCAA eligibility churn, and the practice-versus-games balance. Takeaway: if your team only competes on game day, the practice plan — not the lineup card — is the thing to fix first. Listen →
Clip of the week: @defenselessons — Morgan Stuart's youth defense reps, built around footwork and glove position rather than highlight-reel dives. Fitting for a week decided by two inning-ending catches in Greenville.
Play of the Week
Grant clears the bases and the fence in one swing
Team Corrick trailed by one in the third on Sunday night when Grant — the rookie who rewrote the NCAA single-season home run record at UCLA before turning pro — drove one to left-center for a grand slam. It made it 4–2, held up as the 4–3 final, and earned her MVP 1 honors. She danced her way through the handshake line at the plate. Nobody has slowed her down yet.
Source: @theauslofficial · Watch the full clip →
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