The inaugural opening day of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is quickly approaching. That’s not the only big news coming out of the league, though.
Arizona alumna Miranda Stoddard signed with the Volts, joining teammate Devyn Netz as first-year professionals in the organization. The signing was announced on Thursday.
Stoddard signed as a free agent after an extremely impressive final year. The graduate student joined Netz as a very effective two-way player. The pair were Arizona’s top two pitchers and shared duties at first base. They were also two of the best Wildcat hitters.
Stoddard went 15-0 in the circle, finishing second on the team in pitching wins. She led the team with 23 starts and was the only Wildcat pitcher to finish with a perfect record while figuring in more than one decision.
Stoddard made enormous strides in her final year. She was first on the team in ERA (1.73), dropping it from the previous low of 3.17 she had as a sophomore at Kentucky. She ended her career with a 3.19 ERA over her three years at UK and two years at Arizona.
In the batter’s box, Stoddard was second on the team with a 1.276 OPS and an .800 slugging percentage. She was third with 15 home runs and tied for third with two triples. She was fourth on the team in walks (27) and RBI (46).
Stoddard will join a bullpen that will likely be dominated by UCLA’s Rachel Garcia, another former two-way star in the collegiate game. The staff also includes former Oregon State pitcher Mariah Mazon and former Bowling Green/Tennessee pitcher Payton Gottshall.
The league’s collegiate draft was held on May 3. It included 12 players who were given “golden tickets,” ensuring that they would land on a team in the initial draft. Netz was one of that group of 12. She was drafted 10th by the Bandits, who are based in the suburbs of Chicago.
Investment from MLB
The big news for Stoddard came on the same day as big news for the AUSL. The league joined Major League Baseball in announcing a “strategic investment” from the men’s professional baseball league.
MLB’s press release noted that it was a “first-of-its-kind, comprehensive partnership with a women’s professional sports league to help establish and grow the AUSL as a sustainable organization.”
The nuts and bolts of the agreement is a financial investment in the league to help with operational costs and growth initiatives. MLB will also air some AUSL games on MLB Network and MLB.com.
Former MLB executive Kim Ng is the commissioner of AUSL.
The four-team league will start its season right after the conclusion of the Women’s College World Series. The Volts will play at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 7 in Wichita, Kan. The game will air on MLB Network.
Another League, Another Wildcat
While AUSL is the league that MLB is putting its money behind, it’s not the only professional softball league in the country. Women’s Professional Fastpitch (WPF) is another four-team league that will play this summer. It will feature a Wildcat alumna for the second straight year.
Allie Skaggs will play for the Orlando Monarchs. Like most WPF teams, the Monarchs were located in Texas last year, but they moved to the campus of UCF this year.
Former Arizona third baseman Blaise Biringer played for the WPF’s Hub City Adelitas last summer.