AUX Softball Series 2 is done and dusted, with two new captains emerging while another surged to the top of the leaderboard. 

Results:

Saturday, June 18

• Team Fischer 8, Team Mulipola 4
• Team Fischer 3, Team Gibson 2

Sunday, June 19

• Team Mulipola 8, Team Gibson 7
• Team Fischer 7, Team Mulipola 3

Monday, June 20

• Team Fischer 3, Team Gibson 0
• Team Mulipola 5, Team Gibson 0

Recap:

Very few from the first week remain amongst the top 10 in the league’s leaderboard. Sam Fischer is one of them, with the week two captain climbing from third to first in the standings with 988 points. Fischer earned 522 points on the week, propelled by the fact that her team was the only team to go undefeated on the weekend.

On top of drafting well, Fischer had a particularly good game against Team Mulipola on Sunday, notching three hits during five at-bats and securing one run in the team’s 12-5 victory.

Morgan Zerkle was another big piece of Team Fischer over the weekend, resulting in her climbing the leaderboard to third. She had four total hits across two games on Friday, resulting in two runs and three RBIs — her first of the series. But her softball savvy will be tested this week as she’ll draft a team for the first time after climbing to third with 950 points. A two-season Athletes Unlimited veteran who has twice finished amongst the top 10 in the league, she’s got the format down and could be one to watch as AUX heads into its final week.

Danielle O’Toole emerged as the weekend’s best pitcher, with her ERA now at 1.62 through 17 innings pitched. She now sits second on the leaderboard, just 10 points behind Fischer in first, with 978 points. Fellow pitcher Georgina Corrick sits right behind her as the league’s second-best pitcher through two series of play with a 1.68 ERA through 16 innings pitched. Also making a stamp was Mariah Mazon, who pitched her first professional start on Monday and earned MVP 1 honors for her performance.

Fischer, O’Toole and Zerkle will all draft this week as just Fischer is the lone carryover in the captaincy from Week 2. But as AUX heads into its final week, the leaderboard is once again tight. Just 38 points separates the top three, while 156 points separates the top 10.

Defensive Play of the Week:

One of Sis Bates’ many good plays of the week. Don’t ever let it be said that Bates doesn’t know how to hustle.

This is your daily reminder that @SisBates22 is REALLY good 🤯#SCTop10 | 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/8NzqJ9ZRGy

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) June 21, 2022

Offensive Play of the Week:

Sashel Palacios went yard on Sunday to hit the first grand slam in AUX Softball history.

The FIRST in AUX Softball history...

Another look at @seashel_13 's GRAND SLAM from the first game of the day 😱#BeUnlimited | #AUX pic.twitter.com/WpphlplcGP

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) June 20, 2022

Series 3 Schedule:

Thursday, June 23

• Team Zerkle vs. Team O’Toole @ 7 p.m. on ESPNU
• Team Fischer vs. Team O’Toole @ 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU

Friday, June 24

• Team Fischer vs. Team Zerkle @ 7 p.m. on ESPNU
• Team O’Toole vs. Team Zerkle @ 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU

Saturday, June 25

• Team O’Toole vs. Team Fischer @ 7 p.m. on ESPNU
• Team Zerkle vs. Team Fischer @ 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU

*All times are ET

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins gives a postmortem on this era of the Las Vegas Aces, before claiming the Liberty as WNBA championship frontrunners and prepping for Tuesday's Game 5 semifinal between the Lynx and the Sun.

Then, she chats about Orlando’s incredible run to the 2024 NWSL Shield, the individual NWSL records primed to fall, and aimlessness further down the league table.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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After splitting their first four games, tonight's Game 5 semifinal will determine who will go on to face New York in the 2024 WNBA Finals: the Minnesota Lynx or the Connecticut Sun.

The two teams' best-of-five series has been the tightest of the 2024 postseason thus far. Both claimed one road win and one at home, and even the series score sheet is wildly close, with the Lynx putting up 321 points across the four games and the Sun posting 315.

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New WNBA season, same elimination game matchup

Tonight's tilt marks the pair's second-straight season competing in a winner-takes-all playoff showdown after the Sun beat the Lynx 90-75 in Game 3 of 2023's first round.

"At this point, you know each other inside and out," said Sun coach Stephanie White after Sunday's win. "It's about players making plays. It’s about the extra efforts. The hustle plays. It's about not being denied and finding something deep inside of you that allows you to come out on top."

Unlike the Lynx, the Sun have the added motivation of hunting a franchise-first WNBA championship. Minnesota, on the other hand, boasts four titles already, most recently in 2017.

It's something top-of-mind for veteran Sun forward DeWanna Bonner, who called the atmosphere in Minneapolis for Game 1 and 2 "absolutely insane."

"I can only imagine what it will be like in a Game 5. We know that," Bonner continued. "I wouldn’t tell the team anything other than focus in on each other. They have great fans, championship fans. They’ve won multiple championships. They’re hungry for another one."

Stats pave a complicated road to the Finals

To overcome Minnesota's hunger, Connecticut will likely defer to Sunday's winning formula. The return of guard Ty Harris from injury had an immediate impact, as did the Sun's performance behind the arc — Connecticut sank 53% of their three-pointers while the Lynx failed to crack 40%.

For their part, Minnesota will be aiming to stifle Connecticut's offense, which saw five Sun players score double-digits on Sunday.

"We have to get back to what got us in this position in the first place, which is our defense," noted Lynx star Napheesa Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year.

How to watch Sun vs. Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA semifinals

The Sun and Lynx will tip off in Minneapolis at 8 PM ET tonight, with live broadcast and streaming coverage on ESPN2.

With three regular-season matches left, the still-undefeated Orlando Pride clinched the 2024 NWSL Shield with Sunday's rainy 2-0 win over the second-place Washington Spirit.

Marta converted the 57th-minute game-winning penalty kick, securing her team's first-ever piece of hardware with her eighth goal of the season.

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"I stayed here because I want to make history with this team," the Brazilian soccer icon, who's been with the Pride for eight years, said afterwards. "And then we did tonight, and then we go for more."

Though the Pride's dominance this season is unmatched, Washington was notably without several key players. Between injuries and yellow card suspensions, the Spirit faced Orlando without Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger, Hal Hershfelt, Leicy Santos, or Ouleye Sarr.

Chawinga ties Kerr's NWSL scoring record

It took less than two minutes for Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga to find the back of the net in Saturday's 2-0 win over Louisville, tying former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr's single-season NWSL scoring record with her 18th goal.

With three matchdays to go, the Malawian striker is all but guaranteed to upend Kerr's 2019 record.

"I think that Temwa's ability to get behind the line and then drive towards the goal, and being aggressive going towards the goal, is something that differentiates her," KC head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "Temwa's just a pure goalscorer. We're happy that she's done it for us this season and hopefully she continues to do it."

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Other noteworthy NWSL results

In other NWSL news, fifth-place North Carolina punched their postseason ticket with Saturday's 2-1 win over San Diego. The day before, last-place Houston become the first club eliminated from the 2024 playoff picture.

Gotham’s 5-1 Saturday blowout of Bay has the defending NWSL champs achingly close to leaping second-place Washington on the table. The two clubs are tied for points, with the Spirit's shrinking goal differential giving them the tenuous edge.

On the other hand, Saturday's 2-1 loss to 12th-place Utah extended Portland's NWSL winless streak to seven matches. The Thorns are remarkably still in seventh-place, but sit tied for points with eighth-place Bay FC. With lower-table teams hungry to rise above the postseason cutoff line, every match left could see Portland fall from contention.

Sunday's WNBA semifinals action saw top-seeded New York end back-to-back defending champion Las Vegas's season while the Connecticut Sun staved off elimination to force a deciding Game 5 against the Minnesota Lynx.

New York ends Aces' WNBA three-peat campaign

The Liberty claimed a second-straight trip to the WNBA Finals with Sunday's 76-62 victory​ over the Aces, ending to the defending champs' three-peat dream in four semifinal matchups.

After being held to just four points in Game 3, Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 22 points. Teammate Breanna Stewart was just behind with a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double.

Though New York led nearly wire-to-wire, Las Vegas kept Game 4 within reach, thanks in large part to three-time MVP A'ja Wilson's 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks. The Aces trailed by just two points after three quarters, but a 16-2 fourth-quarter Liberty run ultimately earned them the win.

"They've been the best team all year — let's be real," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said about New York after the game. "Their group earned it. They earned it all year."

Having walked away disappointed last season, New York — the only original franchise still playing without a title — knows that nothing is guaranteed in their upcoming sixth Finals appearance.

"We haven't done anything yet," a fired up Ionescu said after Sunday's win. "We're three wins away, and that’s really important to understand. We got to come out and we got to punch because nothing has been given to us yet."

How to watch the Liberty in the 2024 WNBA Finals

Game 1 of the best-of-five Finals tips off in Brooklyn at 8 PM ET on Thursday. Live coverage will air on ESPN.

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Connecticut forces winner-take-all Game 5 against Minnesota

After Friday's home-court loss to Minnesota, the Sun tied up their semifinal series with a come-from-behind 92-82 win on Sunday, forcing a winner-take-all Game 5.

Trailing by seven points at the break, Connecticut staged a second-half comeback. The Sun outscored the Lynx 49-32 to keep their first-ever WNBA title dream alive.

Ty Harris led Connecticut with a career-high 20 points in her post-injury return to the starting lineup. Four of her teammates also put up double-digits: Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner each had 18 points and eight rebounds, while DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey added 15 and 10 points, respectively.

2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, who led the Lynx with a 29-point, 13-rebound double-double, said her team needs to step it up when the series moves back to Minnesota on Tuesday.

"We have to go home and defend our home court. We're both playing for our lives, so we have to play with that level of intensity," Collier said after the loss.

How to watch Sun vs. Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA semifinals

The Sun and Lynx will tip off Game 5 in Minneapolis at 8 PM ET on Tuesday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.