Team LGBTQ continues to win. Out pitching star Aleshia Ocasio took home first place honors this week in the second annual Athletes Unlimited Softball Championship, topping the leaderboard with 2,096 points.
During the five-week season, 60 of the best softball players in the world compete against each other. Though they play on separate teams, point totals are calculated individually.
Ocasio lead the league with a 6-5 record, 66 innings pitched and 55 strikeouts.
“While this is a solo accolade, I wouldn’t be here without my teammates – a wonderful group of women who are the top talent in our sport,” she said, via Athletes Unlimited Pro Sports. “It’s an honor to play alongside them and they’ve made this journey unforgettable.”
Your Athletes Unlimited Softball 2021 Champion 👑@ALESHIAOCASIO pic.twitter.com/AHzUTLeNNf
— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) September 28, 2021
Ocasio wasn’t the only out softball star on the leaderboard. Infielder Amanda Chidester, who played an integral role in Team USA’s silver finish at the Olympics, finished second.
Last year, Ocasio finished 11th in the tournament, despite missing three of the 15 games. But much like her wife, WNBA star Natasha Cloud, Ocasio is most focused on using her platform to make a difference.
The former All-American from Florida has never been shy about her dual identities as a Black and LGBTQ softball player.
“I’m able to pave the way for younger athletes who might not have had somebody to look up to who look like them, who experienced the same culture,” Ocasio told the Chicago Tribune last year.
Ocasio’s on-field triumph comes roughly nine months after she tied the knot with Cloud. What a year indeed.