Athletes Unlimited’s professional softball league kicked off its Summer AUX season this past week, showing off many former college softball stars – as well as a lot of rookies fresh off of their NCAA careers – on the diamond in Wichita, Kansas. One of those rookies included Clemson Softball’s own McKenzie Clark, who made her presence known early and often in her first appearances for her team.
In Athletes Unlimited‘s AUX season, the league is split into three teams who play round-robin series against each other in different locations. New series start after six games, which also means new captains and new teams. The “AUX” division has an individual points system, based on the plays, hits, and pitching of any individual player. Every play has a different point value, with the more dynamic earning more points. The top players are chosen as captains after each series, who then get the choice of other players in a player’s draft. Clark was drafted onto team Leach for the first series – and she made her mark.
In game one, Clark went 1 for 3 at the plate, including a walk – but that wouldn’t help her stand out just yet. It was her diving catch in center field that had the world talking. And to top it off, Clark would hop up from the turf to throw a perfect ball to first base, doubling up the base runner and registering the amazing double play.
McKenzie wasn’t done after game one. In Clark’s second game, she’d go 1 for 2 – but the one hit resulted in a triple, something Clemson Softball fans have seen all too often during her college playing days. In the last game of the series, Clark may have left the best for last. Going 1 for 2 at the plate again, she made her one count: With the bases loaded, Clark would hit a ball deep over the left center field wall, scoring a grand slam and solidifying herself as a force to be reckoned with in Athletes Unlimited.
After series one, Clark is getting MVP votes, rising as high as number two in the individual points leaderboard (trailing only NCAA home run record-holder Jocelyn Alo). Be sure to tune in this weekend: Clark has also been selected as one of the three captains for the next series of the year.
