Former Arizona pitcher Danielle O’Toole wins inaugural AUX softball championship

Athletes Unlimited held its first AUX softball championship to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. It was also a celebration of Arizona softball greats, ending with the crowning of former Wildcat pitcher Danielle O’Toole as the inaugural champion on Saturday.

AUX consisted of three series played over two weeks at San Diego State University. O’Toole scored a total of 1,436 points to take the title.

O’Toole wasn’t the only former Wildcat competing. After the first series, former catcher Dejah Mulipola was leading the competition with 650 points. Two of her former pitchers were also doing well with O’Toole amassing 340 points and Alyssa Denham earning 338.

O’Toole came on strong in the second series, putting up a big number with 638 points. That made her a captain in the final series when she had 458 points to seal the deal.

Mulipola finished with 1,368 points, placing third behind O’Toole and former UCLA pitcher Rachel Garcia. Denham was 39th with 638 points over five starts in 12 games.

Athletes Unlimited uses unique scoring systems in all of its sports. The system allows individual players to earn points that rank them against all other competitors in the league. In addition to softball, the organization offers volleyball, women’s basketball, and women’s lacrosse leagues.

In softball, pitchers earn points through strikeouts and lose points for earned runs. On offense, players earn different point totals for hits depending on how many bases they earn (i.e. single, double, triple, or home run). Stolen bases, being hit by pitches, and sacrifices also earn points while being caught stealing loses points.

As suggested by the name, the AUX season was an auxiliary softball season for the Athletes Unlimted softball league. It allowed players to earn more money and fans in a different part of the country to attend. The previous regular seasons of AU softball have been held at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill. The AUX season was held on the West Coast for the first time.

The games are carried across ESPN networks.