Photo by: Jade Hewitt/Athletes Unlimited
Sanders Begins Second Athletes Unlimited Season
August 27, 2021 | Softball
CHICAGO – Mississippi State's volunteer assistant coach DJ Sanders begins her second season in Athletes Unlimited softball on Saturday afternoon. The league is scheduled for a five-week season from Aug. 28-Sept. 27 with games being played on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
Athletes Unlimited is a professional softball league, but the organization does not feature traditional teams. Instead, 60 athletes – including 23 Olympians from this summer's Tokyo Games – remain in Chicago for the duration of the season and are drafted to one of four new teams each week. Following the final game of each week, the top four athletes will be named captains for the next week's draft.
All 30 Athletes Unlimited softball games will broadcast or stream in both English and Spanish around the world as part of an unprecedented distribution package that includes CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, Facebook and YouTube.
Captains are selected by virtue of a unique individual scoring system that mimics most fantasy league scoring systems. Players earn or lose points as individuals based on their statistics along with an additional 10 points for every inning their team wins and 50 points for every game their team wins. Additionally, 60 points are available to the athlete who finishes first in MVP voting by the players following each game. The second and third place vote getters receive 40 and 20 points, respectively.
Points also translate to dollars at the end of the season, and each athlete has chosen a charity to receive a donation equal to 50 percent of their season bonus through the Athletes Causes program powered by Give Lively. Sanders, a Columbus, Mississippi, product, will play for the Boys and Girls Club in her hometown.
Sanders finished 14th in the league last summer with 1,520 points. She posted 14 hits in 15 games for a .333 batting average. The corner infielder picked up five doubles, which ranked second in the league, along with a triple and three home runs while collecting 14 RBIs. She also did not make an error all summer.
In Week 1, Sanders will be a member of Team Hayward. She plays in the season-opening game on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. CT against Team Warren. That game will be broadcast on YouTube. On Sunday, she meets reigning champion Cat Osterman's team at 2:30 p.m. on FS1, and Monday night will see her group take on Team Piancastelli at 6 p.m. on FS1.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Athletes Unlimited is a professional softball league, but the organization does not feature traditional teams. Instead, 60 athletes – including 23 Olympians from this summer's Tokyo Games – remain in Chicago for the duration of the season and are drafted to one of four new teams each week. Following the final game of each week, the top four athletes will be named captains for the next week's draft.
All 30 Athletes Unlimited softball games will broadcast or stream in both English and Spanish around the world as part of an unprecedented distribution package that includes CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, Facebook and YouTube.
Captains are selected by virtue of a unique individual scoring system that mimics most fantasy league scoring systems. Players earn or lose points as individuals based on their statistics along with an additional 10 points for every inning their team wins and 50 points for every game their team wins. Additionally, 60 points are available to the athlete who finishes first in MVP voting by the players following each game. The second and third place vote getters receive 40 and 20 points, respectively.
Points also translate to dollars at the end of the season, and each athlete has chosen a charity to receive a donation equal to 50 percent of their season bonus through the Athletes Causes program powered by Give Lively. Sanders, a Columbus, Mississippi, product, will play for the Boys and Girls Club in her hometown.
Sanders finished 14th in the league last summer with 1,520 points. She posted 14 hits in 15 games for a .333 batting average. The corner infielder picked up five doubles, which ranked second in the league, along with a triple and three home runs while collecting 14 RBIs. She also did not make an error all summer.
In Week 1, Sanders will be a member of Team Hayward. She plays in the season-opening game on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. CT against Team Warren. That game will be broadcast on YouTube. On Sunday, she meets reigning champion Cat Osterman's team at 2:30 p.m. on FS1, and Monday night will see her group take on Team Piancastelli at 6 p.m. on FS1.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
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