AUSL Pitcher Played Entire Season While Hiding a Life-Changing Secret

Credit: AUSL

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON www.si.com/onsi/softball

Next to ace Lexi Kilfoyl, Odicci Alexander led the Bandits to history, becoming one of two teams to make it to the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) postseason. 

Over 31 innings pitched, she collected 20 strikeouts and tied for the lowest amount of earned runs on the Bandits pitching staff at 16. Her 3.54 ERA was second behind Kilfoyl, putting the Bandits in second place with a 15-9 record.

But what Alexander was going through as she contributed to the season makes her performance and stats even more incredible. 

The righty took to TikTok Thursday night to announce that she is pregnant and showed off the bump in a prerecorded locker room video while in a Bandits uniform. 

“Baby Bennet is baking and I can’t wait to meet you,” Alexander wrote in the caption.

Though it's unknown how far along she is and if she played the entire two-month season while pregnant, she certainly rocked the postseason with some extra help. 

The Talons went on to sweep the Bandits in two games, but Alexander was right there in relief when the bats got hold of Kilfoyl. 

Alexander isn’t done playing yet this summer either. She’s set to play in the AUSL All-Star Cup from August 2 to 31, and will fight to grab a championship win. She’ll start on Team Ocasio and pitch her way up the leaderboard. 

According to the Athletes Unlimited Pregnancy and Parenting Policies, AUSL offers a comprehensive and progressive maternity leave policy to support its players with no impact on a player’s contract or eligibility. Players on parental leave will receive 100% of their Base Pay, plus any bonus they have earned. 

Plenty of moms highlight the AUSL, like Kelaini Ricketts, Kelsey Stewart-Hunter, and Danielle Gibson Whorton.

If Alexander playing through pregnancy doesn’t prove that women and mothers are warriors, I don’t know what will.