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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12175983" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cat-osterman" source="Orion">Cat Osterman</keyword> is one of the greatest players in the history of American <keyword id="11948202" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="softball" source="Orion">softball</keyword>.</li><li>The 3-time Olympic medalist is playing a final season of <keyword id="12175986" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="athletes-unlimited" source="Orion">Athletes Unlimited</keyword> before retiring for good.</li><li>She spoke to Insider about her softball legacy and passing the torch to young stars like <a href="https://www.insider.com/wcws-odicci-alexander-pitches-after-losing-toenails-standing-ovation-2021-6">Odicci Alexander</a>.</li></ul><p>For nearly two decades, Cat Osterman has been one of the best softball players on the planet.</p><p>The left-handed ace dominated from her first season of college with the Texas Longhorns. Multiple leagues, back-to-back pitching triple crowns, and three Olympic medals later, she's ready to walk off the mound for good.</p><p>She's still the best in the business - she didn't give up a single run in 14 innings pitched at the Tokyo games this summer - but according to Osterman herself, "my heart's just ready."</p><p>"Don't get me wrong - I still enjoy playing when I'm between the white lines," Osterman told Insider. "But I just don't wake up every day right now truly wanting to continue to do this."</p><div type="image" title="Cat Osterman." height="1405" width="1874" msid="86516177" hostid="261"></div><h2>Osterman's playing on borrowed time - sort of</h2><p>Osterman initially retired from <keyword id="12175982" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="usa-softball" source="Orion">USA Softball</keyword> in 2008 following the Beijing <keyword id="11896183" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="olympics" source="Orion">Olympics</keyword>. Five years later, she decided to walk away from National Pro Fastpitch - a now-defunct American professional softball league - after a slew of injuries took a toll on her body and mind.</p><p>Once she got healthy, though, the three-time college player of the year recanted. She <a href="https://www.espn.com/espnw/news-commentary/story/_/id/9598110/espnw-usssa-pride-wins-two-straight-chicago-bandits-win-npf-championship">"fell in love with [softball] again,"</a> she said at the time, then played two more seasons before retiring for what she "actually thought was for good."</p><p>But then the Olympics called.</p><p>In 2018, 10 years after softball was <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/08/05/olympic-softball-future-tokyo-paris/8027403002/">cut from the Olympic program</a>, <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> dropped that the sport would make a return in 2020. Osterman, then 35 years old, unretired for one last go on the world stage.</p><div type="image" title="Cat Osterman." height="1666" width="2222" msid="86516179" hostid="261"></div><p>The pandemic, of course, put those plans on hold.</p><h2>While waiting an extra year for her grand return was not ideal, the delay brought with it a "silver lining" - Athletes Unlimited</h2><p>"The only reason I played in Athletes Unlimited was because the Olympics got delayed," Osterman said. "I wasn't shy about admitting it last year... COVID just happened to make that journey possible."</p><p>"And, to be honest, I'm glad it did," she added.</p><p>The 2020 Athletes Unlimited season - held in a COVID-19 "bubble" in Chicago - allowed Osterman to keep her body and mind fresh during the year-long gap. Her stellar play was a bonus. Osterman thrived in the league's athlete-centered model, in which players earn points based on team wins and individual performance. With the most points of all <a href="https://auprosports.com/leaderboard/?season=4">57 players on the leaderboard</a> at the season's end, Osterman won Athletes Unlimited's inaugural championship despite not even intending to participate in the league.</p><div type="image" title="Cat Osterman wins the inaugural Athletes Unlimited championship." height="2464" width="3285" msid="86516183" hostid="261"></div><p>Beyond giving her a place to play in a time of profound uncertainty, Athletes Unlimited also offered Osterman a unique opportunity to impart wisdom and "pass the torch" to a talented group of young stars who may not "have gotten to cross paths with me" otherwise.</p><p>It's part of the reason "season one was just so impactful" for Osterman, who felt such a strong connection to the league after just a few weeks of play that she signed on for another season in 2021.</p><p>"I think that's the biggest thing - Athletes Unlimited gives that opportunity to pass this torch," Osterman said. "It is really cool to be able to talk with some of these rookie pitchers."</p><h2>Osterman says she's 'an open book' for rookies. <keyword id="12175984" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="odicci-alexander" source="Orion">Odicci Alexander</keyword>, the breakout star of the 2021 WCWS, is taking full advantage.</h2><p>Alexander, the James Madison University product who captured the entire nation with her <a href="https://www.insider.com/wcws-odicci-alexander-pitches-after-losing-toenails-standing-ovation-2021-6">sensational pitching</a> at the Women's College World Series earlier this year, told Insider she's been capitalizing on the opportunity to learn from "someone I've idolized for so long."</p><p>"I'm pretty sure was on everyone's radar," Alexander said of Osterman. "It's an honor being on the field with her because of what she's done with the softball world and how much she's led the sport and made it grow."</p><div type="image" title="odicci alexander" height="1406" width="1875" msid="86516184" hostid="261"></div><p>Osterman - one of the four Week 1 captains for the 2021 season - made sure to draft the right hander from the beginning.</p><p>"She has that it factor," Osterman said. "Everyone saw that at the World Series and everyone fell in love with that at the World Series. And sometimes, when you have that internal it factor, it can trump a lot of other things."</p><p>Osterman said Alexander was "super receptive" to feedback and asks questions because "she wants to get better [and] wants to be able to sustain herself in this league." For the rookie, it's obvious that Osterman is "someone younger players want to learn from."</p><p>"I mean, who else would I ask?" Alexander quipped. "She knows it all."</p><h2>With a new generation of softball stars prepared to assume the mantle, Osterman is 'truly ready to be done'</h2><p>Osterman secured her softball legacy long ago, so she had little at stake personally when she embarked upon her spontaneous Athletes Unlimited journey. But what was once a bid to stay in shape for the Olympics became something much bigger: a chance to assure she's leaving her sport better than she found it.</p><p>Now, after two seasons of helping grow the league and working with rookies to hone their craft, Osterman is really, actually, truly retiring. She means it. And with Alexander and various other newcomers taking Athletes Unlimited by storm this season, the pitching legend can rest assured that the league - and, further, her sport - are in safe hands.</p><div type="image" title="Cat Osterman." height="1666" width="2222" msid="86516187" hostid="261"></div><p>"Everyone that's played in the past is proud to see how much the sport has grown," Osterman said. "Athletes Unlimited has done a great job of making sure our fans know what's going on, and the more we do that, the more the sport can grow. The future is bright."</p><p>"I look back and, to be honest, there's nothing that I feel like is left unturned," she added. "I feel like I've turned over every stone."</p><p>"I'm truly ready to be done."</p>

An unexpected move enabled one of softball's greats to 'pass the torch' before hanging up her cleats for good

<ul class="summary-list"><li>JMU Dukes star <keyword id="11406978" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="odicci-alexander">Odicci Alexander</keyword> was hit by a pitch during a <keyword id="11400649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wcws">WCWS</keyword> game against Oklahoma Sunday.</li><li>The resulting foot <keyword id="27288" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="injury">injury</keyword> caused the Dukes pitcher's toenails to fall off.</li><li>Alexander pitched a day later and earned a standing ovation from the WCWS crowd for her heroics.</li></ul><p>Odicci Alexander is toughness personified.</p><p>The James Madison University redshirt senior pitched her team straight into the history books, helping the underdog Dukes become the first unranked squad in <keyword id="11406979" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="womens-college-world-series">Women's College World Series</keyword> history to reach the semifinals through 1,057 pitches and an abundance of grit.</p><div type="image" title="odicci alexander" height="1406" width="1875" msid="83347163" hostid="261"></div><p>Alexander became the tournament's unofficial breakout star during JMU's electrifying Cinderella run, but it was her dogged performance in the final game of her career that cemented her legacy in <keyword id="227510" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="softball">softball</keyword> lore and elicited a standing ovation from the fans at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.</p><p>During the Dukes' game against the Oklahoma Sooners on Sunday, Alexander took a wayward pitch to the foot and limped to first base as JMU's potential go-ahead run.</p><p>Though the star's foot injury may have appeared benign on first glance, she later revealed that the knock caused some of the toenails on her left foot to fall off.</p><p>Despite her obvious discomfort, Alexander gritted through the pain and finished out a respectable performance in the circle. But the Sooners won 6-3, forcing a decisive third game against the Dukes scheduled for the following day.</p><p>Alexander then had a decision to make: play on an injured foot once more or watch her team fight for a spot in the championships from the dugout. She chose the former.</p><p>"Blood, sweat, and tears," Alexander said, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-06-07/softball-pitchers-workload-womens-college-world-series">per the Los Angeles Times</a>. "I was going to keep pitching for my teammates."</p><div type="image" title="odicci alexander" height="1667" width="2500" msid="83347164" hostid="261"></div><p>Alexander started at pitcher for JMU in its win-or-go-home finale against top-ranked Oklahoma Monday afternoon, dragging her injured foot through the dirt with every pitch she threw.</p><p>And when, in fifth inning, Dukes head coach Lauren LaPorte pulled her star from the circle one final time, the overwhelmingly pro-Sooners crowd on hand at the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, stadium rose to their feet in recognition of Alexander's incredible WCWS campaign.</p><p>Even Alexander's opponents applauded the pitcher's brilliance throughout the tournament.</p><p>Sadly for Alexander and her teammates, JMU was beaten 7-1 by Oklahoma Monday afternoon.</p><p>The Sooners now advance to the best-of-three national championship series against the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles. Game one begins Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, and fans can watch live on ESPN.</p>

The breakout star of the Women's College World Series pitched hours after a gruesome injury caused her toenails to fall off

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An unexpected move enabled one of softball's greats to 'pass the torch' before hanging up her cleats for good

Meredith Cash

The breakout star of the Women's College World Series pitched hours after a gruesome injury caused her toenails to fall off

Meredith Cash

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