DURHAM, N.C. – The Carolina Blaze hosted the Texas Volts in the first of a two-game set at Smith Family Stadium. The Blaze took Game 1 in a six-inning, run-rule win, 9-1. Karlyn Pickens picked up her second win in as many starts, improving to 2-0 on the season.
“I thought what our team did really well today was make adjustments throughout the game,” Blaze head coach Kara Dill said afterward. “Their pitcher held us really well in the first two innings, and I thought by the third inning, we started making some adjustments offensively. Jenna Laird squaring a ball up really was the start of that. We had a couple hard-hit balls in that third, and then the fourth is when we opened up the floodgates, which was great to see offensively.
“And then defensively, Karlyn was just tough on the mound. Gave up the solo home run, but I think after that, we played great defense behind her. She shut them down one, two, three right after that. And she’s just such a competitor on the mound. So I thought overall, just a really good day on both sides.”
Carolina hit three two-run home runs in the game. Alyssa Brito and Reese Atwood hit them in the fourth inning. Then Dakota Kennedy smashed one in the fifth inning. Atwood added a solo shot in the sixth to total two homers on the day.
Pickens recorded two strikeouts with a walk allowed in the opening frame of the game. Jaydyn Goodwin worked the walk and made it to third on a steal and throwing error from Atwood, but was left stranded.
Jessica Mullins started for Texas in the circle. Mullins last pitched against the Oklahoma City Spark on Tuesday, June 9, and gave up five runs on five hits in one inning of work. She began Sunday’s game by retiring the Blaze in order, including a strikeout of Ana Gold.
Aliyah Binford led off the second inning with a solo home run to center field, on a 1-1 pitch that caught too much of the plate, to put the Volts up 1-0.
”She did a great job,” Pickens said afterward. “She got a hold of that one. It was a changeup, so an off-speed for me. She just had a really good swing on it, honestly.”
Pickens struck back and retired the side, including two strikeouts of Jackie Lis and Michaela Edenfield. That took her total to four strikeouts in two innings pitched, with all of them looking.
Mullins was comfortable in the circle and racked up two more strikeouts in the bottom of the second to move her total to three. Her spin and placement were on the mark, as all three strikeouts to that point were looking.
Ahead in the bottom of the third, Aleshia Ocasio connected for the Blaze’s first hit of the game on a two-out single to third. Mullins got out of the inning clean. This game was a pitcher’s duel, and to that point, Binford’s swing made the difference.
After Tiare Jennings worked a one-out walk and stole second in the top of the fourth, Pickens and the Blaze got out clean. Lis worked a two-out walk, but Jennings attempted to steal third and was caught by Atwood with Gold applying the tag.
Gold started the bottom half with a walk and moved over on a Devyn Netz groundout. It gave the Blaze a shot at evening the game, and Kennedy did that with a one-out RBI single to bring Gold home. Then Brito followed with her huge two-run homer to left to give the Blaze the lead, 3-1.
That chased Mullins from the game for NiJaree Canady’s first action as a pro, and Kayla Kowalik greeted her with a double to right field. That set up Atwood for a two-run shot, and the Blaze increased to a 5-1 lead. That home run was Atwood’s first hit as a professional.
Pickens now had a nice lead to work with, and she pitched a clean fifth inning with a hit allowed to Edenfield. Her strikeout of Leighann Goode was also looking.
”I think what she does really well is she settles the defense, and she settles our offense,” Dill said. “You know every time that she’s on the mound, we have a chance to win.
Carolina added on in the fifth and seemed to see Canady well. After Netz reached on a fielder’s choice, Kennedy hit her first career home run to increase the Blaze’s lead to 7-1.
”I think it’s just being really adjustable and just learning from every at-bat that I have,” Kennedy said on her transition to the league. “My first at-bat didn’t go my way, but just not letting that dwell into my second at-bat, and then obviously just watching the hitters in front of me and seeing what they get as well.”
In that at-bat and the one prior, Kennedy was locked in on her pitches.
“ I felt like even from the first pitch I got in that third at-bat, like, I was like, “Oh, I’m on that,” Kennedy said. “Like, I saw that pitch really well. So I think just getting my swing off, and it went my way, was really nice. But yeah, we were all seeing the ball just really well.”
Both Kennedy and Atwood are fresh onto the pro scene, and coach Dill loves what she sees in their transitions from college.
“Reese’s first hit and a home run, that’s a pretty good way to get your first hit, Reese,” Dill said. “And Dakota’s just so tough. I think with her joining us here recently, what you notice about her is she’s super athletic, and she can swing and miss at a pitch, and then immediately make an adjustment. But she never gets too high or too low.
“In the three days that I’ve known her, she’s just such a competitor out there. So yeah, having these two in the lineup, you know that they’re very well prepared from college season, playing some tough competition, both making it to the World Series. That’s a big deal. They’ve been really prepped for this. So it’s cool to see them transition into the pro and just continue to do that.”
Pickens continued her strong outing and picked up another clean inning in the sixth. She settled the game throughout. It allowed the Blaze to go back to work, and Atwood added her second homer of the day to make it an 8-1 game.
“ I think our coaching staff this week did such a great job of setting up rise ball machines and really working on staying on top of balls,” Atwood said. “So that was my goal is just to be on top of a riseball.”
Canady loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Then Aubrey Leach singled, and Gold reached via a hit by pitch before Netz dropped an RBI single to center to score Laird and walk it off for the 9-1 run-rule win in six innings.
The Blaze improved to 3-1 on the season, with the Volts falling to 1-3. They will return Monday night for Game 2.
