DURHAM, N.C. – The Utah Talons followed Thursday night’s eight-inning 3-2 win over the Carolina Blaze with a chance to take the series. They did so with a 3-0 win, with Montana Fouts taking the complete-game win.
Emma Lemley started in the circle for the Blaze and ran into immediate trouble as Aliyah Andrews and Jadelyn Allchin reached to open things. Lemley’s command wasn’t as tight early, and a wild pitch allowed both to move up.
Then with one out, Kailey Wyckoff flew out to left for a sacrifice fly to score Andrews. Allchin also scored on a throwing error to give the Talons an early 2-0 lead. The first-inning success for Utah was heavily aided by lack of execution from the Blaze.
Fouts took the circle and quickly retired the side in order. She recorded her first strikeout of the game by fanning Dakota Kennedy for the third out. Lemley’s second inning also went in order, with a strikeout of Caroline Jacobsen to retire the side.
With Fouts in the circle, a 2-0 deficit seemed like a lot. Carolina struggled to find any grass for a hit. Lemley held her own, and through three innings she had given up just two hits. Those two runs were more about execution in the field than anything.
In that third inning, Jadelyn Allchin extended her hit streak to seven games with a two-out double. She credited her teammates for the steady approach that has carried the streak.
“I’m just trying to keep it as simple as I can, knowing that we’ve been prepping for it, and we just take the reps as we go throughout the day,” Allchin said. “But just having the confidence, for me, it comes from my teammates and knowing that they’re gonna have my back regardless before my at-bat, during my at-bat, after my at-bat.”
Alyssa Brito broke through for the Blaze’s first hit of the game to lead off the bottom of the third inning. However, she was wiped out with Devyn Netz reaching on a fielder’s choice. Fouts locked in and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
That kind of pitching has become routine for Utah, something associate head coach Jo Koons said never gets old to watch.
“It’s incredible,” Koons said on this staff. “It’s the best thing that you can ask for, right? Is that we have multiple arms that can go for long periods of time, and they just keep coming back and keep getting better. So it’s just fun to watch.”
The struggle at the plate was a theme on the night for Carolina. Coach Kara Dill traced that to her lineup trying to force the issue.
“I would put our lineup against anybody, our whole coaching staff would,” Dill said. “And they just want it so bad that they’re swinging big.”
The game took shape as another low-scoring battle built on pitching and defense, with a hit scattered here and there. However, after Lemley and the Blaze recorded two outs in the top of the fourth, Sahvanna Jaquish singled and came home on a Sarah Gordon RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0.
Lemley (4.0 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 K, BB, 79 total pitches) finished the inning with a strikeout of Jacobsen for the second time.
Jala Wright took the ball to begin the fifth inning. After putting two on with one out, Wright went to her off-speed to strike out Jordan Woolery. Then, her third walk of the inning to Wyckoff loaded the bases for Hannah Flippen, but Wright got out of the jam with a flyout.
Fouts remained in the game and kept her efficient, solid evening intact, retiring the bottom of the fifth in order. Wright followed to retire her side in order. Her changeup gave Utah trouble, and she struck out two on 57-mile-per-hour pitches in the sixth.
Wright settled in as she went, something Dill said the staff was banking on by staying with her.
“There was a time that I’m sure everyone was thinking, we should take her out and move on to the next,” Dill said. “But hanging with her, when she got comfortable, she just got better and better as she was out there. It’s cool to see.”
When Wright found the zone, she proved to be difficult to handle. Her offspeed gave the Talons a bit of trouble.
“When she has the ability to throw it in the zone, she is tough to square up,” Dill said. “She is super tough to square up with that drop and the change. They’re super deceptive.”
However, Carolina just couldn’t find the offense over the last couple of innings. Wright (3.0 IP, 4 K, 3 BB, 49 total pitches) finished strong and held things where they were. She did exactly what the Blaze wanted in relief, but Fouts finished her fifth complete game of the season in a shutout win to improve to 5-1.
Fouts (7.0 IP, 4 H, 6 K, 96 total pitches), who closed out all seven innings, said the late frames are where a start is decided. The focus to be better is steady, and she never takes anything for granted.
“You can go six shutout innings, but then what you do in the seventh, that really matters,” Fouts said. “So it’s just taking control of your pitches for the seven to 10 innings, whatever you may be out there, and I know that I can do a better job of that too.”
As for Dill, one of the big takeaways for the night was seeing a pitching group that is still coming into its own. What Lemley and Wright showed was encouraging.
“What we’re taking away from this is a pitching staff, which we had coming in, and we were kind of looking for that outside of Karlyn throwing for us,” Dill said. “Who are gonna be the ones that step up? We know everybody has great stuff on our staff. It’s how do we pair them? How do we put them in positions to be successful?”
The Blaze and Talons will close out the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. EDT at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The game will be televised on ESPN.
