On Monday, the Carolina Blaze didn’t have their best day at the plate against the Oklahoma City Spark. That was until a five-run fifth inning happened, which was enough to pull out a 5-4 win. Rookie Maya Johnson dominated through four innings, until it all collapsed for her late. For the Blaze, only one player recorded multiple hits against Johnson.
Alyssa Brito recorded a 2-for-3 day that included a second-inning single and a first-pitch solo home run to lead off the top of the fifth inning off Johnson. Everyone had tried to figure out how to carve out hits and string together an inning against Johnson, but it was a steep task.
“I think she feels comfortable,” Blaze head coach Kara Dill told Southeastern Softball Wire. “She had a lot of fans here. She has a lot of family and friends in the area and just being back in Oklahoma. For athletes, that can go one of two ways. You can play a little bit too big because you’re super excited, or you can have a really good game because you feel that support.”
For Brito, Monday evening was undoubtedly her best performance at the plate through 12 games. It came at a time when it was desperately needed, and maybe being back in Oklahoma gave her some extra juice.
Brito was a three-year star for the Oklahoma Sooners. There, she won three national championships under head coach Patty Gasso. She also spent last summer with the Spark, when the franchise was still an independent organization. Being back in Oklahoma may have unlocked a natural feel.
Brito’s results are also a reflection of her continuous work to sharpen her game. She holds a .219 batting average with an OPS of .762, and she wants to raise that average and produce more inside the batter’s box.
“But the thing about Alyssa Brito is she works so hard,” Dill said. “She would swing until her hands bleed, and then she would swing some more. So it’s good when you have athletes who want to work hard and you see them reaping the benefits of that.”
That belief in her work carried into the dugout, where coaches and teammates kept telling Brito the results would follow, and they did on Monday.
“We all were in on this like, it’s gonna come, it’s gonna come, it’s gonna come,” Dill said. “So yeah, absolutely. Her at-bats were so solid and confident in the box, took some great swings. She definitely felt that support, and it’s special to come back to a place that meant so much to you.”
