July 4 brought the last home game of the season for the Utah Talons, as they hosted the Carolina Blaze. This felt like a playoff game and ended in exciting fashion. In the bottom of the seventh, Bri Ellis smashed a one-out walk-off home run to capture the 5-4 win for the Talons.
“My goal for the third at-bat, the third time up against her was, I’m going to be on time for this one,” Ellis said. “It took changing my stance a little, loosening up, just telling myself I was going to go. There was no looking where the ball was, none of that. I was just going.”
Dallas Escobedo Magee took the ball for the Talons in the beginning and tried to establish the corners early. After she recorded two outs, Dakota Kennedy and Baylee Klingler recorded back-to-back singles. Then, Valerie Cagle scored Kennedy with an RBI single to take a 1-0 Blaze lead.
“She’s been great,” Blaze head coach Kara Dill said about Cagle. “She’s just been such a steady presence for us. She’s been very consistent for us, and she had stacked together a couple of great at-bats in previous games, so I wanted to give her the start yesterday. She did a great job for us in the field, did a great job for us in the box, and same thing today. She got us our first RBI. Just so steady, just such a steady presence for us.”
Karlyn Pickens made her sixth start of the season, and on her sixth pitch Jayda Coleman opened with a single right back at her. Coleman then advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a groundout. The Talons made Pickens work early and put together long at-bats. Jordan Woolery battled and recorded an RBI groundout with an 11-pitch at-bat to tie the game.
After Pickens gave up a walk to Kailey Wyckoff, she got out of the inning with a strikeout of Bri Ellis. It took Pickens 34 pitches to get through that initial inning. On Friday, she threw 58 in 3.0 innings pitched.
Jenna Laird led off the second inning with a single and made it to third with a two-out single from Aubrey Leach. That set up Reese Atwood, who cashed in with a two-RBI double that went over Jadelyn Allchin’s head to make it 3-1. That was Escobedo Magee’s last batter. Megan Faraimo took the ball and retired the side with a strikeout of Kennedy.
Pickens settled in and had a better second inning. She began with a strikeout of Sharlize Palacios and went on to retire the side in order.
The Blaze become a tough out with two outs against them. Faraimo opened the top of the third with two hitters retired. Then, Devyn Netz and Laird reached on back-to-back singles, but were left stranded after a McKenzie Clark strikeout. Faraimo’s strikeout total increased to three in just 1.1 innings of work.
Pickens’ command wavered some in the third. Aliyah Andrews led off with a walk and made her way around to third on a groundout and wild pitch. Then with two outs, after an Allchin strikeout, Woolery hit an RBI double down the third-base line to make the score 3-2 Blaze. Pickens escaped without further damage.
“I think just trusting the process, that’s a really big thing for me,” Woolery said. “No matter what, not getting too high or too low. If I go 0 for 3, just having confidence the next game that no matter what, it’s going to come back around for me. So, having a lot of conversations with myself and with the teammates around me. I feel like we do a really good job leaning into each other and giving each other life after each at-bat, no matter what.”
Through three innings pitched, Pickens only gave up two hits, but a lot of pitches (66) were used. Ahead in the bottom of the fourth, the Blaze went to Emma Lemley to begin the inning.
Atwood is just as tough as they come at the plate. With two outs in the top of the fourth, she fell behind 0-2 in the count. Then after battling to a 2-2 count, she smashed a solo home run to left field to extend the Blaze lead to 4-2.
Lemley dealt with pressure with one out in the fourth. Palacios and Sahvanna Jaquish recorded back-to-back singles. Then, Alyssa Brito generated a double play to retire the side.
After Faraimo worked a clean fifth inning, Carolina went to Keilani Ricketts in the circle. Ricketts threw a strong 4.0 innings in Friday night’s win. After an Andrews walk, Coleman connected with a single to put two on, and Allchin followed with an RBI double to cut into the Blaze lead, 4-3.
Talons head coach Cindy Ball-Malone spoke on the clutch mentality of Allchin afterward.
“Her first two at-bats were not her, and just talking to her, I think that’s what’s so big about her,” Ball-Malone said. “I said, hey, you have the ability to flip it like that. And then all of a sudden, bam, bam, she’s hitting the ball like she can. Man, it makes it so easy to coach her. She’s just on fire.”
Ricketts responded with a strikeout, but still had two in scoring position with only one out. After retiring Wyckoff, Ricketts lost Ellis on a nine-pitch walk to load the bases, but left them all stranded after a Palacios flyout.
Montana Fouts entered the game in the sixth inning, after Laird worked a leadoff walk. Fouts faced Ana Gold, who pinch-hit for Clark. Clark is still searching for a hit this season, after going 0-for-2 on the night with two strikeouts. However, Fouts opened with a strikeout of Gold and went on to retire the side in order.
Ricketts opened the bottom of the sixth with a strikeout of Jaquish. Then after Hannah Flippen singled, Andrews suffered an unfortunate out as she made contact with the ball en route to first. The play went to review, but the call stood. Coleman had a great night and finished 3-for-4 with a two-out single to move Flippen to second.
Allchin had a shot to change the game, and she did. On a 1-1 pitch, she placed an RBI single just over the reach of Laird at shortstop to bring in Flippen to tie the game. Allchin finished 2-for-4 on the night with two RBIs. Ricketts retired the side without further damage, but this was now a new ball game.
After Kennedy reached on a fielding error with one out, Fouts and the Talons defense answered the call. Klingler hit into a 6-4-3 double play to retire the side. Pickens returned to the circle for the Blaze to start the bottom of the seventh, and started with a strikeout.
Then, Ellis came to the plate and ambushed Pickens on the first pitch for the walk-off home run. After facing Pickens throughout her college career, Ellis was able to get one on her at the pro stage.
“Just a really cool thing for me, because I’ve faced her so many times,” Ellis said. “We were both in the SEC, and she’s just fantastic. She’s such a good pitcher, has great command, and she loves to get those swinging misses. She’s really hard to get when you’re down in the count against her, really hard to get a hit off of. But I’m just glad I stuck to my plan. In reality, it took everyone in the lineup, just chipping away, chipping away, making her pitch to us and giving us time to figure it out.”
