Talons Survive Late Push From Volts to Complete Sweep in Norman. While the Blaze Shocks the Bandits
Volts Fought Late but Talons Survived
The Volts entered hoping to end the first half of the season on a high note in Norman, Oklahoma. At 4-7, things hadn’t gone their way, while the red-hot Talons came in 8-3 and quickly showed why they’re among the AUSL’s best.
After Payton Gottshall worked a clean first inning and Sierra Romero’s sacrifice fly gave the Volts an early 1-0 lead, the Talons responded. Caroline Jacobsen and Sahvanna Jaquish reached base, Ali Aguilar ripped an RBI-double, and Jadelyn Allchin drove in two more with a single to make it 3-1.
Raelin Chaffin settled in right away in the bottom half, striking out Michaela Edenfield and Dejah Mulipola with pinpoint command. The Talons continued to grind away at Gottshall in the third, chasing her with runners on second and third. She exited after 2.1 innings and 67 pitches, having allowed four runs on three hits.
Garcia entered in relief but was greeted by Jacobsen, who lined an RBI-single (charged to Gottshall) on the first pitch to extend the lead to 4-1. Mulipola then made a great throw to catch Jacobsen stealing, flashing her elite defense behind the dish.
Amanda Lorenz trimmed the deficit with a solo shot in the bottom of the third, but that would be it for a while. Chaffin held steady, allowing just four hits through five and keeping the Volts quiet.
In the sixth, the Talons added on. After Garcia issued a pair of passes, one a hit by pitch to Ali Aguilar, Allchin delivered again with an RBI-single to right. Sierra Sacco followed with a two-RBI double, blowing the game open to 7-2 and forcing a pitching change. Garcia’s outing ended after 3.1 innings, three runs, four hits, and 52 pitches.
Sam Show came on to stop the damage, but the Talons’ approach continued to wear down the Volts’ arms.
Mariah Lopez pitched the bottom of the sixth for the Talons. She gave up a walk to Mia Scott and after striking out Lorenz, a single to Ciara Briggs but worked out of the jam with a pop-up from Romero and a long at-bat foul out from Erika Piancastelli.
Flippen kicked off the seventh with a leadoff double, and the Talons kept applying pressure. Vidales was hit by a pitch, Jacobsen moved both over with a sac bunt, and Jaquish was plunked to load the bases. Hayward then drove in Flippen with an RBI-single to make it 8-2. Show was pulled, and Mariah Mazon came in and shut the door with back-to-back strikeouts.
Lopez came back out to close the game in the seventh. After two quick outs, Warren and Show singled. Mia Scott knocked an RBI-double, and Lorenz launched a three-run homer to make it 8-6. With the tying run looming, Georgina Corrick entered to face Briggs. After an 0-2 count, Briggs worked a walk to bring the potential tying run to the plate in Romero. Corrick got the groundout she needed, and the Talons survived the late push.
Now at 9-3, the Talons are heading into the break with all the momentum. For the Volts, who drop to 4-8, the two-week pause brings a chance to reset before AUSL play resumes in Rosemont.
Blaze Blitzes the Bandits in Run-Rule Fashion
Entering the night at 1-10 and facing a three-hour rain delay, the odds were stacked against the Blaze in Wichita, Kansas. The Bandits, riding high atop the league standings, had been one of the hottest teams through the first 11 games. Many expected this to be a smooth close to the first half — but the Blaze had other plans.
Hope Trautwein-Valdespino took the circle for the Blaze to start the night, and things quickly looked familiar for the Bandits. Back-to-back home runs from Morgan Zerkle and Skylar Wallace gave them a 2-0 lead before some fans had even settled in.
But the Blaze responded immediately.
Korbe Otis, the rookie out of Florida, launched her first professional home run in the bottom of the first off Devyn Netz, cutting the lead in half. In the second, Alana Vawter entered in relief and turned in her best outing of the season so far. She set the tone early by retiring the side in order, including strikeouts to Bella Dayton and Cori McMillan.
Netz struggled to find a rhythm and was chased in the bottom of the second after giving up two more runs on a two-RBI single from Aliyah Andrews. Otis followed with a base hit before Lexi Kilfoyl was called upon in relief. But the Blaze kept the pressure on.
Aubrey Leach added an RBI-single and Danielle Gibson Whorton chipped in with a sacrifice fly to cap a four-run inning. The Blaze had seized control, now leading 5-2.
Vawter continued to work efficiently, allowing just one run across five innings on a solo shot to right by Delanie Wisz in the fifth. Other than that, the Bandits had no answers. Vawter allowed only four hits, didn’t issue a walk, and struck out four. She looked every bit like the pitcher fans have come to expect.
In the sixth, everything unraveled for the Bandits.
Aleshia Ocasio reached on an error and scored on a Kayla Kowalik RBI-double. Taylor McQuillin came in to pitch, but the hits kept coming. From there, the Blaze offense exploded. Otis doubled in Kowalik, Leach followed with an RBI-double of her own, then Danielle Gibson Whorton kept it going with yet another run-scoring double.
With two runners on and a 9-3 lead, Ana Gold stepped up and crushed a two-run homer to punctuate the inning and put the exclamation mark on the win.
The Blaze closed out a 11-3 victory and finally gave themselves something to build on heading into the break. It was a complete team win and a sign that this group, despite the record, is not done fighting.
