The Utah Talons are headed to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League Championship Series.
“I know it feels great, because these women deserve some rest, so I’m excited for that for them,” Utah Talons head coach Cindy Ball-Malone said on clinching the No. 1 seed and bye. “And that’s what we set out to do. That was our mission from day one. And we kept our eyes on the prize every single pitch.”
Sunday, the Talons defeated the Chicago Bandits 3-1. They were led by a complete game win from Georgina Corrick, who just returned from the WBSC World Cup stage in Lima, Peru.
“She’s spectacular. She’s so amazing,” Ball-Malone said of Corrick afterward. “And her defense behind her, she was pitching to some contact with really good hitters, and the defense made some great plays behind her, too. It didn’t even seem like she missed a heartbeat, didn’t even leave for those many days. Just her ability to play at any given time with the ball in her hand. It’s awesome.”
Corrick tossed a two-hitter with one unearned run given, which came on a Skylar Wallace steal of home in the first inning. But the defense behind her made several huge plays and stifled the hot Bandits offense for a second straight game. Chicago won Saturday, but it took eight innings to secure the 2-1 victory after Montana Fouts threw a gem.
Offensively, the Talons did enough. Jayda Coleman crushed a two-out solo home run in the top of the third inning to tie the game at 1 apiece. After that, Kat Sandercock and the Bandits kept things even until the sixth inning.
That is when Aliyah Andrews led off with a single and found her way home. Utah went to small ball after Coleman reached on a fielder’s choice. Jadelyn Allchin and Jordan Woolery sacrificed to move runners, allowing Andrews to score, making it 2-1.
Corrick then returned and shut down the bottom of the sixth inning in order, including back-to-back strikeouts of Sami Williams and Mac Barbara.
In the seventh inning, Sahvanna Jaquish led off the inning with a single. The Talons stuck with small ball, and Caroline Jacobsen moved Jaquish to second. That brought on Kailey Wyckoff to pinch-run for Jaquish, and she scored on the next play with Hannah Flippen reaching on a throwing error by Sandercock.
Corrick returned for the final frame and retired the Bandits in order, sealing the win. Corrick used 113 pitches and faced 24 batters in her complete game performance.
The Talons will now await the winner between the Bandits and either the Portland Cascade or Oklahoma City Spark. That second play-in spot between the Cascade and Spark will be finalized after Monday night’s Spark game vs. the Carolina Blaze. OKC must win to get in.
The Talons have worked through some of the ebbs and flows of this 25-game season. Coach Ball-Malone knows better than anyone, and is proud of the determination of this group.
“I’d be lying if I said it was easy,” Ball-Malone said on the road to the champ series. “We fought so hard through injuries, adversity, changes of plans, just so many different things. And at the end, just sticking together and keeping our chin up. Yesterday’s game was tough, and I think teams that don’t get it and don’t understand may not be able to bounce back from something like that, but the Talons are built for it.”
