Talons rally past Bandits in a 5–4 thriller, Volts defeat Blaze 6–1 behind Rachel Garcia’s complete-game gem
Game 1: Talons 5, Bandits 4
A day after play was halted due to horrible weather, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League was back at it tonight in Wichita, Kansas. The Talons and Bandits faced off to start the evening. Both teams came in hot, each sweeping the previous series.
This is probably considered the series of the week, due to the fact both have been so consistent and tough to beat. Tonight’s game lived up to the billing, as the Talons stormed back from a 4-1 deficit to edge the Bandits 5-4, with a walk-off two-run home run from Sharlize Palacios.
Before the fireworks in the seventh, Sierra Sacco’s RBI-single in the bottom of the second gave the Talons a 1-0 lead that stood until the sixth inning. Lexi Kilfoyl of the Bandits pitched a solid five innings, only giving up that one run on five hits, while striking out three. She would finish with a no decision.
The Bandits didn’t score until the sixth inning, when Erin Coffel belted a three-run home run after Skylar Wallace and Megan Zerkle reached base. That gave the Bandits a 3-1 lead at the time. In the top of the seventh, Bella Dayton, who went 3-for-3, scored on an RBI-groundout from Sydney McKinney to increase the lead to 4-1.
Then the bottom of the seventh would bring the fireworks from the Talons. Ally Shipman-Shrout started the rally with a two-run home run to right field to cut it to 4-3.
Odicci Alexander of the Bandits had this one slip away, taking the loss after allowing four runs on four hits in 1.2 innings with one strikeout.
The Talons seem to keep themselves in exciting games. The whole series with the Blaze in Chattanooga last weekend gave fans their money’s worth, and tonight did the same.
Pitcher Georgina Corrick, who made her AUSL debut Wednesday, earned the win in relief.
With both teams now tied with a 5-2 record and atop the AUSL standings, it seems that a rivalry may be brewing here. Bruce Miles asked Coach Howard Dobson about that postgame and Dobson had this to say:
“Well, it’s I think that there are some very good.
There’s some very good players all the way through this league, very good teams here, you know, and you have to get things that go your way, you have to be high at the right time. It’s a challenge. every game, you, pitch in and pitch out, ending in, and ending out. It’s a tough haul.
And you really have to stay focused because at any given moment, a team can come up and bite you. But it could be a really good rivalry. You know, we keep going back and forth.
It could be a really good rival. You know, the Bandits are a really solid squad. They pitch it well, they swing it well.
But you can say that across the whole league. The whole league does the same thing. So it’s just that, you know, we’re just fortunate enough when the ball went our way today. And the rest of the games, we’ll see how it goes.”
As long as you have a strike left, you have a chance. Sharlize Palacios took that mindset and approach in the bottom of the seventh, and it paid off. That is the great thing about this sport, you are really never done until there’s no more strikes or outs left. Palacios spoke to that after the game:
“I feel like no one felt like the game was over. Like, we knew we had three outs to work with, so it felt like more than enough to the team and Coach Kirk was kind of yelling at us, like, we only need one strike, so that was kind of already ingrained in our minds, and I feel like the entire dugout was with every batter in that inning. Like, it felt like everyone — it was the whole entire team against one, so that’s kind of what it felt like.”
Look for the Bandits to bounce back and continue rolling. This game slipped away from them in the end, and I know that does not sit well with this team. These two teams will finish their short series today at 1:00 PM EDT / 12:00 PM CT, as a makeup from Tuesday’s postponement. After that, it’s off to Norman, Oklahoma.
Game 2: Volts 6, Blaze 1
In the nightcap of the AUSL doubleheader in Wichita, the Volts defeated the Blaze 6-1.
Alana Vawter saw her first action for the Blaze after returning from Japan. Vawter’s debut wouldn’t go as planned, as she gave up four runs, three of them earned, on five hits and recorded four strikeouts in four innings and a third.
The Volts on the other hand were led by none other than Rachel Garcia. Garcia pitched a complete game, her second of the season, and only allowed one run on four hits, while striking out nine batters. Garcia threw 126 pitches, and 80 of those were strikes.
In order for the Volts to gain ground back in the standings, more nights like this from the star Garcia will definitely be needed.
The Blaze only saw four hits all game. One big swing from Kayla Kowalik for a solo shot in the fifth would be all the Blaze could put together offensively.
Danieca Coffey was outstanding at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Her night included her first home run of the season. Sierra Romero also had a good night offensively, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs to help power the Volts’ offense.
Postgame, Coffey and Coach Kelly Kretschman answered questions, and when asked by Justin McLeod of D1Softball about Coffey’s approach and growth as a hitter, Kretschman said:
“I mean, she’s ridiculous right now, you know? Um. She has the advantage of learning from some of the best hitters in the world on our team, so I think she’s embraced that, and the girls have done a really good job of, like, telling her things and keeping her engaged, like, letting her know what they’re seeing and, I think she’s benefited from that, to be honest with you.”
Coffey is a selfless player. She stated that she just wants to do whatever the team needs. It’s the kind of character and commitment from players like Coffey that makes this league so special. I don’t know if I can look across any of the four teams and see anyone that’s not playing with the right intentions.
The Volts and Blaze will finish off Tuesday’s suspended game today at 3:30 PM EDT / 2:30 PM CT. The Volts had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of that game.
Featured Image Credit: Skylar Kade-Athletes Unlimited
