Talons Earn Win Number 18 Tonight in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Homecoming Win for Montana Fouts
Tonight was the highly anticipated return to the Rhoads House for Alabama Crimson Tide legend Montana Fouts, this time wearing a Talons uniform.
The Talons entered the night with the top seed already locked in for the Championship Series, with nothing to gain or lose in the standings. Still, as this group will tell you, they play to win no matter the circumstances.
And tonight, that mindset carried them to a homecoming win for Fouts, as the Talons held off a late push from the Volts to secure a 6-4 victory. The Volts made sure it was not easy for the team in white, green, and gold.
Would you expect Fouts to return to the circle she once dominated in crimson and not deliver a statement? Other than a two-out walk to Danieca Coffey, Fouts retired the Volts with three strikeouts to open the game, and the crowd loved every moment of it.
After the Talons put up three quick runs in the bottom half, Fouts added two more strikeouts in the second inning to bring her total to five. However, Erika Piancastelli caught a pitch left up in the zone and launched a two-run home run to cut the Talons’ lead to 3-2.
Jessi Warren has been on fire lately, and tonight she stayed hot. Warren blasted her third home run in the last five games, jumping on a pitch she couldn’t let go. That swing tied the game at three.
Jadelyn Allchin, back in the lineup due to Sierra Sacco’s injury, broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single that scored Sahvanna Jaquish. The Talons reclaimed the lead, 4-3.
Allchin looked comfortable again and finished the night 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Maya Brady was, simply, Maya Brady. Just when the Talons needed breathing room, she delivered with a two-out, two-RBI single to stretch the lead to 6-3. Brady wrapped up her night 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
The Volts added another run in the sixth with a solo home run from Sierra Romero. It was Romero’s first home run of the season, and part of her second three-hit game this year, as she finished 3-for-4.
Georgina Corrick finished her three inning outing and closed things down in the seventh, ending the night with a strikeout of Jessi Warren to seal the victory and her fourth save of the season.
A question I have been mulling in my mind for a while now is, “Could Tuscaloosa be the permanent home of the Talons?”
After seeing the way they showed up tonight, and with Montana Fouts and other SEC players on this team, I would not mind one bit to see Tuscaloosa receive an AUSL team.
We knew that they would get loud for Fouts, but Alabama is a state with no major professional sports. With the popularity of this league and players that college fans still hold in their hearts, I say why not?
“I’m just honored. I’m honored to be from here and call this place home, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. And I’m excited to hear them get louder, because I know that they can get louder with the Talons for sure,” said Fouts.
When Fouts was asked how she felt when Tuscaloosa was announced as a host city this season, she was of course pumped.
“I was like, Heck yeah, I mean, I feel like Tuscaloosa deserves it. I feel like that they can bring it, and I feel like it’s a great home space for the Talons, and I think that they’re going to show up and show out.”
We will see down the road whether that takes place or not, but first the Talons have a season to finish. One regular season game is left against the Volts on Wednesday night, and then we await the Champ Series, which starts on Saturday afternoon against the Bandits.
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