Aguilar’s Game-Winner Caps Wild Finish as Talons Outlast Bandits 8 to 7
The Stage Was Set: Omaha, Nebraska
This evening opened a massive series between the Talons and Bandits, and the stakes were high. The Talons entered at 12-3, riding a seven-game winning streak, and a sweep this weekend would all but book their trip to Tuscaloosa.
This Talons group has been almost untouchable. They’ve won blowouts, pitchers’ duels, and walk-offs, and they just continue to find different ways. The Bandits need this series just as much, sitting in a tight race and coming off a tough stretch. As always with these two, tonight delivered another memorable chapter.
Corrick Dominates Early, Talons Build Lead
Georgina Corrick has put herself squarely in the Pitcher of the Year race, and her outing started like another clinic. The Bandits could barely touch her through the first four innings, as Corrick had everything working; movement, command, and sequencing.
The Talons offense went to work behind her. Tori Vidales opened the scoring in the second, and in the third, Jadelyn Allchin crushed a two-run homer before Hannah Flippen followed with a solo shot of her own. Flippen has been a force all season and came through again. In the fourth, Caroline Jacobsen launched a solo homer to make it 5-0 and chase Taylor McQuillin from the game.
Bandits Rally With a Wild Fifth
Corrick had not allowed a run in 21.1 straight innings before the fifth. But the Bandits finally broke through, and in a big way.
Newcomer Danielle Gibson Whorton scored on a Morgan Zerkle RBI double to get the Bandits on the board. Then Skylar Wallace walked and Erin Coffel delivered a two-RBI single to make it 5-3. Just like that, momentum flipped.
With two on and one out, Bubba Nickles-Camarena stepped up and launched a go-ahead three-run homer. That was it for Corrick, and Raelin Chaffin came in to steady things. Just like that, the Bandits had roared all the way back to take a 6-5 lead.
Coach Dobson Reflects on the Chaos
Postgame, Talons Head Coach Howard Dobson spoke about the fifth inning and how his team kept steady.
“We go up, had some really big swings that put us up 5-0. Then we have an inning that got away from us. So, it’s like anything else, there are peaks and valleys. How you ride the valley out is what’s going to happen in the next peak.” Dobson went on to drop more knowledge and nuggets as always, “The leadership on this team is unreal. They just never quit. They’re going to keep grinding no matter what the score is until that very last out is thrown. And they’re going to keep going.”
“So they know that the valley is that much closer to the next peak. And so, you know, you have to go through those valleys. Sometimes you get to the peaks and we really want to make sure when we get in that valley that we’re not giving up, we’re going to keep fighting to get to that top of the next peak.”
That summed up the night. Even with the wild swing, the Talons were far from finished.
Talons Steady the Ship, Game Stays Tight
Chaffin gave the Talons exactly what they needed, three strong innings of work, allowing just three hits and keeping the Bandits at six. On the flip side, the Talons were quiet in the fifth and sixth, and Lexi Kilfoyl came in looking to close it down.
But Sierra Sacco had other ideas. The Mississippi State rookie ambushed Kilfoyl for a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at six. Talons and Bandits, once again, heading to extras.
Decision Time: Corrick Returns
In the eighth, the Bandits executed perfectly. Delanie Wisz started on second, a sac bunt moved her to third. Then came the decision. The Talons brought Corrick back in. Gibson Whorton lifted a sac fly to bring Wisz in. Bandits back on top 7-6.
I asked Coach Dobson postgame if it was the plan to go back to Corrick, “It wasn’t the plan, but I thought she had thrown well. She was just the victim of bad luck. I thought that she had made some really quality pitches, and then they just hit it where we weren’t standing.” Dobson went on to say, If you ask Georgina, she wants the ball every time. It doesn’t matter who we are, what inning it is, what’s the score, she wants the ball. So I didn’t really have to ask her.”
Talons Walk It Off
Tori Vidales started on second for the Talons in the bottom of the eighth. Caroline Jacobsen grounded out to hold her, and Palacios grounded to first to move her to third. Two outs, tying run on third.
Sydney Romero worked a five-pitch walk, putting runners at the corners. That brought up Victoria Hayward, the veteran. Kilfoyl challenged her, but Hayward beat out an infield RBI-single to tie the game.
Then came Ali Aguilar.
On the biggest pitch of the night, Aguilar came through with a walk-off double to left. Romero scored, and the Talons pulled out an 8-7 win to add to the excitement that is the AUSL.
Final Notes & Thoughts
The Talons improved to 13-3 and keep building toward a spot in Tuscaloosa. The Bandits fell to 10-6, but showed once again they are never out of any game.
Corrick moved to 5-0 on the season with the win, while Kilfoyl took her first loss, now 3-1.
This is what the Athletes Unlimited Softball League is all about, two great teams, back-and-forth drama, and stars stepping up when it matters most.
Game two is coming, and if it’s anything like this one, you won’t want to miss it.
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Featured Image Credit: Jade Hewitt-AUSL
