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The Blaze

The Blaze are one of four inaugural teams in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) – a professional softball league in the United States.
Roster
Blaze players, including Kayla Kowalik, Taylor Edwards, Ana Gold, and Emma Lemley, line up on the field in their white uniforms to high-five Aubrey Leach.

Our Team

The unapologetic speed that fuels this team is fire. The Blaze softball team is bold, strong, and sizzles. They are iconically fast and bring heat to the field.

Blaze Logo Breakdown

Our Mark

The Blaze logo is modern and refined, with typography that leans forward to evoke motion and progress -- for the sport, for the athletes and for our fans.

BLAZE COACHING STAFF

  • Dana Sorensen

    General Manager

    Dana Sorensen

    General Manager

    Dana Sorensen will lead the Blaze into the inaugural 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) season as its general manager. Sorensen joins the Blaze front office after running her own softball coaching organization, Sorensen Elite, following an outstanding playing career. She has worked with pitchers across all levels of softball, including the professional, college and high school ranks. A starting pitcher for Stanford from 2000-04, Sorensen accumulated three NFCA All-America certificates, including First-Team distinction as a sophomore and senior. The four-time NFCA All-Pacific Region performer left her mark on the Cardinal program, graduating with nearly every single-season pitching mark in school history. She compiled a 105-36 career record with a program-record 1.05 career ERA. In addition to being one of three players in Stanford history with 100 or more victories, Sorensen holds the distinction of being one of two pitchers to post 1,000 or more strikeouts after notching 1,154 strikeouts for the Cardinal. She also accrued five career no-hitters, including a pair of perfect games. The Cardinal reached the NCAA Tournament during each of Sorensen’s four seasons, including a pair of entries into the Women’s College World Series in 2001 and 2004. She was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015, earning the honor of being one of just four softball players to be enshrined. After her college career, Sorensen played two seasons in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league, spending the 2005 season with the Arizona Heat following one season with the New England Riptide. She was a member of the USA Softball Elite Team in 2005 and attended the USA Softball National Team Camp five times. Sorensen began her coaching career with a three-year tenure as an assistant coach at UC Davis before spending a pair of seasons at Oregon State as the team’s pitching coach. A 2004 Stanford graduate, Sorensen holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and communications and received her master’s degree in exercise and sport science from North Carolina in 2006.

  • Kara Dill

    Head Coach

    Kara Dill

    Head Coach

    The Blaze’s Associate Head Coach in 2025, Dill is no stranger to coaching in the professional ranks, as she coached in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league during the 2016 season. She enters her fourth season as head coach of the University of Texas-Arlington (UTA). Under her direction, the Mavericks have seen an increase in win total year-over-year, since the 2023 season. In her short time so far with the program, Dill has coached multiple All-WAC selections, as well as an NFCA All-South Region honoree, in the 2024 season. Prior coaching stops include Texas A&M, LSU and her alma mater, the University of Kentucky. In six seasons with the Aggies, she led the pitching staff to new levels, including helping the team to the Women’s College World Series (WCWS), in 2017. Dill spent two seasons at LSU and helped the Tigers to back-to-back WCWS appearances, for the first time in program history. After an illustrious career with the Wildcats that saw her earn All-SEC honors, Dill returned to the Bluegrass State and guided Kentucky to its first-ever WCWS appearance, in 2014.

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