Coming off a shutout win in the series finale against the Talons in Salt Lake City on Saturday, the Blaze return to Rosemont, Illinois, wrapping up their 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League season with two games against the Bandits.
The Blaze (6-16) have won just two of six games against the Bandits, but the teams’ last four meetings have all been competitive. On June 22 in Wichita, Kansas, the Blaze let a five-run lead slip away in a 9-7 loss before snapping their eight-game losing streak with a run-rule victory the next day to conclude the first half.
In Rosemont on July 8, the Blaze won a 12-10 slugfest that featured a combined 32 hits. The following morning, they tied the game in the seventh inning on Kalei Harding’s dramatic two-run home run before losing 5-4 in extras.
The Bandits (14-8) have clinched a spot in the first-ever AUSL Championship as the No. 2 seed, where they will battle the top-seeded Talons in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They lead the AUSL in almost every offensive category, with a team triple slash of .329/.401/.573. They are averaging more than six runs per game, thanks in large part to their 36 homers, far more than the second-place Talons’ 23.
The league’s top three qualified hitters in terms of OPS all play for the Bandits. Erin Coffel, with her four triples and an astounding 13 times getting hit by a pitch, leads the way with a 1.512 mark. Morgan Zerkle leads the AUSL with 36 hits, eight home runs, eight doubles and 68 total bases. And Skylar Wallace has a league-best 25 runs scored, good for a 1.144 OPS.
If that trio was not enough, the Bandits also have Sydney McKinney, who is second in the league behind Zerkle in hits. And Bubba Nickles-Camarena may be hitting just .227, but her seven homers on the season trail only Zerkle.
These two games will be the first between the teams since a trade just before the deadline that sent Danielle Gibson Whorton to the Bandits and Devyn Netz to the Blaze. Both teams have benefited from the deal, with Gibson Whorton making an elite Bandits lineup even better and Netz providing the Blaze with much-needed pitching depth.
Taylor McQuillin will start in the circle for the Bandits on Tuesday night, with Emiley Kennedy scheduled to get the ball Wednesday night. Lexi Kilfoyl and Odicci Alexander have been the Bandits’ best pitchers all year, and they will likely get some work in during these games to prepare for the postseason.
Veterans Aleshia Ocasio (Tuesday) and Keilani Ricketts (Wednesday) will start for the Blaze. Ricketts started the season slowly but has been excellent in the second half since returning from the Injured List, but slowing down the Bandits’ offense will be a difficult task for the entire Blaze pitching staff. The Blaze have a league-worst 6.30 team ERA but have pitched better in the second half, with Netz, Alana Vawter and Aliyah Binford giving the group a boost.
Rookie Ana Gold leads the Blaze with a .379/.438/.621 triple slash, putting her in the running for Rookie of the Year honors. Another rookie, Korbe Otis, is coming off back-to-back multi-hit games against the Talons. Aubrey Leach still leads the AUSL with 15 walks; Baylee Klingler is still providing plenty of pop; and Aliyah Andrews is batting .349 out of the No. 9 spot in the order.
This series will also mark the end of Anissa Urtez’s career with the Blaze. The shortstop was honored last weekend in Salt Lake City on the field where she played collegiately at the University of Utah, and she has announced her retirement at the end of the summer.
Benjamin Rosenberg is the Blaze beat reporter for the AUSL this season. He has more than seven years of experience covering college, professional and high school softball, and graduated with a degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 2021.
