Following a pair of tight, intense games against the Bandits in Rosemont, Illinois, the Blaze (3-12) are off to the Pacific Northwest, taking on the Volts in a three-game series at Husky Softball Stadium in Seattle.
The series will be a homecoming for infielders Baylee Klingler (Blaze) and Sis Bates (Volts), who both had outstanding college careers at the University of Washington.
Klingler returned to the Blaze lineup on Wednesday after missing four games — spanning the two-week midseason break — with a head injury. She was hitless in four at-bats against Lexi Kilfoyl and Odicci Alexander, but her overall numbers are still excellent, with a .444 average and 1.168 OPS in 11 games.
The Volts (5-10) have earned four of their five wins this season against the Blaze, all in Wichita, Kansas. The Blaze picked up their first win of the year against the Volts on June 10, a 3-1 victory with excellent pitching from Emma Lemley and Keilani Ricketts.
Something will have to give this weekend as the Volts are last in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League in most offensive categories, while the Blaze have struggled mightily in the pitcher’s circle. The Volts still have plenty of powerful sluggers in their lineup, most notably Amanda Lorenz, who ranks third in the AUSL in OPS, and Tiare Jennings, who is tied for second in the league with four home runs.
Volts pitcher Rachel Garcia is the AUSL’s leader in innings pitched by a significant margin with 42 ⅓, and she also leads the league in strikeouts while maintaining a 2.65 ERA. Payton Gottshall and rookie Sam Landry are also likely to see plenty of action in the circle this weekend.
Since taking two games from the Blaze in mid-June, the Volts have lost six of their last seven, although all six losses have come against the first-place Talons. The Volts were shut out in three of those games, but did beat the Bandits on Monday evening when Garcia took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Lemley and Alana Vawter have been the Blaze’s most reliable pitchers this year, although under General Manager Dana Sorensen and Associate Head Coach Kara Dill, the Blaze have tried to put their pitchers into favorable situations and matchups.
Thanks in large part to injuries, it has not always worked, but Lemley, Vawter and the rest of the staff will need to keep the ball in the park to have a chance this weekend. The Blaze have allowed 23 long balls, which is the most in the league.
Offensively, the Blaze will need to continue stringing hits together, as they did in Tuesday’s 12-10 victory against the Bandits. Every starter hit safely in that game, and the Blaze totaled 17 hits, just one of which left the yard. The Blaze are last in the AUSL with 10 home runs, and the Volts have allowed just eight.
Many of the Blaze’s hitters are swinging hot bats right now, including Korbe Otis, Kayla Kowalik and reserve pool signee Ali Newland. Ana Gold, Aubrey Leach and Danielle Gibson Whorton still have good overall numbers.
The Blaze are seven games back of second place with just nine games remaining, so they are all but out of contention for a spot in the AUSL Championship in Tuscaloosa, but they can play spoiler by burying the Volts’ chances of catching the Bandits and Talons. And this series is particularly big for Klingler, who will play professional softball on the field where she made so many memories as a Washington Husky.
“It’s such a ‘pinch me’ moment to be able to go back to your alma mater and come back professionally,” Klingler said. “I’m super grateful to be on this stage and play in front of the fans that have given so much to me throughout my career.”
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.
