Looking purely at offensive numbers, the Blaze were right with the rest of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League in the first half of their inaugural season. But the pitching staff, which entered the year with a lot of promise, has not held up its end of the bargain thanks to injuries, unlucky breaks and the strength of opposing lineups.
With a 7.53 team ERA – the worst in the AUSL – the Blaze are 2-10 heading into the season’s resumption Monday against the Talons in Rosemont, Illinois.
“We have lower slugging (percentage) and home runs, which isn’t surprising, but we have good batting average and on-base. Our runs scored is not that far off,” General Manager Dana Sorensen said. “A little bit here, a little bit there, and this could be a really different story.”
The Blaze had no shortage of strong showings at the plate, even if it did not translate into the win column. They scored 26 runs in a three-game series against the Talons in Chattanooga, Tennessee, despite being swept. And they closed the first half by banging out at least 10 hits in three straight games, including 14 hits in an 11-3, run-rule win over the Bandits on June 23.
Those last two games came without their best bat, former Washington slugger Baylee Klingler, who exited a game on June 21 with a head injury. Klingler announced on Instagram that she has been recovering and hopes to be ready for the start of the second half. She is batting .500 with a 1.310 OPS, two home runs and 11 RBIs in 10 games. The underlying numbers for her are just as strong — Klingler leads the team with 15.76 runs created per seven innings.
The depth of the Blaze lineup can slug: Danielle Gibson Whorton and rookies Ana Gold and Korbe Otis all have an OPS of 1.000 or higher. They are last in the AUSL with just seven home runs, but tied for second with 16 doubles and tied for first with three triples. They are also a perfect 9-for-9 on stolen base attempts, led by Aubrey Leach, Aliyah Andrews and Gold.
“We just needed to figure out who we were,” Leach said. “We needed to figure out who we were more as a team than we were as individuals. Our last game, we started to fire on all cylinders and put that together. I’m excited to see, in the second half, us use that momentum and really make a run for this championship series.”
For the Blaze to make that second-half run, the pitching staff has to perform better — and get healthy. Left-hander Keilani Ricketts and first-round draft pick Carley Hoover both finished the first half on the Injured List, and Aleshia Ocasio and rookie Emma Lemley have been inconsistent.
Alana Vawter gave the Blaze a breath of fresh air after arriving from Japan and helped them snap an eight-game losing streak in that final game of the first half. The staff as a whole has been plagued by a high opponents’ BABIP (batting average on balls in play), so perhaps they are due for some positive regression soon.
The Talons, in particular, gave the Blaze pitchers fits in their previous matchups, scoring 31 runs in three games, but Vawter has not yet faced them. Led by Hannah Flippen, Sierra Sacco, Caroline Jacobsen and Ali Aguilar, the Talons have one of the AUSL’s top offenses, and their pitching staff boasts the likes of Megan Faraimo, Georgina Corrick and Montana Fouts, who is currently on the Injured List.
After Monday night’s game, the Blaze will remain in Rosemont for two games against the Bandits, who currently share first place with the Talons at 9-3. The Bandits took three of four from the Blaze to end the first half and are led at the plate by Erin Coffel, Morgan Zerkle and Sydney McKinney. Oddici Alexander, Lexi Kilfoyl and Taylor McQuillin have all performed well for the Bandits in the circle.
“The record isn’t reflective of what we’re doing right now, but we’re on a good path,” Sorensen said. “Let’s stick with this direction that we’re going over here, let’s just clean up this over there, and we’ll be in a little bit different place.”
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.
