After the Blaze pounded the Talons pitching over the weekend for 26 runs in a three-game series despite losing each one, the offense was not able to keep that good mojo going in a pair of losses to the Volts in Wichita, Kansas.
The Blaze were held to just three runs in the two games, falling to 1-7 in their inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League season. Rachel Garcia earned her second complete-game win of the year against the Blaze on Wednesday night, and a quartet of Volts pitchers kept the bats in check in Thursday’s game — which started on Tuesday evening before being suspended due to weather.
Kayla Kowalik’s first home run of the season in the fifth inning was all the scoring the Blaze managed against Garcia in a 6-1 defeat. But it was far from their only scoring opportunity. The Blaze stranded two baserunners in each of the first two innings, then squandered Danielle Gibson Whorton’s leadoff double in the sixth, finishing 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Alana Vawter, perhaps still dealing with some jet lag after arriving early this week from Japan, was a tad shaky in the early innings. The former Stanford and South Carolina star allowed a two-out RBI double to Sierra Romero in the first, then a two-run home run to Danieca Coffey in the second before settling in.
“It’s a different kind of softball, so (it’s about) being able to respect where I was at and understanding it’s going to feel a little bit different,” Vawter said later in the game on the broadcast. “It’s the biggest names in softball, but I haven’t really thrown to all that many of them.”
The Volts (4-4) added on with another run in the fifth and two more in the sixth, with rookie Emma Lemley striking out four but allowing two earned runs on three hits in 1 ⅔ innings of relief.
When what was supposed to be the series opener resumed Thursday afternoon, the Blaze were already trailing by three runs in the bottom of the first, and the Volts had the bases loaded against Carley Hoover, who also arrived a few days ago from Japan. Aleshia Ocasio relieved Hoover and allowed all three inherited runners to score as the Blaze ultimately fell 9-2.
The Blaze got on the board in the second on Taylor Edwards’ RBI single, and Gibson Whorton’s single drove in another run in the third. After a Korbe Otis single loaded the bases, Ana Gold lined into an unfortunate inning-ending double play, and the Blaze were unable to get a runner into scoring position the rest of the game.
Tiare Jennings put the game out of reach with a two-run home run in the sixth as the Volts pulled away. Baylee Klingler, though, kept her streak of hitting safely in every game alive and still has a .552/.581/.862 triple slash through eight games.
Four-game set with Bandits opens Friday evening
The Blaze will remain in Wichita to face the first-place Bandits (6-2) for four games to wrap up the first half of the season. Former Oregon and UCLA pitcher Brooke Yanez is likely to make her AUSL debut after the Blaze selected her from the Reserve Athlete Pool, with left-hander Keilani Ricketts going on the Injured List.
It will be all hands on deck for the Blaze’s pitching staff against a Bandits team that leads the AUSL with a .332 team batting average and a .562 team slugging percentage. Erin Coffel has surpassed Klingler as the best hitter in the league by OPS and drove in eight runs in two games earlier in the week against the Talons. Morgan Zerkle, Jordan Roberts and Sydney McKinney also each have an OPS above 1.000.
In the circle, the Bandits are led by Lexi Kilfoyl, Odicci Alexander and Devyn Netz. Kilfoyl, the top overall pick in the AUSL Inaugural Draft, is second in the league behind Garcia in innings pitched and has a 2.47 ERA. The Bandits also have Taylor McQuillin, who has struck out eight batters in seven innings and is holding opponents to a .167 average.
The Blaze will need to let their desperation fuel them as they look to climb back into contention for a spot in the AUSL Championship Series. Friday’s game, at 6 p.m. CT, will air on ESPNU, with the next three games available for streaming on MLB.com.
“The girls are great. They make it easy,” Vawter said. “We just have really good conversations in the dugout, really good conversations in the locker room. We’re all about it. I’m excited to see what the future holds for this team.”
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.
