CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — When the skies suddenly opened up shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday, the Blaze were trailing by 11 runs and stood just five outs from a run-rule loss in the series opener against the Talons.
But an entirely different Blaze team stepped back on the field after an hour-long rain delay. In just three innings, they made up the entirety of that massive deficit, led by a four-hit, seven-RBI performance from Baylee Klingler.
Although the Talons ultimately prevailed 14-12 on Sydney Romero’s go-ahead home run in the seventh, Blaze Head Coach Alisa Goler said she was hopeful the big comeback could be a turning point for a lineup that struggled to put runs on the board to start the season.
It proved to be just that with the Blaze scoring 26 runs in the series, but the pitching staff could not hold up its end of the bargain as the Talons swept the three-game series.
“The game is just funny and weird sometimes,” Goler said. “Even though we ended up losing that (first) game, that felt like a massive turning point in momentum for us offensively. Whatever is the reason behind it, I hope that we continue to stay where we’re at with our at-bats and our approach, because it was really good stuff.”
The Talons struck for four runs in the first, capped by a Hannah Flippen three-run homer, against rookie Emma Lemley. Brooke McCubbin took the ball in the second inning and had a hard time getting the ball over the plate. She issued six walks and recorded just one strikeout in 2 ⅔ innings, with the Talons plating six runs in the fourth to create a seemingly insurmountable cushion.
Klingler, though, was a one-woman wrecking crew at the plate for the Blaze. The former University of Washington superstar hit the first home run in franchise history, a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth to take away the run rule. She was in the middle of another rally in the fifth, hitting an RBI single, as the Blaze scored five runs to trim the deficit to two.
With the Blaze in danger of wasting a bases-loaded, nobody-out opportunity in the sixth, Klingler struck again. Batting with the bases still full and two outs, she worked the count from 0-2 to 3-2, then lined a two-run single to right-center to bring in the tying runs.
“I’ve been navigating life after college and stuff, but I feel like the same BK that was in college and doing her thing, which is a really cool groove to get back into,” Klingler said. “(It’s about) learning from every game, whether it’s good or bad, just learning and having a professional mindset.”
Gibson Whorton homers twice in another narrow loss
The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader — following a rainout Friday — was Danielle Gibson Whorton’s turn to put on a power display. It may have been Father’s Day weekend, but Gibson Whorton showed off her “Mom strength,” hitting her first two home runs of the season after taking last season off to give birth to her son Whitley in November 2024.
The Blaze again fell behind by four runs in the first, but the former Arkansas standout trimmed the margin to one with a three-run blast in the bottom half. With the Blaze down to their final strike in the seventh, Gibson Whorton homered again, a two-run shot down the line in right that again made it a one-run game. The Blaze could not quite complete the comeback, falling 7-6.
“(Klingler and Gibson Whorton) are two true professional hitters,” Goler said. “They’re two people who have understood how to train in the offseason. They know what they need. They know what pitches they hit well. There’s a lot to be said about that. It’s just the two of them controlling the controllables.”
Left-hander Keilani Ricketts settled down after a rough first inning, but Caroline Jacobsen reached her for a two-run homer in the third. Lemley was solid in relief outside of allowing a solo shot to Ali Aguilar in the fifth, which turned out to be the decisive run.
Ana Gold and Aliyah Andrews had three hits each in the first game Saturday from the eighth and ninth spots in the lineup, respectively. It was Andrews’ first game back after a brief absence from an injury she sustained colliding with Korbe Otis chasing a fly ball last weekend, and her speed and bat control were on full display.
“I don’t know many people where the scouting report can say, ‘Hey, she’s about to bunt,’ and then you still beat it out,” Goler said. “It’s pretty crazy. That’s like her superpower. It’s what she does.”
So close, yet so far
The Blaze were one out away from salvaging Sunday’s finale, a game that featured both teams re-entering multiple pitchers. With Aleshia Ocasio in the circle, Flippen launched a three-run homer just over the wall in right-center, the final blow in a 10-8 Talons victory.
Klingler did more than her share once again. With the Blaze down by three in the fourth, she hit the first grand slam in Athletes Unlimited Softball League history to give the Blaze their first lead of the weekend. Gold brought in another run later in the inning with an RBI triple, but the Blaze were held hitless from there against Megan Faraimo, Raelin Chaffin and Mariah Lopez.
Ocasio’s command was spotty in the early going, as she plunked four batters and walked three more. Lemley was strong again out of the bullpen, escaping a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the fourth with some help from Korbe Otis’ outfield assist. But that was the only inning in which the Talons did not score.
Klingler finished 8-for-11 in the series with 11 RBIs and has a .636 batting average and a 1.667 OPS through six games.
“It gives us a lot of hope because we put up a lot of runs today,” Klingler said. “If one thing, one pitch, one spot goes differently, the outcome is different. It’s just a testament of us stringing along the pieces. We’ll be fine. We’re just navigating what works best for us, and we’re about to heat up.”
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.
