There’s something about series finales that gets the Blaze going.
Maybe it takes them time to make adjustments. Maybe their opponents are more fatigued on getaway days or ready to head to their next destination. Whatever the reason, the Blaze have just six wins in 22 games as their inaugural season nears its end, but four of them have come in the last game of a series.
The Blaze dropped three close games against the first-place Talons in Salt Lake City before avoiding the sweep Saturday with a 2-0 victory, their first shutout win of the year.
“It’s tough, but they’ve (Blaze players) just been phenomenal all season,” Blaze Head Coach Alisa Goler said. “They keep showing up. They keep competing. It has not been easy. Everyone knows how it is when you’re feeling like you really have to have stuff be perfect to win, but they keep doing it. Today was a great job. I’m happy for them.”
Early run does not hold up in series opener
In the first inning of Wednesday’s 4-1 loss, the Blaze (6-16) manufactured a run when Aubrey Leach hit an infield single and ultimately scored on an infield grounder from Kayla Kowalik. The ball did not reach the outfield for the entire inning. That was all the offense the Blaze could manage, and the lead lasted just two defensive outs.
Sierra Sacco led off the Talons’ first with a single, and Maya Brady followed with a walk in her first plate appearance of the year. The tying run scored on a throwing error before a Tori Vidales sacrifice fly put the Talons (17-5) in front.
Blaze starter Alana Vawter settled down after that before allowing a Bri Ellis RBI single in the fourth. Hannah Flippen, one of three players between the two rosters who played college softball at Utah, drove in another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly against Keilani Ricketts.
Meanwhile, the Blaze had chances to cut into the deficit but wasted each one. They left the bases loaded in the fourth and finished 2-for-11 with runners on base, including 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, against Georgina Corrick and Montana Fouts.
Bats sputter again after hot start Thursday
The Blaze again struck early in Thursday night’s 5-4 defeat as Baylee Klingler hit a first-inning solo home run, her third of the season. All three have come against the Talons, but the league leaders again came right back. They plated three runs in the home half of the first against Emma Lemley, two on a single by Flippen and one on a double by Sydney Romero.
But the Blaze put together a three-run rally of their own in the second, tying the game on Devyn Netz’s two-run single and taking the lead on an RBI single from Aliyah Andrews. That ended Talons starter Megan Faraimo’s night, and it also ended the scoring on the night for the Blaze.
Brady — who reached safely in her first 10 plate appearances after coming off the injured list — put the Talons back ahead for good with a two-run homer in the fourth off Aliyah Binford.
Seventh-inning rally comes up short in another one-run loss
Unlike the first two games, the Blaze never led in Friday night’s contest, but they had a golden chance to win it in the bottom of the seventh. They had already scored once in the inning, taking advantage of poor defense, and had Klingler at the plate with the bases loaded and two outs.
But Corrick, pitching in relief for the second night in a row, struck out the dangerous Klingler on a changeup to preserve a 3-2 win for the Talons.
The teams traded single runs in the second, with rookie Ana Gold evening the score on her third long ball of the year. The Talons broke the tie with two runs on four hits in the fifth against Vawter as Brady and Vidales each hit an RBI single.
With the Blaze down two heading into the final frame, Netz reached on an infield hit that eluded pitcher Raelin Chaffin, then Kowalik singled to left. Following a sacrifice bunt by Utah alum Anissa Urtez, Corrick relieved Chaffin in the circle and promptly struck out Andrews. But she walked Korbe Otis, and then Leach reached on a rare error by Flippen at shortstop to bring home a run. Klingler, though, could not come through with the game on the line.
Four pitchers combine for Saturday shutout
Netz, Aleshia Ocasio, Ricketts and Vawter were all outstanding in the circle, holding the Talons to three hits and one walk despite recording only one strikeout.
The Blaze’s defense bailed out their pitchers on several occasions, none more so than the second inning. With a runner at first and two outs, Sahvanna Jaquish hit a line drive that looked destined for the right-center gap. But McKenzie Clark laid out, stretched her arm as far as it could go, and made arguably the finest catch of the season to save a run and end the inning.
By that point, the Blaze had a one-run lead after Otis doubled to lead off the first and later beat a throw home on Klingler’s infield grounder. They grabbed a big insurance run in the sixth on Gold’s leadoff walk, Kowalik’s single, Binford’s sacrifice bunt, and Clark’s sacrifice fly.
Gold started a neat double play to escape a jam in the fourth, with Klingler making an excellent stretch at first base. The Blaze turned two again to get out of the fifth.
“When you’re looking at the lineup the Talons have, everyone knows they’re phenomenal. They’re playing good ball,” Goler said. “We really executed pitches well; that allowed us to make the changes when we wanted to make them. You want to be able to switch pitchers with a clean inning, and it worked out really well today for us.”
After Urtez fielded a ground ball for the second out in the seventh, she was removed from the game and exchanged hugs with the coaching staff, the entire infield, and Utah Head Coach Amy Hogue. Urtez announced that she will be retiring from professional softball at the end of the summer.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Urtez said. “I cried. It was emotional and so exciting. All my family was in the stands, so they were able to see everything. My heart is just full.”
The Blaze conclude the season back in Rosemont, Illinois, with two games against the Bandits on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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.
