The welcome mat to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League was more than welcoming for the Oklahoma City Spark.
Joining AUSL as one of two expansion teams, the Spark looked more like a bonfire in a 13-5 victory over the Texas Volts on Opening Day of the 2026 AUSL season at Tom Heath Field in Edmond, Oklahoma. The game ended by run rule in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Spark had operated as a pro team before joining AUSL for this season.
“It’s incredible, it’s special,” said Spark Head Coach Amber Flores. “To see this journey we’ve been on for four years, it’s been a journey. We’ve had a lot of ups. We’ve had some tough moments here. Waking up this morning and getting to the field, honestly, I was nervous and emotional in a sense. We’ve been through so much to get to this point.”
How about this for Sparks flying:
- Oklahoma City batters hit four home runs, including a grand slam by Maya Brady during a six-run second inning. Sydney Romero followed Brady’s slam with a solo homer. Others going deep for the Spark were Delanie Wisz and Jessi Warren, who made her usual array of highlight-reel defensive plays at third base.
- Pitcher, Maya Johnson, a rookie out of Belmont and the National Pitcher of the Year, regrouped after giving up five runs in the third inning and retired the next 10 batters in a row. She picked up the victory by working six innings and giving up four hits and five runs while walking two and striking out three in a complete-game effort.
- The Spark scored four more runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth to put it away.
Oklahoma City’s six runs in the second inning came against veteran pitcher Rachel Garcia, and all of the runs were unearned. Garcia got the first out of the inning, and then two errors and two walks accounted for a run before Brady’s grand slam and Romero’s homer.
“My first at-bat, I got jammed, I got a lot of inside (pitches),” Romero said. “Second at-bat, I knew exactly what I was going to get. I wasn’t going to get beat again. I just felt I made the adjustment. Going back to back with Maya, it’s fun. We’re a fun 1-2 punch, and we’ve been that since last year, too. As she goes, I go.”
Volts coach Ricci Woodward had a concise explanation for the messy second inning and the game as a whole. After Garcia exited the game, Aliya Binford gave up one run, and Jessica Mullins was tagged for six, five earned.
“It’s pretty simple,” Woodward said. “As I just told the team, we didn’t play defense well, we didn’t hit well and we didn’t pitch well. You’re probably not going to win a ballgame when you don’t do those three things. Hats off to the Spark. Great start for them.”
The Spark took their hats off to Johnson, the Golden Ticket recipient who refused to wilt after the Volts got back into the game in the third, with the big hit being a grand slam by Tiare Jennings.
“Oh, I love playing behind her,” Romero said. “From practice and seeing her presence on the mound, someone asked me what my favorite thing about her was. With the presence she brings on the field, she plays like a vet, someone you trust playing behind her.”
Bruce Miles has covered sports in the Chicago area for 46 years, including baseball, hockey, football and Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball. He covered the Chicago Cubs in their historic run to the World Series title in 2016. He has written stories for Athletes Unlimited since 2020.
Follow Bruce on Bluesky @brucemiles2112.bsky.social and on X @brucemiles2112
