Bri Ellis capped the Utah Talons’ inaugural home schedule in Salt Lake City with an unforgettable exclamation point.
Tied 4-4 with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Ellis crushed the first pitch she saw from Carolina Blaze pitcher Karlyn Pickens deep to left field for a thrilling 5-4 walk-off victory.
The Talons battled from behind early. Valerie Cagle singled off Dallas Escobedo Magee in the first inning to give the Blaze a 1-0 lead. Jordan Woolery answered back with an RBI groundout in the bottom half of the frame, but the Blaze continued to add to their lead, thanks to catcher Reese Atwood, who hit a 2-run double in the second and a solo home run in the fourth.
Jadelyn Allchin and Woolery led the comeback effort for the Talons. Woolery hit an RBI double down the left-field line in the third to make things 4-2, while Allchin doubled in the bottom of the fifth to inch the Talons closer, 4-3. An RBI single in the bottom of the sixth from Allchin knotted the score at 4-4.
Ellis delivered the walk-off blast to complete the comeback effort in the seventh.
Utah improved its record to 13-5 to take a 3-game lead over the Chicago Bandits in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League standings.
Montana Fouts earned her seventh win of the year — a new AUSL single-season record — after pitching two shutout innings in relief.
