Trailing 4-2 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Jayda Coleman battled through a nine-pitch at-bat before launching a game-changing grand slam over the right-field fence off Texas Volts pitcher Ally Carda.
The grand slam lifted the Utah Talons to an 8-4 victory and completed the regular-season series sweep of the Volts.
After taking a called strike to open the at-bat, Coleman immediately called a timeout to speak with Utah Talons Head Coach Cindy Ball-Malone.
“To be honest, [she told me] just to be myself, be confident, to not change my game plan, to stick with it, and to believe in myself,” Coleman said. “It really centered me. And I’m so so thankful for that.”
Those words paid off. After stepping back into the box, taking another called strike, two balls, and fouling off three pitches, Coleman found the pitch she wanted. Her blast to right delivered the big moment the Talons were looking for after they were previously unable to capitalize on a bases-loaded opportunity in the first inning.
The game marked Coleman’s second start since returning to the lineup on Tuesday after being on the Injured List since June 13.
Sharlize Palacios, who also returned on Wednesday for the Talons, continued the momentum with a double to score Bri Ellis (who reached on a hit-by-pitch) and Sahvanna Jaquish (who singled).
The Talons didn’t look back from an 8-4 lead as Megan Faraimo shut the door in the top of the seventh. Talons starter Montana Fouts earned the win, striking out seven over 6.0 innings and overcoming her toughest outing of the season, in which she surrendered four runs.
For the Volts, Rachel Garcia started the game and pitched 3.0 innings, giving up two earned runs. Aliyah Binford, who was responsible for two of the baserunners on Coleman’s grand slam, took the loss for the Volts, while Carda surrendered four earned runs in 1.1 innings of relief.
