The Talons came. They saw. They conquered.
As if the inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League wasn’t enough to celebrate, the Talons ended their season as champions, settling the score with league rivals, the Bandits.
Led by Head Coach Howard Dobson and General Manager Lisa Fernandez, the Talons finished the season with a 20-6 record. While they only dropped one game to both the Volts and Blaze all season, the Bandits were on their heels all summer long, but the Talons were able to peak at the right time.
“It’s ridiculous how much talent is on this roster [and] in the entire league. Watching everyone, the roles weren’t the same every game; they were in different spots… And whatever the game called for that day, whatever their role was, they did it to the best of their ability,” Dobson said.
Whether leadership realized it at the time or not, in late January at the AUSL Allocation Draft, the Talons were crafting a championship roster containing some of the most experienced vets and biggest names in college softball.
Claiming the most end-of-season honors in the league – Georgina Corrick earned Pitcher of the Year and Hannah Flippen was named Defensive Player of the Year – their talent was abundant. Corrick and Flippen were also named to the AUSL All-Defensive Team alongside Sharlize Palacios, Sierra Sacco, and Jadelyn Allchin.
“We wanted to make sure we had not only quality players, but quality humans that pulled for each other and they were going to be supportive of each other and pull as a team,” Dobson said. “This is a team game and when it comes down to it, it doesn’t really matter what the hit column says; it comes down to the run column. Whatever it does to help us win the game is the most important thing.”
The Talons’ offense took flight in the second half of the season. Coach Dobson stressed the importance of timely hitting early in the season, and when the team returned after the mid-season break, they were able to execute their outstanding goal. They were second in the league with 126 runs scored on the season.
Tori Vidales and Sydney Romero each launched a home run in the championship series, giving their team the extra edge during the low-scoring weekend. The late addition of Maya Brady, who ended the season with a .500 batting average, couldn’t have joined the Talons offense at a better time.
Pitching was the Talons’ specialty, and leadership was intentional when they started to curate their bullpen. In the first and second rounds of the AUSL Allocation Draft, they selected pitcher Megan Faraimo and Corrick. Sharlize Palacios was their third-round pick and was the mainstay behind the plate.
Those early picks paid off with the league-leading pitcher in Corrick, who ended the season with a 1.91 earned run average and a perfect 7-0 record on the season. Palacios’ presence behind the plate was one that allowed the entire pitching staff to thrive as they were the only staff to accomplish three complete game shutouts, two going to Corrick and one from Montana Fouts, who came up big in the championship.
“We believed in each and every one of them. We did the research. We knew the kind of people they were. We knew the kind of teammates they were,” Fernandez said of the pitching staff.
Flippen, the anchor in the infield and DPOY, led the best defense in the league. The Talons only had 13 errors on the season, fewer than any of the teams in the league. It worked to the advantage of the pitching, affording the staff a sense of comfort and trust in the circle.
“You look at our defense, the plays they make are incredible. So it’s like, even if they hit a hard shot up the middle, Flip or Ali [Aguilar], are going to get the ball and throw her out at first,” right-handed pitcher Raelin Chaffin said. “It’s just really cool to see that they can, one, get runs on the board and two, it’s so hard to get runs off of our defense because they’re so good. So as a pitcher, I’m gonna throw the ball because I’m gonna hit my spot, let my defense work, and they always do.”
Each facet of the game for the Talons was exceptional, and across 20 games, they were able to find their groove.
The final showing in Tuscaloosa, where they went on to win the first championship in AUSL history, was a culmination of the hard work they had been putting in all summer long.
Cayla Sweazie is a former collegiate softball player turned sports reporter with a passion for telling the stories of athletes. She is serving as a correspondent for the Talons of the AUSL. You can follow her on Instagram @caysweazie.
