The Talons came off the mid-season break with the same intention that they started the season with, extending their win streak to 12-3. Their three-win tear this week has propelled them to the No. 1 team in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.
Defeating the Blaze 9-1 at the top of the week set the tone for their two-game series against the Volts in Rosemont.
“It was a great win, especially coming back to the first game after the second half. I thought we finished pretty well in the first half. You never know, whenever you get a break like that, how you’re going to come back and answer. So it was nice to get ourselves to stay on that roll as we’re going,” said Talons Head Coach Howard Dobson.
The Talons become the first team in the league to earn 10 wins on the season after Monday’s run-rule triumph against the Blaze. In the circle, Megan Faraimo threw a five-inning complete game, marking a career high of seven strikeouts. Offensively, after trailing by one run in the top of the third inning, the Talons responded in the bottom half of the inning with four runs and five more in the fourth.
GAME ONE | TALONS 4 – VOLTS 0
The Talons are now undefeated against the Volts with two shutouts in the series this week. Georgina Corrick threw her second complete game of the season. Allowing only three hits in the first game of the series, Corrick was backed by an offense where outfielder Caroline Jacobsen led the pack.
“I mean she [Corrick] just baffles hitters left and right – at the point they didn’t have any idea what was coming and she just kind of confused the heck out of them,” Dobson said. “You have three parts of the game you have pitching, defense, and hitting, and at any moment, if you have two of the three, you got a chance to win. If you have all three, like we did, you’re going to win a lot,” Dobson said.
Jacobsen had her second three-hit game of the season; she and infielder Hannah Flippen are the only two Talons to do so this season. Sharlize Palacios and Sydney Romero each had an RBI on the day as well.
Outfielder Jadelyn Allchin knocked a home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, and Jacobsen earned an RB,I rounding out the scoring for the Talons in game one. The Talon’s four runs came off the arms of Volt’s pitchers Sam Landry and Payton Gottshall.
“I think that’s the cool thing about the entire Talon’s team, you talk about Caroline Jacobson, she’s a competitor. That’s what competitors do is they compete, and we feel like it’s really hard to beat us, because every out is a difficult out,” Corrick said.
GAME TWO: TALONS 2 – VOLTS 0
In game two, Raelin Chaffin started things off in the circle, then shared innings with Faraimo, who completed the shutout. The Volts came up scoreless in both games, while first baseman Tori Vidales scored both runs for the team on top in game two. Jacobsen and Romero joined Vidales for the only Talons hits on the day. While the game was the lowest scoring of the AUSL season with two runs total, it was enough to help the Talons keep their win streak alive.
Chaffin, Fariamo, and Corrick have been go-tos in the circle, complemented by the rest of the pitching staff and an offense that is on fire; the Talons are the team to beat in the AUSL.
The Talons head to Omaha for a three-game series with the Bandits. Action begins Friday, July 11 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
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.
