The Volts kicked off the opening series of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League on a high note, winning two of their three games against the Blaze. Coming into the weekend, the team in purple and green was predicted to provide power at the plate, which they delivered. They also showed up defensively and showed great presence in the circle.
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE: Volts 5, Blaze 1
Game One was a night of firsts for the Volts – they picked up their first win, the first homerun was recorded by McKenzie Clark, and the first extra-inning game of AUSL occurred with the squad beating the Blaze 5-1 in eight innings.
The game remained tied at one apiece until the 8th inning when Rachel Garcia bunted to move Danieca Coffey to third. Michaela Edenfield singled to score her. Later in the inning, McKenzie Clark hit a three-run home run to add some insurance.
The key in this game was the pitching and defense. Rachel Garcia threw the first complete game in AUSL history. In eight innings she allowed just one run on four hits while striking out eight and walking three. The Volts did not record an error.
GAME TWO: Volts 10, Blaze 3
While the first game of the series was a pitchers’ duel, Game Two was all about the Volts’ offense. Interestingly, a team predicted to provide plenty of long balls generated runs in any way but the home run.
The game remained tied at one apiece through three innings. The team in purple and green scored three in the fourth, two in the fifth, and four in the sixth. They were 7-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Rookie Daneica Coffey was 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs and Tiare Jennings was 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs and made some key plays at shortstop.
In the circle, Mariah Mazon and Payton Gottshall split the game, allowing three runs on eleven hits.
GAME THREE: Blaze 3, Volts 1
The Volts bats were quiet in the third game of the series. They scored first in the top of the third off a home run by Jennings, but ended the game with a total of only four hits. Blaze rookie pitcher Emma Lemely allowed one run on three hits through five innings and Keilani Ricketts pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Blaze.
Sam Landry showed promise in her rookie debut for the Volts. She allowed two runs on three hits in 4.1 innings pitched.
TAKEAWAYS
1. The offense is as good as anticipated
Even though the bats were quiet in Game Three, the first two victories showed that the Volts have multiple players who can step up big throughout the lineup. Jennings didn’t even start until the third game of the series and finished the outing 3-for-6 with 3 RBIs.
Clark hit the first home run in Volts history, and head Coach Kelly Kretschman said she wouldn’t have guessed that Clark would be the one to do it with how many other big hitters there are in the lineup. However, it shows the versatility that anyone has the power to put one over the fence.
Coffey stormed onto the scene, going 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs, and in the second game of the series, the team was 16-for-25 in advancement opportunities.
2. It’s a pitching STAFF that complements each other well
Garcia was great in Game One, but all of the arms that the Volts put in the circle were impressive. Even in the loss, Landry commanded the zone and kept hitters off balance overall.
The combined effort from Mariah Mazon and Payton Gottshall showed the versatility of arms the Volts can throw.
Even if the offense doesn’t show up, the pitchers kept runs off the board until the bats got going.
3. There are a lot of options defensively
The Volts had both Sis Bates and Jennings take reps at shortstop, and both made multiple high-level plays. Jessi Warren was a human highlight reel at third base per usual, and Coffey held her own when she came into the game.
Krestchman said she was excited about the versatility of the defense in her preseason interview, and that was on full display this weekend.
The Volts head to Louisiana to take on the Bandits in another three-game series spanning from June 12-June 14.
Maria Trivelpiece is currently the Director of Video Communications and Reporter at the American Athletic Conference and a softball color analyst. Trivelpiece was an outfielder at Fordham University and still stays involved with the game through coaching and covering the sport. You can follow her on X M_Trivelpiece or Instagram @_mariatrivelpiece
