The Volts set out in the second half of the season with the mission of turning things around. They began on a high note, beating the Bandits 5-3 on Monday off a complete-game performance from Rachel Garcia. The team in purple and green hoped to carry that momentum into their series against the Talons, but that was not the case. 

GAME ONE: Talons 4, Volts 0 

The Talons’ offense wasn’t overpowering; they just chipped away, scoring runs in the second, fourth, and fifth innings. The combination of Payton Gottshall and Sam Landry only allowed six hits, but they were unable to get support from the offense. 

Despite trying to switch things up offensively and moving Amanda Lorenz to the two-hole (a tactic that worked well against the Bandits), the Volts only had three hits. 

GAME TWO: Talons 2, Volts 0 

In the Volts’ defense, Georgina Corrick continued to be stellar for the Talons. She threw a complete game shutout while striking out five. She’s the most dominant pitcher in the league right now, leading the Athletes Unlimited Softball League in ERA, opponent batting average, and wins. 

The Volts’ pitching was able to limit the Talons to just four hits in this game; however, the hits were timely. The Talons took the lead in the first inning with a Tori Vidales RBI. Vidales would have another RBI later in the game. 

The team in purple and green also had four hits, but were unable to score with runners in scoring position. 

TAKEAWAYS:

1. The offense continues to struggle overall. 

Head coach Kelly Kretschman has done everything she can to try to get the bats going. She’s trying to find consistency for the lineup, but hasn’t yet been able to find the combination she wants. 

The Volts were expected to be one of the best hitting teams in the league coming into the season, but still sit with the lowest batting average in the AUSL. 

General manager Cat Osterman said that she drafted these hitters because they were players that she didn’t like pitching to, and she hopes that the bats will start to get hot because she knows what her team is capable of. 

The bright spot of the offense is the defending AU Pro Softball (now All-Star Cup) Champion, Amanda Lorenz. She’s hitting .413 with a .518 OBP and has driven in 10 runs. 

2. The pitching is still good. 

If the Volts offense can start clicking, the team in purple and green has a shot to make a run late in the season because of how good their pitching has been. Garcia leads the league in strikeouts and allowed just three hits in her complete game victory against the Bandits. Landry and Gottshall have also had some good outings to keep the staff rolling. 

The Volts travel to Seattle to take on the Blaze in a three-game series July 11-13.

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