The AUSL championship series is set: Talons vs. Bandits

Come for the clutch homer. Stay for the spin.

Skylar Wallace put a little flourish on her fourth home run of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League season Thursday, and for good reason.

Just before crossing home plate, the Bandits infielder spun in a small circle, then turned to face her waiting teammates. Wallace shot them double-barreled finger guns before stepping on the plate to be enveloped in hugs and helmet taps.

When all was said and done Thursday in Round Rock, Texas, Wallace’s late three-run homer ended up being what sent the Bandits (12-7) to the AUSL championship series with an 8-7 win over the Volts (6-13). The Bandits will face the Talons in a best-of-three set from July 26-28 in Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the home of the Crimson Tide -- where Wallace started her college career before transferring to Florida.

The 2023 NFCA National Player of the Year with the Gators came up big in the sixth inning, launching a three-run dinger just inside the right-field foul line at Dell Diamond, home to the Rangers’ Triple-A Round Rock affiliate. It was a fitting capper to a 3-for-4 night in which Wallace singled and scored in both the third and fourth innings, setting up her club’s comeback victory.

Wallace continued her excellent production during the AUSL’s inaugural season: She ranks eighth in the league with a 1.069 OPS and is tied for fifth with four home runs.

A third-round pick by the Bandits in the AUSL’s inaugural draft in January, Wallace went head to head with another former Florida standout on Thursday. Amanda Lorenz of the Volts homered twice in the contest, going deep in the third and the sixth.

But Wallace’s blast -- plus Morgan Zerkle’s AUSL-leading seventh homer of the season -- powered the Bandits to victory once again. They’ll face the Volts for three more games from Friday to Sunday before taking on the Blaze for the final two regular-season games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Rosemont, Ill.

And maybe they’ll have a new, fun way to enjoy homers by then. The Bandits broke out the “lasso” celebration earlier in the season, while Wallace showed Thursday they have other options, too.

If they keep homering at this rate, who knows what they’ll think of next?

Talons 5, Blaze 4
Maya Brady came up clutch again Thursday night as the Talons (16-4) kept pace at the top of the AUSL standings with a win over the Blaze (5-15) at the Dumke Family Softball Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Brady, who went 2-for-2 with a walk in her AUSL debut Wednesday, stayed perfect at the plate with a 3-for-3 showing. She delivered the game-winning, two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, an opposite-field slice down the left-field line.

The Talons also got a two-run single from Hannah Flippen and an RBI double from Sydney Romero in the first inning, but the Blaze pulled ahead 4-3 in the second.

Raelin Chaffin and Georgina Corrick were excellent in relief for the Talons, combining to pitch the final 5 1/3 innings without allowing a run.

Aliyah Andrews went 3-for-3 with an RBI for the Blaze, while Baylee Klingler connected on her third home run of the season.