You don’t see a 4-3 putout like this one every day.
In Saturday afternoon’s 4-0 victory over the Volts, Talons second baseman Ali Aguilar and first baseman Tori Vidales combined for a bizarre 4-3 putout -- though they made it look quite routine.
Danieca Coffey looped a base hit into shallow right field, the ball landing just past Aguilar’s outstretched glove. But Aguilar stuck with the play: She gathered the ball and threw behind the runner, with Vidales slapping the tag on Coffey, who had taken a hard turn around first base.
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That’s just the way things are going these days for the Talons, who have now won six of their last seven games, keeping pace with the Bandits atop the AUSL standings.
Talons shortstop Hannah Flippen was also mic’d up during the play, hollering in approval on the broadcast. Sure enough, the web gem happened just a few pitches after Flippen revealed the origin of her own passion for defense -- playing wall ball with her three brothers while growing up.
As Aguilar and Vidales demonstrated with their zany 4-3 putout, that craving for elite defense is shared by the entire team.
Bandits 11, Blaze 3
In the second game of Saturday’s AUSL doubleheader, Devyn Netz continued the sensational start to her professional career.
Netz -- the Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior at Arizona -- launched a titanic three-run home run over the left field wall in the fourth inning, keying the Bandits’ 11-3 win over the Blaze.
It’s been quite a 24-hour stretch for Netz, who cracked a home run as a part of a two-hit, three-RBI night on Friday. In short order, she’s proven herself to be a force in a relentless Bandits lineup.
Saturday’s win kept the Bandits atop the AUSL standings, with an 8-2 record and a three-game winning streak.
Outfielder Bella Dayton kickstarted a four-run second inning with an RBI double into the left-center field gap. Later in the frame, outfielder Morgan Zerkle drove home a pair with a two-out double; the next batter, infielder Skylar Wallace, scored Zerkle with a well-struck single.
The Blaze -- seeking a bounce-back effort after Friday’s 11-2 loss -- did their best to chip away, scoring two runs in the third. But Lexi Kilfoyl hunkered down in the circle: Later in the inning, she escaped a bases loaded, nobody out jam to preserve the 4-2 lead.
A three-run home run by Sydney McKinney -- playing in the familiar confines of Wilkins Stadium -- blew the game open in the top of the seventh.