Popular folk wisdom says that good things come in threes. That was definitely the case for the Bandits on Saturday.
In a 9-1 win over the Talons, the Bandits homered not once or twice but three times in a five-run third inning en route to their 11th win of the season.
The last of those three home runs came from Bubba Nickles-Camarena, who had one of the best games of any player this season. Nickles-Camarena -- a 2021 UCLA graduate -- went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, a double and four RBIs. Nickles-Camarena’s huge performance gave her six home runs and a .627 slugging percentage in 17 games.
The Bandits also received a huge performance from Erin Coffel, who recorded three hits and her fourth home run of the season. Morgan Zerkle also homered for the sixth time this season in a multi-hit effort.
Saturday’s offensive outburst meant that we saw plenty of the Bandits’ bedazzled cowboy hat, which is worn any time a player hits a home run. With four home runs in the game, that hat got a ton of use.
Blaze 3, Volts 1
This was a much needed win for the Blaze, who entered the game with a 3-13 record, the worst mark of the four AUSL teams.
In their fourth win, the Blaze received an excellent start from Aliyah Binford, who allowed just two hits in three scoreless innings. The bullpen came in to shut it down with one run in the remaining four innings.
On the offensive side of things, McKenzie Clark hit her third career home run, while Baylee Klingler recorded a multi-hit game.