There are some occasions when the very essence of the game -- its raison d'être -- is captured in a single moment. During Monday night's AUSL contest between the Talons and the Bandits in Rosemont, Ill., we saw that in the fourth inning.
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
Left-handed slugger Ali Aguilar smashed a two-run homer over the wall in right field to extend the Talons' lead to 6-1 in their eventual 9-1 victory over the Blaze. It was her team-leading fourth home run of the inaugural AUSL season, but more important than that stat was where the ball ended up.
After it settled over the fence, the ball wound up exactly where it should have: in the hands of an overjoyed little girl who could someday be the one hitting it instead of retrieving it in the stands.
Aguilar wasn't the only big contributor at the plate in the five-inning game that was decided by run rule (in the AUSL, if a team leads by eight or more runs after five innings, the game is called). Hannah Flippen went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and three RBIs, and Victoria Hayward delivered a two-run double.
On the mound, Megan Faraimo was brilliant, yielding just one run on two hits while walking two and striking out seven over five innings.
With the victory in their first game back from the midseason break, the Talons improved to 10-3 on the season and the Blaze dropped to 2-11.
And that little fan has a treasured souvenir to go along with an unforgettable experience.
A future AUSL star? Stay tuned.
VOLTS 5, BANDITS 3
Rachel Garcia was pumping 75 mph pitches on her way to her third complete game of the season. The star right-hander gave up three unearned runs on three hits for the Volts, walking four and striking out a season-high-tying nine. And she accomplished that against the highest-scoring team in the league.
At the plate, the Volts got home runs from Amanda Lorenz (a two-run shot in the third inning) and Tiare Jennings (a solo shot in the fifth) to help snap the club's four-game losing streak and pick up its first win in four games against the Bandits this season.
With the victory, the Volts improved their record on the season to 5-8 and dropped the Bandits' record to 9-4.