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AUSL Talons Take Game 1 of Championship Series

Nicole Reitz|
The Talons are one win away from winning the inaugural AUSL championship.
The Talons are one win away from winning the inaugural AUSL championship. | AUSL

In Game One of the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) Championship Series, the bats of the Talons took down the Bandits 3-1. 

With Georgina Corrick, Pitcher of the Year, going head-to-head with ace Lexi Kilfoyl of the Bandits in the circle, a pitcher’s duel was inevitable. Three scoreless innings passed until Bubba Nickles-Camerena took advantage of a no-out, two-on situation in the fourth. Her single to left field put the Bandits up first. 

Tori Vidales wasn’t ok with that lead hanging over her team, though. Her solo shot for the Talons came in clutch to tie up the frame. 

“It was amazing," Vidales said in the post-game press conference. “(That was) my first home run since opening day. I was trying to find my swing and do it in the moment we needed most. We gave up a run to a really talented lineup, and we didn’t want to give them any more momentum. To get that run back in one swing really got me going. "

Emiley Kennedy entered for Kilfoyl in the fifth, but after a walk and a hit batter, runners were in scoring position for Caroline Jacobsen and Vidales to snag RBIs. Sierra Sacco’s hustle around the bases was vital in the Talons taking the lead. 

Though the weather in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, halted the game in the sixth inning and delayed it to Sunday morning, the Talons kept their momentum going with Megan Faraimo in the circle. 

Corrick finished her dominant outing with two strikeouts, while Faraimo shut down the Bandits for the win. 

“Georgina came out and gave us a chance right from the get-go, and held them to one run,” Talons head coach Howard Dobson said in the post-game press conference. “Having Megan come in to slam the door was really good. You never know what you’re going to get coming back from a weather delay, but this time we came back with a purpose and a mindset that we aren’t going to back down from anything.” 

The Talons are now one win away from taking the championship. The best-of-three series continues Sunday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN. 

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Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

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