Although the Bandits already secured their place in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League championship during Thursday’s series opener against the Volts, the team showed no signs of slowing down in Friday’s 9-2 win over the Volts.
“I think we kinda all played the same,” outfielder Morgan Zerkle said. “Honestly, we were conscious of the fact that we’ve secured the spot, so we needed to not let our guard down. I think that communication helped us stay focused. Even when (the Volts) scored those two runs, we were like, ‘Hey, let’s lock it back in.’”
Among a nearly sold-out and passionate crowd at Dell Diamond, the Bandits’ bats heated up almost immediately in the top of the second inning, which felt like an eternity for the Volts and their fans.
The Bandits achieved back-to-back runs after infielder Danielle Gibson Whorton and outfielder Bubba Nickles-Camarena hit lasers off Volt starting pitcher Mariah Mazon.
Sam Show replaced Mazon in the circle, but a change in pitchers did little, as the Volts found themselves in a bases-loaded, no-out situation. Zerkle hit a single RBI to score infielder Delanie Wisz. Shortstop Skylar Wallace tacked on two more runs off a double RBI to bring the Bandits up by five runs early in the matchup.
The Volts attempted to crawl from behind like they almost did Thursday. This matchup was a different story.
The Volts’ offense took some time to adjust to Bandit starting pitcher Sarah Willis, who retired to Volts players and allowed three hits.
With a chance to put her team on the board, outfielder Ciara Briggs hit a single RBI to bring home crowd favorite and outfielder Mia Scott and cut the deficit to four runs. Briggs was caught stealing but allowed Lorenz to tack on another run.
The Bandits were faced with the prospect of a potential comeback from the Volts in the bottom of the fourth as bases were loaded, but lefty pitcher Taylor McQuillin, who won the pitchers’ duel, was able to work out of the jam and hold off the Volts.
“(McQuillin) was in all quadrants. She was efficient,” Bandits head coach Stacey Nuveman-Deniz said.
“She was throwing strikes and then expanding the zone when she needed to. When she’s rolling, I put her up against anybody in this league.”
From there, it was a domination from the Bandits, who tacked on four more runs across the last half of the game thanks to Zerkle. She hit a double RBI to the left in the fifth, scoring two runners. Zerkle then blasted a two-run homer in the seventh to seal the deal.
“(Zerkle) is a dog,” Nuveman-Deniz said. “This girl has the dog in her.”
Although the Volts took their second loss of the series, one player still shone the brightest. Despite being on the losing side, Volt utility Mia Scott was getting the most cheers.
The newly crowned national champion received roaring applause from the crowd, and it seemed as though the fans, no matter whom they were cheering for, anticipated every time Scott was up to bat. Young girls started shouting, “Mia Scott! Mia Scott!” and “Let’s go Mia” chants that blared throughout the stands.
Some fans who had not pledged their allegiance to a team in this new league wore burnt orange to support the former Longhorns in the diamond like outfielder Bella Dayton, who graduated from Texas last year and received roars from the crowd.
“I think that I always knew how much support Austin had around the game of softball,” Dayton said. “(There’s) a lot of love for what Texas brought to campus and the team itself. I think migrating to Round Rock and how far it goes out of Austin — I had so much belief that it was going to be as big as it was.”
