From Talons to Royals, women's sports in Utah are having a moment

SALT LAKE CITY — With one swing of her bat, Bri Ellis may have cemented Salt Lake City's place as a softball destination Saturday night.

The Utah Talons slugger crushed the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the seventh inning from Carolina pitcher Karlyn Pickens, a no-doubt rocket over the left-field wall to rally the Talons from a 3-1 deficit to a 5-4 win in the final home game of the professional softball team's first full season on the University of Utah campus.

After the sellout crowds, "U-CAW!" chants, and 8-4 home record in the first season with "Utah" on their jerseys, the defending Athletes Unlimited Softball League champion Talons left as little doubt of softball's place in the market.

If it wasn't before, is Salt Lake City a softball city?

"100%," Ellis after her latest "Bri Bomb," before adding with emphasis: "One. Hundred. Percent."

The former Arkansas standout isn't the only one saying as much.

In 16 home games, the second-year Talons have been nothing-but-impressed by the home crowd.

With fans filling the 1,400-seat Dumke Family Stadium on the east bench and dozens to hundreds more on the small hill behind the outfield wall, Utah has embraced the chance to be one of six home teams in the second season of Athletes Unlimited professional softball.

"It's crazy," said Talons infielder Jordan Woolery, who added a pair of RBI including a double in the third inning to pull within 4-2. "I feel like even being here these last few weeks, it's been really cool to see the turnout, all the people on the grass in the outfield.

"Every time we do the 'U-Caw!' at the end of games, it's really cool to see fans get involved and people buy into softball," added the UCLA alum from Walnut Creek, California. "It is so fun to watch, and more fun when there are so many people here cheering us on."

Utahns proved they'll show up for softball. Winning helps, too.

Saturday's win gave the Talons a 13-5 record and a three-game lead over the Chicago Bandits for first place in the AUSL with seven road games remaining. The top team in the regular season will advance to the best-of-three championship series, where it will face the winner of a play-in game between the second- and -third-seeded teams beginning July 25 in College Station, Texas.

It's not just softball, either. Women's sports are having a moment — or perhaps, a movement — across the United States. And Utah is no exception.

The Utah Royals are currently in second place in the 16-team NWSL as the league returns from a month-long, midseason hiatus to accommodate the FIFA men's World Cup and LOVB Salt Lake played for a championship in the second season of League One Volleyball.

No matter the size of the ball, women's sports are alive and well in the Beehive State.

"We have a lot of tradition and history with the Utah Jazz and college sports. But starting with the Royals and their incredible season, with League One Volleyball, and now (the Talons), we're showcasing that we have a fanbase," said ESPN broadcaster Holly Rowe, an early supporter of the AUSL who started at BYU and the University of Utah before covering a variety of women's sports for the Worldwide Leader. "There are a lot of young women in Utah that play sports … and I think we're just showcasing that we will show up and support women's sports. It's really beautiful."

It's not just women supporting women, either. Plenty of men have been on staff, in the crowd, and showing up for the next generation of sports fan both on the Wasatch Front and nationally.

The "girl dads" have been as involved as the moms who bring their daughters to games, showing a potential future in sports that includes role models who look like them.

While Utah continues to impress with male athletes coming through the state like AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Zavier Gozo and Diego Luna, the state's female athletes are equally excelling.

The next generation is adding household names to the lexicon like Utah Royals standouts Mandy McGlynn and Kate Del Fava, and LOVB Salt Lake outside hitter and former BYU star Alexa Gray, as well as Talons stars like Ellis and pitcher Montana Fouts, who collected her league-record seventh win of the season Saturday night.

And the community, in turn, is reciprocating.

"Being from Texas, they don't talk about Utah," Ellis said after Saturday's walk-off winner. "But man, do they show up and show out every time."

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