Central Texas families get a built-in summer outing this weekend: the Texas Volts host the Carolina Blaze at Dell Diamond on Saturday, July 11, for Family Day, presented by PECU.
First pitch is 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET), per the AUSL schedule — an afternoon start designed for kids, grandparents, and anyone who remembers doing homework in the back seat on the way to a tournament.
The promotion itself is straightforward. The first 1,000 fans receive a Volts cross-body bag, per league promotions. Gates typically open about an hour before first pitch; Dell Diamond parking is $15 (card only), and children under 2 enter free without a ticket, per Round Rock event information.
A rematch with Texas ties
Family Day lands in the middle of a three-game Blaze series at Dell Diamond. Carolina opened the set Friday, July 10 with Austin Champions Night; the Volts and Blaze close the series Monday, July 13 with a foam-finger giveaway and discounted concessions.
The narrative hook is familiar to Longhorn fans.
Reese Atwood, a two-time Women’s College World Series champion and former Texas catcher, plays for the visiting Blaze — not the home team. Selected seventh overall in the 2026 AUSL College Draft (Round 2, Pick 7), Atwood signed with Carolina on June 7 and made an immediate pro statement in the teams’ first meeting of the season: she homered twice off NiJaree Canady in a 9-1 Blaze win at Durham on June 14, per KXAN reporting.
Saturday flips the setting. Atwood returns to Central Texas as a professional — behind the plate for Carolina while former teammate Leighann Goode, a two-time national champion at Texas, wears Volts purple on the home side. For families who followed the Longhorns through back-to-back titles, it is a rare chance to see both players on the same field as pros.
Atwood leaves Austin as one of the most decorated catchers in program history: Softball America National Player of the Year (2024), Johnny Bench Award winner (2025), NFCA Catcher of the Year (2025), and Texas’ first Rawlings Gold Glove recipient alongside Ashton Maloney, per AUSL.
Professional softball is still new in Round Rock. A lot of fans are learning the league the way youth parents learned travel ball — one Saturday at a time.
Family Day names that crowd on purpose: PECU sponsorship, a cross-body bag for the first 1,000 through the gate, a 1 p.m. start so nobody’s rushing dinner. If you’ve spent years in tournament hotels, a pro game half an hour from Austin is a different kind of Saturday.
Hookem Sports will be at Dell Diamond on July 11. Tickets and same-day info at theausl.com/volts.
Anthony Rivera. Schedule and promo details from AUSL and Round Rock event listings.