The Volts had been stuck in neutral for two weeks. Tuesday at Dell Diamond they finally hit — five home runs, an AUSL single-game record, in a 6-2 win over Chicago that ended a six-game skid.
The record night
It started in the second inning, when Tiare Jennings and Aliyah Binford went back-to-back on the first pitch of each at-bat, per the official AUSL game story. With the game tied 2-2 in the fifth, catcher Michaela Edenfield led off with her first career AUSL home run. The Volts pulled away in the sixth on a Aminah Vega solo shot and Binford’s two-run blast to left.
Four different Volts left the yard five times. The previous AUSL single-game standard of four homers had been reached six times — three of those already in 2026. Texas had totaled just two home runs across its previous six games combined — Sierra Romero in the June 15 loss at Carolina and Tiare Jennings in the June 18 opener against Utah.
Rookie NiJaree Canady started and struck out a season-best three over four innings. Binford finished what she started at the plate: 2-for-3, two homers, three RBI, then three scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts for the win — a rare two-way night that made her the eighth AUSL player with two home runs in a game, per the official box score.
The Volts improved to 2-7. The crowd at Dell Diamond, finally hosting a true home stand after a brutal road stretch, had something to stand up for.
‘Attack early’
In the postgame press conference, Volts head coach Ricci Woodard tied the explosion to a deliberate shift in approach after a stretch in which Texas had been too passive at the plate.
“We talked about trying to be aggressive really early in counts today, and I felt like we did a much better job of that,” Woodard said. “That’s what we’ve kind of been preaching — don’t sit back and let people get ahead of the count on you. You’re obviously too good of hitters.”
Woodard had put recent at-bats on paper so players could see what opposing pitchers were doing against them. Whether the film session flipped the switch or the message simply landed, the result was unmistakable: five long balls, three errorless innings from Binford, and the franchise’s first win since June 10.
“When you can have five long balls, you probably have a good chance to win the ballgame,” Woodard said. “It was fun to just watch this team go, and just trusting the process and doing what they do.”
Binford, a New Braunfels product playing in front of family and friends at Dell Diamond, said the night had been building.
“I was honestly feeling really excited today,” Binford said. “We’ve been putting in so much work just trying to get over that hump. I knew I was gonna go and just give it my all.”
On staying positive through a six-game skid, she pointed to culture, not statistics.
“It hasn’t been easy, of course, but I think just staying together — having those tough conversations,” Binford said. “Here, you gotta work it out, and you’re gonna stay together. It’s never too late to keep fighting.”
Jennings, an Oklahoma product now in Volts purple, said the crowd at Dell Diamond felt louder than a typical Tuesday night in Round Rock.
“It’s been really cool to witness this atmosphere and how much Texas loves their softball,” Jennings said. “We have Volts across the chest, so it don’t matter where you came from — just coming together to grow the sport.”
League context
Through the first two weeks of 2026, average viewership across ESPN platforms was up 181% year over year, per ESPN. Oklahoma City’s Spark–Portland game on June 21 drew 404,000 average viewers — an AUSL single-game record. ESPN has moved several games to larger platforms as the audience has grown.
Year 2 also brought permanent home markets for six teams (including Dell Diamond), plus games on CBS Sports Network, MLB Network, and ESPN Deportes. The championship series in College Station (July 25–27) was nearly sold out before midsummer.
Tuesday’s five-homer night won’t fix a 2-7 record by itself. It did give the broadcast side something to sell — elite hitters, home-run pace, a two-way star closing the game.
The Volts swept Chicago the next night for their first series win of 2026.
Anthony Rivera, Dell Diamond press box. Stats from the official AUSL box score.