Which team will grab final AUSL playoff spot?
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The 2026 Athletes Unlimited Softball League postseason field was supposed to be finalized Monday night, but weather got in the way.
Monday’s game between the Oklahoma City Spark and Carolina Blaze at Smith Family Stadium in Durham, N.C., was suspended due to weather and will be resumed at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday on ESPN2. The Blaze held an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when the game was paused.
The contest is a crucial one, as it will determine the AUSL’s third and final playoff spot. If the Blaze hold on, the Portland Cascade (14-11) will make the postseason. If the Spark (13-11) can pull off a massive comeback, they will advance instead.
That will be hard to do for the Spark after a massive first inning from the Blaze. Right fielder Val Cagle socked a line-drive three-run homer, and center fielder Reese Atwood had four RBIs, including a bases-clearing double.
While we wait to see which team will be the No. 3 seed, we do know which club is No. 1 in the postseason bracket. That would be the Utah Talons, the reigning AUSL champions. They defeated the Chicago Bandits on Sunday, 3-1, in a matchup between the top two teams in the league.
A win for either squad would have meant the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but Utah earned that spot thanks in part to Jordan Woolery's tiebreaking squeeze bunt in the sixth inning.
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As a result, Chicago will play either the Spark or the Cascade in a play-in game on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. The winner of that game advances to meet the Talons in the best-of-three AUSL Championship. Game 1 is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on ABC.