AUSL Championship 2026: Erickson and Palacios Lead Game 1 on ABC
Jocelyn Erickson and Sharlize Palacios are on opposite sides of Game 1 of the 2026 AUSL Championship — and both of them started where you are.
Today, for the first time, a professional softball game will air on a major American broadcast network.
The 2026 AUSL Championship Series opens at 1 p.m. ET on ABC at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas. On one side: Jocelyn Erickson and the Chicago Bandits, the No. 2 seed, who survived an 11-inning play-in thriller against Portland Cascade on Thursday. On the other: Sharlize Palacios and the Utah Talons, the defending champions, who finished 16-9, claimed the top seed, and earned a direct bye into the championship.
Two catchers. Two different roads. The same stage.
Erickson is eight weeks out of college. She was the fifth overall pick in the 2026 AUSL College Draft. She finished her senior season at Florida with 19 home runs, 67 RBI, and first-team All-SEC honors. In Thursday’s play-in win, she started the 11th inning at second base, advanced on a Mary Iakopo sacrifice bunt, and scored the go-ahead run on a Taryn Kern RBI double. The Bandits held on for a 6-5 win in eleven innings.
Palacios is in her second year. She started 22 games in Utah’s inaugural championship run in 2025 and earned a spot on the AUSL All-Defensive Team. She returned for 2026 posting a .326 average and .900 OPS. The Talons went 4-1 against Chicago in the regular season, winning the tiebreaker. Utah’s ace Montana Fouts threw two complete-game wins against the Bandits this year and posted a 1.19 ERA in those outings.
Today, Erickson receives on one side of that matchup. Palacios is behind the plate on the other.
This is a best-of-three series. Game 2, and 3 if needed, follow on Sunday and Monday.
What a catcher can learn from this
Eight weeks ago, Jocelyn Erickson was catching for Florida. Today she is behind the plate for Game 1 of a national championship on network television. That is not an accident. It is the result of a career built on defensive fundamentals, game-calling, and leadership behind the plate. That career convinced a professional league to pick her fifth overall out of college. The AUSL did not draft her for what she might become. They drafted her for what she already was.
Sharlize Palacios took the same path. A year ago she stepped onto a professional field for the first time. She built her value through her defense and her work with Utah’s pitching staff. Then she came back for year two and turned a strong first season into something better.
Watch Game 1 today at 1 p.m. on ABC. Two catchers running a national championship. That could be you.
Try this at your next practice
- Pitch-framing finish drill. Receive 10 pitches on the low edge of the strike zone and hold your glove still for a full second after each catch — no movement, no pull. Practice presenting each pitch to an imaginary umpire. Erickson’s ability to frame under pressure in the play-in game was part of what got her to this stage.
- Extra-innings baserunning awareness. Set up a scenario where you start at second base with no outs. Know your reads: where is the bunt likely to go, how many steps does the batter need to get the runner to third, what brings you home without risking a throw? In the play-in game, Erickson was the run that mattered. She knew exactly what she needed to do.
- Study a pitcher before calling for them. Before your next bullpen, ask your pitcher what pitch they’re feeling most confident in that day. Then build your session opening around that pitch. It builds the pitcher’s trust in you — the foundation Sharlize Palacios has turned into two years of professional value.
Sources: Chicago Bandits, Utah Talons Ready for Historic AUSL Championship (Just Women’s Sports) · 2026 AUSL Championship Preview (MLB.com) · AUSL Championship Series Preview (On3) · Utah Talons aim to repeat (Yahoo Sports)
