Three #ProHogs Set to Compete in Inaugural AUSL Championship Series

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.  – The Arkansas softball program will be well represented when all three Razorbacks in the AUSL will square off in the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League Championship Series on July 26-28 at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Danielle Gibson Whorton (2019-22) and the Bandits are set to face the Talons, which feature Bri Ellis (2024-25) and current Arkansas graduate assistant Mariah Lopez (2024-pres.). The Talons (17-5) and Bandits (14-8) both clinched their playoff spots before the final week of the regular season.

The two teams will square off in a three-game winner-take-all series with all three games televised nationally on ESPN networks. The first two games will be televised on ESPN with game one set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, while game two is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 27, and if necessary, game three will take place at 6 p.m. on Monday, July 28, on ESPN2.

Gibson Whorton, who starred at Arkansas from 2019-2022, has made an immediate impact with the Bandits after being acquired in a trade from the Blaze on July 11. She has started 21 of 22 games played this season and owns a .328 batting average with 22 hits, four doubles, three home runs, 21 RBI, 10 walks and eight runs scored. Defensively, she has registered a .992 fielding percentage at first base with 123 putouts and two assists while turning two double plays at first base.

Ellis earned USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year honors this past spring and was the No. 2 Overall Pick in the AUSL College Draft. She is playing some of her best softball as of late. In her last six games, the former Razorback slugger is batting .364 while registering an impressive .545 on-base percentage with four hits, two RBI, a walk and a hit by pitch. Defensively at first base, she has posted a 1.000 fielding percentage with 32 putouts and three double plays turned this season.

Lopez is coming off an impressive performance in her longest outing of the season after tossing three innings on Friday. The left-handed pitcher made her second start of the 2025 campaign and allowed just one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts in a no-decision, which ultimately ended in a 3-2 win for the Talons. Lopez has appeared primarily in relief this season for the Talons pitching staff that owns a league-best 3.92 ERA.

For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.