The Texas Volts came within an out or two of stealing one in Durham. Instead, they left Smith Family Stadium with one of the most painful losses of the young season — a 6-5 walk-off defeat in nine innings that closed out their five-game road trip to open 2026.
Texas built a 3-1 lead through four innings, fueled by Sierra Romero’s two-run home run in the third — her first long ball of the season. From there it became a back-and-forth grind. Using the international tiebreaker that places a runner on second to begin each extra inning, the Volts pushed across a run in the eighth to lead 4-3, only for Carolina to answer with a game-tying RBI double from Devyn Netz.
The Volts grabbed the lead again in the ninth when Jaydyn Goodwin came around to score on a pair of wild pitches. But the advantage lasted just two batters: Alyssa Brito singled, and former Florida standout Aleshia Ocasio delivered a two-run single to right-center to end it.
Texas had its chances — the Volts stranded 12 runners and watched Carolina match an AUSL single-game record with 11 walks. Rachel Garcia went the distance in the circle, and rookie Leighann Goode, fresh off a second straight national title with the Texas Longhorns, picked up the first hit of her professional career with a double.
The walk-off completed a Carolina sweep and sent the Volts home at 1-4, finally bound for their home opener at Dell Diamond.
Recap compiled from the official AUSL box score and league reporting.