The team and the opener
The Carolina Blaze, North Carolina's first permanent city-based professional women's softball team, opens its season Tuesday at 5 p.m. against the Portland Cascade at Smith Family Stadium on Duke University's East Campus. The Blaze is the only Athletes Unlimited Softball League franchise on the East Coast and one of six AUSL teams nationwide.
The roster carries notable local ties. Pitcher Karlyn Pickens, a Weaverville native and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 AUSL College Draft, leads the pitching staff. Infielder Ana Gold, the reigning AUSL Rookie of the Year and a former Duke standout, returns to campus to start her pro career. Former Duke pitcher Jala Wright rounds out a roster with deep ties to the region.
First time in Durham
Tuesday's game is the Blaze's first in North Carolina. In 2025, the league's inaugural year, the Blaze and three other teams toured the country without stopping in the state. The league expanded to six cities this spring and gave the Blaze a permanent home.
"I'm excited to see how many people come out for opening day," Pickens said. Gold echoed that: "The fans are loyal and they're passionate and they're just here to watch sports, have a good time, and cheer us on."
AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng said Smith Family Stadium connects the team to a region that values competition, development, and the growth of women's sports.
What Durham is betting on
Discover Durham President and CEO Susan Amey said the region's collegiate softball culture at Duke, UNC, and NC State made it a natural landing spot. She also pointed to a broader civic opportunity: Durham has older sports facilities sitting underused, and the Blaze gives the city a reason to invest in upgrading them for emerging sports.
"This is huge for us," Amey said. "Durham has a couple of older facilities that are not fully utilized, and so we have been working to move forward ... take a look at these older facilities and how can the community invest in those so that they can be fully utilized and support some of these growing and emerging sports."