When Cindy Ball-Malone saw Lisa Fernandez — the “G.O.A.T. of softball” as Ball-Malone described her — reached out to her, she had to double-check her phone.
Fernandez, the general manager of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s Utah Talons, wanted to discuss the University of Central Florida head coach becoming the next coach of the Talons. It was an opportunity Ball-Malone couldn’t refuse, she said.
“I’m just beyond excited to be standing here in front of you guys,” Ball-Malone told reporters Monday at the Talons’ media day.
Just over two months after her hiring, Ball-Malone will lead the Talons in the team’s season- and home-opener at the University of Utah’s Dumke Family Softball Stadium on Tuesday in a role she never imagined holding…