Who doesn’t love a nice summer read? Whether you’re scrolling your Kindle on the beach or cozied up flipping through pages during a thunderstorm, there’s something about books during this time of year that feels different. And if you’re not on “BookTok” like I am, now you know: Reading is fully back.Luckily, then, for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s Utah Talons, they’re getting into the storytelling market at just the right time.After finishing the regular season atop the league with a 16-9 record, Utah clinched a spot in the AUSL’s championship series for the second consecutive year. And, for the second consecutive year, the Talons will face the Bandits in the best-of-three series after Chicago (No. 2 seed) outlasted the Portland Cascade (No. 3 seed), 6-5, in an 11-inning extra-inning thriller in the play-in game. The series begins Saturday at 1 pm ET and will be held in College Station, Texas.Led by stars Montana Fouts, Megan Faraimo and Georgina Coorick, the Talons pitching staff was dominant, posting a 2.67 ERA with 143 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .240 batting average. Former Arkansas standout Bri Ellis broke out in her sophomore professional season, slashing .353/.450/.765/1.215 with five homers, while Jadelyn Allchin and Sharlize Palacios also had All-Star-worthy seasons at the plate. On Friday night, Fouts was named the league’s pitcher of the year, and Ellis earned comeback player of the year honors.The Talons, victors of last year’s inaugural title series, are once again back atop the mountain of softball’s professional league backed by MLB. However, despite the record and the eye-popping statistics, the path to play for another title has not been easy. Utah suffered a series sweep at the hands of Portland in the first week, and several stars missed time with injury, including Ellis, Jayda Coleman and Hannah Flippen.Hannah Flippen is batting .245 for the Utah Talons. (AUSL)The adversity, though, is just what Flippen, a veteran infielder, thinks this team needed.“When somebody writes a book, if it was all sunshine and rainbows, nobody would read it,” Flippen said. “Everybody would put the book down because you know what’s going to happen at the end. We’re in that chapter where the thriller is turning into a page turner, and we’re just so excited for what the last chapter is going to be.”The league is comprised of the sport’s best talent, with former stars from college rosters and Olympic teams. With the leadership of general manager Lisa Fernandez (also an associate head coach at UCLA) and coach Cindy Ball-Malone (also the head coach at UCF), the Talons have found a way to utilize the strengths of each individual to establish a winning mindset, whether it’s the boldness of rookie Jordan Woolery, the high energy of Coleman or the athleticism of outfielder Aliyah Andrews.