Blaze pitcher proves pro softball players can embrace motherhood. ‘I can do both’
A pair of brown eyes looked up at second-year Carolina Blaze player Ana Gold as the infielder signed autographs after the softball team’s opening day.
Only minutes earlier, the 4-year-old — with her hair pulled into a pair of Dutch braids and a Blaze-themed beaded bracelet around her right wrist — talked with Portland Cascade pitcher Sam Landry (Oklahoma).
To some, Elizabeth Tumanuvao looked like any other child at the game. In reality, her presence signaled a commitment from the Athletes Unlimited Softball League that motherhood will not end a player’s career.
Keilani Ricketts gave birth to her daughter, nicknamed Peka, in May 2022, six months after completing her second stint in the Japan Softball League. She has played for the Oklahoma City Spark, now part of the AUSL, prior iterations of Athletes Unlimited softball competition, and Team USA.
A four-time All-American and 2013 national champion at Oklahoma, Ricketts thought she would have to hang up the cleats after the 2020 Olympics — or maybe after she turned 30.
“Especially as a female athlete with social norms, it’s like, ‘OK, you gotta hang it up at a certain point to get going to have a family and to have kids,’ and you can’t necessarily play pro sports while having kids, because it takes such a toll on your body,” Ricketts said. “The biggest thing for me that has been so helpful is being able to have that support AUSL provides for the moms that are still wanting to pursue their athletic career.”
The AUSL and the sport’s surging popularity provide opportunities for softball players like Ricketts, the eldest player in the league, to continue playing.
The league allows players to bring children and a caretaker — a spouse, a nanny or another loved one — to the home cities and on the road. This means Tumanuvao and her caretaker, currently paternal grandmother, live with Ricketts in the team’s apartment-style housing and travel to games. Ricketts’ husband will come to Durham later this summer.
“It’s really encouraging for the moms who continue to play, because they take care of all the things that you really usually stress about, or have mom guilt about,” Ricketts said. “That’s been the most incredible part for me; encouraging it is to continue to play with them, taking care of those things.”
Odicci Alexander-Bennett (James Madison), who plays for the Chicago Bandits, competed last season while pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter in January and returned to the field this week. Kelsey Stewart-Hunter, with the Texas Volts, has two children.
Kinzie Hansen-McKinzie (Oklahoma) and Amanda Lorenz (Florida) surprised the softball world by announcing their pregnancies this spring. They plan to return next season.
Carolina Blaze General Manager Dana Sorensen said being a mother and continuing athletic endeavors wasn’t often done during her playing days. If someone had a child, they moved into motherhood.
“It’s so awesome to see that they still can (play), and Keilani is an exceptional example of this,” Sorensen said. “To be a mom on the road, like the world can know, our players can know, you can multitask. … and they’re sort of watching Keilani do it. They’re watching her multitask parenting. Her mother-in-law is here, and she’s wonderful, so now their brain has changed to, ‘I don’t have to pick motherhood or professional sports, I can do both.’”
Blaze pitcher Jala Wright (Duke) can’t thank Ricketts or Alexander-Bennett enough for setting an example of how to be a mother and a professional athlete.
Sorensen, meanwhile, applauded the league’s leadership and unwavering support. It doesn’t only talk about uplifting girls and women but proves it.
“It’s a bummer that some players will be sitting because of the logistics of the pregnancy, but the league has zero reservations about it and zero hesitations about it,” Sorensen said. “It’s cool to see that there’s no frustration at the timeline not always lining up, and the trust and faith that these players will turn it around. They’ll be back on the field once they’re medically ready. That’s new. That hasn’t existed for very long.”
Sorensen said things are a little different with Ricketts, who is several years removed from pregnancy and childbirth. The team instead gets to experience Tumanuvao’s preschool stage and everything that accompanies her development. The youngster is now banned from using Sharpies after making some, uh, modifications to her doll on a team trip.
“It’s kind of fun, because Peka is running around, she has her own personality, and she has her own relationships with all the players. She’s great,” Sorensen said. “We’re in a mode of fun 4-year-old, and some of the teams have more of the baby mode.”
The Blaze finished its first series this week, going 2-1 against the Portland Cascade and looks to build on its solid start in Durham — with Tumanuvao in tow.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Blaze pitcher proves pro softball players can embrace motherhood. ‘I can do both’."
