The best players/teams want to play the best players/teams that they can. In order to really prove you are the best, you must beat the best of the rest. Whenever a star player goes down, whether it is on your team or an opponents team, it is disappointing to every true softball fan.
As a UA fan, the most disappointing thing I've seen this year is a few of the ranked teams we have played did not always play their best pitcher against us. I know that some coaches like to keep their ace out of big games during the season so that their pitchers are an "unknown" should they meet the same opponent in the series, but I think that is bad for the sport, and not very good for their team either.
Autumn is a big loss for UA, but we are good enough to overcome that loss. If you are able to beat us, it will not be because Autumn couldn't play. It will be because you finally had the opportunity to show how good you are.
Good luck! (But not too good!!)