The Carolina Blaze (8-13) may have forced extras, but the Chicago Bandits (14-8) had the last word in Durham, North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon. The 7-6 victory secured a postseason berth for the Bandits, who will return to the playoffs for the second year in a row.
“I think we’re still going, I think we’re still climbing,” infielder Skylar Wallace said. “All this practice, all these games have meant something, but I think the best is still yet to come. We’re still gonna get after it, trust ourselves, and just play the Bandit softball that we know how to play.”
Chicago fashioned 15 hits, four of which came from Wallace, who had a 4-for-5 day at the plate and contributed to RBIs. She has hit safely in 10 of her last 12 games and reached base safely in every outing this season.
The Bandits had a one-run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh when Carolina’s Aubrey Leach forced it into extras with a solo home run. With tiebreaker rules in effect and Wallace placed on second base, Sami Williams drew an intentional walk. Morgan Zerkle drove a double down the left field line to allow Wallace to score. The defense recorded three straight outs to seal the win.
Lexi Kilfoyl had entered to relieve Kat Sandercock, who put together 6.1 innings of work. Kilfoyl faced five batters and did not allow a hit to extend her record to 5-0 on the season.
It was the ninth time this season the Bandits recorded double-digit hits. Five different players in the lineup had multi-hit games (Wallace, Zerkle, Sami Williams, Jocelyn Erickson, Ailana Agbayani), with runs driven in from four of them.
“We’re trying to hit strikes and be on time. That’s all we can do. We did all the preparation, we have an approach, we watch film. But today was coming out, trusting what we have, leaning into each other and getting after it,” Wallace said.
The Bandits will now look ahead to secure a higher spot in the standings. Their next outing is Thursday, July 16, at Carolina (7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT).
