The band is back together again.
More accurately, the Chicago Bandits are back together in full and back at home. And it could be that they’re going places in this AUSL season.
The Bandits returned from their road trip on Tuesday and overwhelmed the Portland Cascade 13-3 at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont.
The victory, via run rule, was the Bandits’ third in a row, and just as important, it enabled them to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season after an 0-4 start.
Chicago batters scored twice in the first inning against Cascade ace pitcher Sam Landry. Theyn, they added three in the second to chase Landry from the game. The Bandits poured it on in the third inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs, four coming on a grand slam by Sami Williams, who also had a double, a single and seven RBI to tie an AUSL single-game record for runs batted in.
Williams entered the evening as hot as the 93-degree weather in Rosemont. She began the evening leading the AUSL in batting average at .514 and raised it to .538. The home run was her fifth of the season, and the seven runs driven in gave her a total of 23.
“I think I’ve said this a bunch: just trying not to think too much in the box,” she said. “I think my first AB, I was on defense in my head, and I chased something. Even if I’m down in the count, I’m still thinking like, ‘I’m dangerous here,’ and just being clear of mind has really been helping me.”
In the circle, Lexi Kilfoyl picked up her second victory of the season in her third appearance since returning from Japan. She worked four innings, giving up five hits and two runs to improve her record to 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA.
The return of Kilfoyl and pitcher Emiley Kennedy (who finished the game), along with that of offensive force Skylar Wallace, has considerably strengthened the Bandits, who made it to the AUSL Championship Series last season.
“I think anybody who has coached long enough or played long enough realizes whether you’re at 56 games in college or a 25-game season in the pros, there’s a little more sense of urgency,” said Bandits coach Shonda Stanton. “And you’ll look back at the end of the year, and you say, ‘That was the pivotal moment, that’s when we had money in the bank and we could afford to drop one.’ We’re slowly putting money in the bank. We’re not there yet. We’re going to let it ride. When that happens, you feel really good about yourself. But we’ve got to keep staying super-focused.”
The Cascade (8-5) had its three-game winning streak snapped. Landry, who has been dominant in the early going, lasted 1.1 innings, giving up five hits and five runs. The evening was a difficult one to pitch and field for both teams, with the wind howling straight out toward center field and the sun wreaking havoc with outfielders.
“Just one of those nights,” said Portland coach Tairia Flowers. “I think her (Landry’s) off-speed was off a little bit. She definitely got ahead of some hitters and just wasn’t able to close them out. When you’re facing hitters who are in that type of lineup, it’s hard to close the door on them, and they took advantage of some missed spots.”
It will be up to the Bandits to make hay in the sun after reaching the .500 mark, but Williams said the team was able to learn from its stormy 0-4 start.
“I think that early storm helped us figure out how we jell and how we can come together when things aren’t going our way and turn it around and not let that get us down,” she said.
Bruce Miles has covered sports in the Chicago area for 47 years, including baseball, hockey, football and Athletes Unlimited Softball League. He covered the Chicago Cubs in their historic run to the World Series title in 2016. He has written stories for Athletes Unlimited since 2020.
Follow Bruce on Bluesky @brucemiles2112.bsky.social and on X @brucemiles2112
