From this distance, the Chicago Bandits’ 0-4 start to the season feels like ancient history.
“Last week is ancient history – yesterday,” quipped Bandits head coach Shonda Stanton following the Bandits’ seventh straight victory, a come-from-behind 7-5 win over the Texas Volts on Monday in Rosemont.
Things have definitely changed for the Bandits. They held a lengthy team meeting after that 0-4 start, and now, they’re serious contenders for a postseason spot with an 11-7 record.
“I think when you coach as long as I have, you know that it’s a season,” Stanton said. “It doesn’t matter when you get the win. It’s like your batting average. You’re going to wake up when the season’s over, and your average is going to be your average. You can look back at the course of the year, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I went 3-for-4 that day; I went 0-for-4 that day,’ and it all culminates to what that is.
“You want to get out to a fast start, play hard in the middle and finish strong. That’s always the mission. We knew we didn’t have money in the bank, and we had to make up for it, and that’s what you do. You just talk and say, ‘Hey, we’re 0-4. We’ll make up these games.’ And then you let them know there will be a point where you have to have a sense of urgency, where there’s no more making any games up. Fortunately, we didn’t get to that point. After the 0-4, we went on a little bit of a run. So I just think you know how to manage the games and what that looks like. You manage people, stay out of their way, let them do their thing. It’s been a fun ride so far.”
The Bandits reached the Athletes Unlimited Softball League Championship last season, when they fell in two games to the Utah Talons. Even though they lost key players in the expansion draft and were without others earlier this season due to other professional or international commitments, Chicago is still a talented team.
Here is how the Bandits turned it around to put themselves into playoff position:
Getting them back
The Bandits were without pitchers Emiley Kennedy and Lexi Kilfoyl and infielder Skylar Wallace to begin the season while all finished commitments in Japan. They lost outfielder Bella Dayton for a time as she joined Team Italy.
All are back now, and they’re helping the Bandits fire on all cylinders. That’s rekindling memories of 2025, when the team enjoyed success from start to finish of the regular season.
“I think it shows we can forget what’s already happened and continue to push forward with what we know how to do, and that’s play softball,” Dayton said. “It’s a completely different team. We do have a lot of the same people, but we brought a lot of the same energy back. Allowing those rookies and those new people to know what the energy is all about, and they’re hopping on that trend just as quickly as we did last year.”
And here’s a tip of the cap to pitcher Amber Fiser and outfielder Tianna Bell, who helped the Bandits tread water in their early going after both were picked up off the Reserve Athlete Pool. Fiser remains with the team and has a 3-2 record with a 3.03 ERA.
Relentless offense
During one four-game stretch, the Bandits outscored their opponents 46-12. They have consistently led the AUSL in many of the major offensive categories.
Third baseman Sami Williams has been a powerhouse. Her 30 RBIs already have set a league record, and she has been at or near the top in several individual stats.
Stanton has been able to move Morgan Zerkle from the leadoff spot to cleanup and use Wallace as a table-setter and power threat from the top spot in the order.
The Bandits can also play small ball, which may come in handy down the stretch against tough pitching.
During a five-run rally against the Texas Volts on Monday, the Bandits batted around and did all of their damage without an extra-base hit.
“We’ve shown we can win a number of ways,” Stanton said. “We’ve been able to win one-run ballgames. We’ve been able to win games from coming from behind. We’ve had the big inning. We’ve had games where we’ve run-ruled teams. You’ve got to be able to fall back on that experience.”
Defense, defense
All around the diamond, the Bandits have thrown the leather.
Jessica Clements’ diving, juggling catch in right field to end this past Sunday’s 2-1 thriller over the Volts made national highlights.
In addition to her hitting, Williams has made her case for defensive honors with her play at third base.
Zerkle has shown that her outfield skills have not diminished a bit.
The catching tandem of Mary Iakopo and Jocelyn Erickson has guided the pitching staff. While playing first base, Erickson snagged a pop foul with her bare hand on Sunday, when the Bandits turned in at least six outstanding defensive plays.
Rookie Ailana Agbayani has proven more than dependable at second base. Defense is another aspect of the game that can have huge playoff implications.
“One hundred percent,” Agbayani said. “Defense wins championships, being able to make great plays. Just continuing to make great plays kills momentum. It’s a momentum killer. And we have great pitching. All these pitchers are facing elite hitters, so we have to do our job. Being able to make great plays behind our pitchers means a lot.”
Playoffs? Playoffs?
The Bandits still have seven games remaining, and they must get the job done on an upcoming road trip to Portland and Carolina before finishing the season at home against the defending champion Utah Talons.
Although Stanton has talked about going 1-0 each day, she says it’s OK to think about the postseason possibilities.
“I think you act like a postseason team, just like you act like a champion,” she said. “Championship mindset is championship behavior and championship attitude and championship work. You put that in, and then the result takes care of itself.”
She also cited a line used by former MLB manager Joe Maddon, who guided the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years in 2016.
“We are just going to be fearless with our process,” she said, paraphrasing Maddon. “We’re going to trust that. I talked to them in the dugout about that incredible win (against the Volts) and making sure we keep the main thing the main thing, and everybody just stays competent, connected, and everybody in their role. I do my role and provide a space for them to show up and shine. That’s what they do. These guys shine bright.”
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.
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