Game three of the season-opening series between the Chicago Bandits and Utah Talons in Salt Lake City yielded the first extra-innings game of the 2026 Athletes Unlimited Softball League season, as well as the Talons’ first walk-off win of the year–courtesy of outfielder Jadelyn Allchin.
With the score gridlocked heading into the bottom of the eighth frame, Sharlize Palacios moved Jayda Coleman from second to third with a bunt left spinning in front of home plate. The sacrifice play set the stage for Allchin, who sent a looping shot into shallow center field to bring the winning run across the plate for the 9-8 Talons victory and complete the series sweep.
Allchin, who had been limited offensively to a sacrifice fly until her eighth-inning RBI, reflected on her walk-off hit after the game.
“It kind of felt like it was my time in that moment, and Coach (Cindy Ball-Malone) and I were having a lot of conversations beforehand, on like, it’s going to come back up and I’m going to get my time,” she said. “So just being ready for it and just executing and getting the win for the team was the overall goal.”
The two teams battled back and forth in what became the biggest slugfest of the series. Chicago collected 12 hits while Utah finished with seven, and the game remained tied after the Bandits erased an 8-4 deficit before both bullpens combined for three scoreless innings.
Montana Fouts entered in relief for the Talons and tossed three scoreless innings to earn the win, while Odicci Alexander-Bennett kept Utah hitless across two perfect innings for Chicago. Bri Copeland entered for the Bandits in the eighth before Allchin drove in the game-winning run, securing the series sweep for the Talons as the squad finished its first homestand at Dumke Family Softball Stadium.
“Winning and still not playing our best softball, I mean, that’s a sign of an amazing team,” Ball-Malone said after the game. “We still can get better in the circle, and we know it. We still can get better defensively. We still can get better at the plate, and yet, when the game is on the line, and we need to make something happen, we’re doing it for our team.”
Allchin’s game-winning hit came just one day after she helped seal another Talons win with a clutch diving catch in right field.
Before her game-winning shot, the second-year pro received a confidence boost from Palacios, her teammate since childhood, through UCLA, and now in the pros.
“She was like, ‘I’m gonna bunt, and then you are gonna hit her in,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, sounds good,’” Allchin recounted. “We were having a moment that we’ve always had growing up. Having her, especially in front of me, doing what she did, led to me doing what I did, and we just executed it perfectly.”
The Talons return to action on Saturday, June 13 to open a three-game series versus the Portland Cascade at 2 p.m. MT. Tickets are available now.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
