The league has some of the best pitchers in the world, and the Bandits have one of them in Kat Sandercock. After returning from Japan, Sandercock has recorded three complete-game wins in four starts. She currently holds a 4-0 record with a 1.79 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .250. She is as efficient as they come and wants the ball at any time.
On Saturday, the Chicago Bandits set the Athletes Unlimited Softball League record of nine consecutive wins. They defeated the Portland Cascade in a 2-0 shutout, another tight game in a league that delivers them nightly.
After Saturday’s win, Bandits head coach Shonda Stanton couldn’t wait to talk about Sandercock. She walked into the press conference with her pitcher at the front of her mind.
“I want to talk about Kat Sandercock,” Stanton said. “Anytime today things got tough, pressure’s fearless, and boy, was she fearless today. Anytime that door was cracked open, she just slammed it shut, and you’re talking against major starters in our game. She was so composed, so poised. She won us that ballgame.”
Portland brought punches and tried everything it could to overcome the two-run deficit, but Sandercock and the Bandits’ defense would deny them getting over that hump. The biggest moment came in the fifth inning. The Cascade loaded the bases with one out, and the strongest home run hitter in the game came to the plate. No worries, as Sandercock didn’t flinch. She welcomed the moment.
“Just executing one pitch, but bases loaded with Megan Grant up to bat, that’s just what you live for, is to go head to head with one of the best hitters in the league in a pressure situation,” Sandercock said. “So I love that. I live for it, for sure.”
When you talk about boss mode on the field, you should mention Sandercock’s name. She throws with great efficiency. In Saturday’s win, she finished with a 70.4 percent strike rate as she threw 81 strikes in 115 pitches, and she punched out a season-high six batters. That is not easy to do against the elite hitters in today’s game. That is where a combination of trusting in her stuff and doing homework comes together.
When I asked her which one was more of a key in operating the way she does in a game, she was clear on the process.
“Both, but I think doing what you’re good at,” Sandercock said. “I love to do what I’m good at, and trusting myself and my best stuff in a big situation. I like to watch film before every game. Today, I sat down with Taryne [Mowatt-McKinney] and we watched film, just what I did to them last time, talked through it, what we’re gonna call, and kind of get a plan in the back of your head. Then when you’re in the game, it’s just pitch by pitch.”
When it comes to her game, the time she’s spent in Japan has been a key piece in how her game has evolved. Some may have forgotten about Sandercock over the last few years since she left Florida State. There she was a two-time Top 25 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, two-time D1Softball All-American, and the 2023 ACC Pitcher of the Year. Sandercock is still here and doing very well.
“I love playing overseas in Japan,” Sandercock said. “I’ve learned so much about myself, and I think this year I have come into my own as a professional. Really being process-oriented, knowing what my process is, and then just sticking to it. I love to be efficient, I love to get ahead in the count.
“I stick to my routine no matter what, I stick to my warm-up. All of those things I feel like I’ve really honed in on this past year. This league is incredible. I learned very quickly you can’t take one pitch off, or they will capitalize off of it, so being really locked in every single pitch has been what I’ve been trying to do.”
Sticking to her routine and knowing what works is what allows her to get through the tough moments. Sandercock has a strong mental capacity to minimize the moment. That is why she didn’t sweat in the fifth-inning situation Saturday. While we are on the edge of our seats with an elevated heartbeat, she makes it look routine. Nine straight wins for the Bandits, and on Saturday the streak ran through her.
“I try to just fall back on my routine and being really consistent,” Sandercock said. “I take a lot of deep breaths, and through my head is just execute this pitch, attack this batter, execute this pitch. Then it just becomes one pitch, and it’s easy to deliver one pitch.
“The moment gets a lot smaller. Don’t let the moment get too big, and just staying connected on defense, lots of eye contact everywhere and talking to each other. I could feel the synergy with all of us today. It was a good team effort, pitching and defense and scratching the runs across.”
