The Chicago Bandits and Utah Talons met for Game 1 of the season series finale after the series relocated because of air quality concerns in Chicago. The Bandits battled Montana Fouts for eight innings. After going into the eighth inning, with one hit, the Bandits came away with a 2-1 win on a Sami Williams walkoff RBI bunt single to score Bella Dayton. The win sets up a winner-take-all game for the No. 1 seed on Sunday.
Lexi Kilfoyl came into the game with a 5-0 record and efficiently worked through the first couple of innings. Kilfoyl recorded a strikeout in each of the two innings and allowed 1 hit to Jordan Woolery.
Fouts returned after a tough outing vs. the Portland Cascade on Wednesday night. In the bottom of the first inning, she struck out Skylar Wallace and worked around a single to Williams.
The Bandits didn’t make it easy and battled for 30 pitches in the frame. With runners on second and third, Fouts struck out Jocelyn Erickson to retire the side. Fouts had a better second inning and struck out 2 en route to retiring the side in order.
This game was a pitchers’ duel, and even Wallace, who has been hot, had trouble with Fouts. Wallace struck out in her first two at-bats against Fouts. The second came in the bottom of the third inning for Fouts’ sixth strikeout of the game. Fouts went on to retire the side in order, moving the game to the fourth inning scoreless.
Utah began to figure it out in the fourth inning, as Sharlize Palacios and Bri Ellis recorded back-to-back one-out singles. Jala Wright, who recently joined the Talons out of the reserve pool, pinch-ran for Palacios and reached third on a Sahvanna Jaquish fielder’s choice with Ellis out at second.
But Kilfoyl worked her way out of the jam with a Kailey Wyckoff groundout. Williams’ play at third base has been among the league’s best, and she showed it again by attacking Wyckoff’s weak grounder to throw her out at first just in time.
After Fouts retired her 11th hitter in a row, the Talons offense reached with two outs. Aliyah Andrews beat out a single, and Jadelyn Allchin walked. Then, after a visit to the circle from Bandits pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney, Kilfoyl popped up Woolery for the third out. The Talons, like the Bandits, had no success with runners on. Kilfoyl was efficient and kept the ball down with her usual drop ball.
Fouts remained locked in and retired the bottom of the fifth, her fourth consecutive inning retired in order and 14 hitters in a row. She recorded her seventh strikeout of the game to Bella Dayton to end the inning. Then, Kilfoyl used only six pitches to retire the top of the sixth, allowing just a single to Jaquish. The Talons were aggressive in that frame and made contact with the first pitch in three of four at-bats.
Fouts had Wallace’s number. In the bottom of the sixth, she struck out Wallace for the third time in the game. Wallace came into the game on a heater and couldn’t find it on Saturday. Fouts moved in on Wallace to avoid a drivable ball. She went on to retire her 17th in a row to end the sixth.
Hannah Flippen led off the top of the seventh with a double to the left-field corner. Bandits head coach Shonda Stanton challenged the call as the ball was a hairline from landing foul, but the call stood. However, Kilfoyl and the Bandits defense worked their way out of the inning without allowing Flippen to come home.
The Bandits had a chance to walk off with a win in the bottom of the seventh, but Fouts remained hot. Fouts retired her 19th in a row and recorded her ninth strikeout of the game before putting Mac Barbara on via a hit by pitch. She went on to finish the inning with no damage and move the game to extra innings.
Allchin began the eighth on second base and moved to third on a Woolery sacrifice bunt. That gave Palacios a chance to bring in Allchin with a sacrifice fly for the first run of the game.
The Bandits began the bottom half with Keirstin Roose on second, and after she moved to third on a Bella Dayton one-out single, Ailana Agbayani brought Roose in with an RBI single to tie the game. Wallace came to the plate with 3 strikeouts on the day but grounded out this time to move the runners.
That gave Williams a chance for the walkoff RBI bunt single to score Dayton. Williams’ bunt was perfectly placed in the area between Fouts and third base.
