COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — The Utah Talons are back-to-back Athletes Unlimited Softball League champions after defeating the Chicago Bandits 6-1 in Game 2 of the AUSL Championship on Sunday at Davis Diamond in College Station.
Allchin went 3-for-6 in the postseason with 3 runs batted in and 3 runs scored. She added a double and a home run in the deciding game after going 1-for-2 with 2 runs scored in Game 1. The Talons won the series 2-0, sweeping the Bandits for the second year in a row and improving to 4-0 all-time in the AUSL postseason.
BACK-TO-BACK 🏆
— AUSL (@theAUSLofficial) July 26, 2026
congratulations to the Utah Talons on their second AUSL title 👏 pic.twitter.com/txjv4sAH2v
"I was reserved last year. Coming back, I was able to celebrate with them on the field, but being on the other side this year, it was like, all props to them. They still had the same belief in me. They still just had my back regardless, and being able to just show up as me has taken me a long way and has helped. In many more ways than one," Allchin said.
Utah sprinted out to a 6-0 lead in the deciding game. Allchin lifted the Talons to a 2-0 advantage in the first inning with a two-run home run to right field off pitcher Kat Sandercock. Utah added 2 runs in the fourth inning before home runs by infielder Bri Ellis and utility player Sahvanna Jaquish in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively, upped the margin to 6-0.
Utah hit 3 home runs in Sunday's victory, marking the first time in AUSL postseason history a team hit multiple home runs in a game. The previous 4 AUSL postseason games featured a combined 2 home runs.
The Talons recorded 10 hits on Sunday, the most by a team in any postseason game in AUSL history. Utah and Chicago combined for 18 hits in the game, also the most in a single game in AUSL postseason history.
Utah's 6 runs scored tied the AUSL postseason single-game record, equaling the 6 runs scored by the Bandits against Portland in Thursday's Play-In Game.
Sunday's game marked the third sellout in AUSL postseason history, including the second sellout in as many days.
Pitcher Montana Fouts threw her second career AUSL postseason complete game in the deciding contest, pitching all 7 innings and allowing just 1 run on 8 hits with 4 strikeouts. Fouts, the 2026 AUSL Pitcher of the Year, now owns a 0.50 career earned run average in AUSL postseason games with just 1 earned run allowed in 14.0 innings. She has compiled 11 strikeouts in 2 outings, including 7 strikeouts in the 2025 title-clinching victory.
"I wanted to be my best self for them. I could feel in the middle of the game. A little bit more intentional with locations. I mean, they're obviously a great hitting team and they're going to take advantage of any mistake, but I wanted to be the best that I could, so just kind of locking in a little bit more on locations," Fouts said.
Allchin launched the first postseason home run of her AUSL career with a two-run shot in the first inning. It also marked the first extra-base hit of the 2026 AUSL Championship after Utah and Chicago combined for 9 singles in Saturday's series opener. Ellis also belted her first career AUSL postseason home run with a solo drive to left field in the fifth inning.
The Talons scored in the opening inning for the second game in a row. Utah was a combined 12-3 in the regular season and postseason when scoring first, along with an 8-4 record when scoring in the first inning.
Utah requested a coach's challenge in the top of the sixth inning to determine whether a ball hit by infielder Jordan Woolery was fair or foul. The challenge was unsuccessful after the original call of a fair ball was upheld.
Outfielder Hannah Flippin credited the team's depth as a key to their continued success.
"Why we've continued to be successful is we haven't had to rely on just Jacks getting it done or just. or even just Montana getting it done too. We just can put anybody out there and somebody new is going to get it done every day," Flippin said.
Head coach Cindy Ball-Malone said the team's goal was clear from the start.
"I asked them what their, their mission was, and they said to repeat. And all I'm going to say is job well done," Ball-Malone said.
The Talons remain the only team in league history with a title.
For Chicago, infielder Skylar Wallace went 2-for-4 and drove in the Bandits' lone run with a single to left field in the seventh inning. Outfielders Morgan Zerkle and Bella Dayton also posted 2-hit efforts in the loss. Zerkle went 2-for-4 while Dayton went 2-for-3. The Bandits were limited to a 4-for-15 mark with runners on base, including a 1-for-9 effort with runners in scoring position.
Sandercock took the loss after surrendering 4 runs — 2 earned — on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl threw 1.1 innings in relief on Sunday, marking her third consecutive appearance in the postseason. Kilfoyl logged 14.1 innings during the postseason and finished with a 1-1 record, a 1.47 earned run average, and 8 strikeouts.
Chicago dropped to 1-4 all-time in the AUSL postseason, including an 0-4 mark against the Talons in the AUSL Championship.
The AUSL now shifts its focus to the All-Star Cup, which starts on August 8.
