The Chicago Bandits punched their ticket to the 2026 AUSL Championship Series on Thursday night. Ailana Agbayani lined a walk-off single down the right side in the 11th inning, giving Chicago a 6-5 win over the Portland Cascade in the longest game in AUSL softball history.

Chicago Bandits Extra-Inning Drama Seals Victory Over Portland Cascade

For four innings, the Bandits couldn't touch Portland starter Carley Hoover. That changed in the fifth. Chicago worked three free passes to load the bases, and Skylar Wallace earned a walk to force in a run. Morgan Zerkle then drove a single to left, plating two and knotting the score at 3-3.

Neither team could finish it in regulation. After both sides pushed across a run in the eighth, the Portland Cascade grabbed the lead again in the 11th. But Taryn Kern, entering off the bench, roped an RBI double to tie it. Agbayani did the rest two batters later.

"She had a great game today, and just seeing her at second and seeing her play just calms me down," Agbayani said of Kern's heroics. "She's meant for the moment. She's meant for this."

Chicago Bandits to Face Utah Talons in 2026 AUSL Softball Championship

Chicago now turns to the AUSL Championship Series against the Utah Talons on Saturday. Game 1 begins at 1 PM ET on ABC.

The AUSL playoffs have arrived, as the No. 2 Chicago Bandits battle the No. 3 Portland Cascade tonight for a chance to face the reigning champion Utah Talons in the best-of-three championship series.

Chicago’s top-ranked offense dominated the pair’s season series, winning five of six games while hitting .359 against Portland — though the Cascade narrowly avoided the sweep with a 5-4 finale win. 

The Bandits surged up the AUSL standings after ceding last year’s title to Utah, clinching the No. 2 seed off a league-best nine-game winning streak.

2026 expansion side Portland has leaned on its pitching, but will look to slugger Megan Grant to keep its title dreams alive.

The UCLA product finished her first professional regular season second leaguewide in home runs with 10, while reaching base in a league-high 17 straight games.

“There’s a lot of mental preparation that goes into it,” Grant said after launching two moonshots in Saturday’s 10-1 win over the Texas Volts.

“I just try to stay disciplined as much as I can and just try to relax and be myself when I get to the game.”

Where to Watch AUSL Postseason Games This Weekend

Chicago takes on Portland tonight at 9 PM ET (ESPN), before the 2026 title series kicks off on Saturday at 1 PM ET (ABC).

Former UCLA softball standout Megan Grant wasted no time making her mark in the pros, setting a new AUSL record for the longest home run in league history during her first week with the Portland Cascade.

Grant launched a 313-foot blast during the Cascade's June 10th matchup against the Carolina Blaze. The shot marked her first professional home run — and rewrote the AUSL record books.

The accomplishment came just days after UCLA's season ended with last month's Women's College World Series loss to Texas Tech. Five days later, Grant signed her first pro contract after being selected fourth overall by the Portland Cascade, one of the softball league's 2026 expansion teams.

Megan Grant Leads UCLA Softball's AUSL Roster Takeover

Grant is one of 12 former UCLA players competing across the second-year league's six teams this season.

The Portland Cascade roster features even deeper UCLA ties via head coach Tairia Flowers, a 2003 NCAA champion with the Bruins who graduated as a two-time All-American and three-time All-Conference selection. Flowers ranks second in UCLA history in games played.

Grant leaves UCLA as one of the program's most decorated softball players. The dual-sport athlete also competed on the 2026 NCAA champion basketball team during her college career.

On the softball field, Megan Grant set the DI single-season home run record with 42 homers in her senior year. She also finished as UCLA's all-time home run leader with 91 career blasts.

The record-breaking pro debut suggests Grant;s power translates seamlessly at the professional level.

Professional softball put down roots coast-to-coast on Tuesday, when the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) unveiled the home cities and stadiums for each of the expanded league's teams for the 2026 season — and beyond.

After adopting a touring model for its four-team inaugural 2025 campaign, AUSL's move into home markets coincides with the league's expansion, as the now-six-team second-year league welcomed the Cascade and Spark in November.

With Tuesday's announcement, the previously independent Spark will continue to play in Oklahoma City at Oklahoma Christian University's Tom Heath Field, with fellow expansion side Cascade making its home at Hillsboro Ballpark, in Portland, Oregon.

Meanwhile, the four original teams will re-debut as the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Texas Volts, and Utah Talons.

The Blaze will play their home games at Duke University's Smith Family Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, while the Bandits' permanent home will be at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois — a longtime hub for pro softball.

The Volts will play at Dell Diamond, the home of Minor League Baseball's Round Rock Express, the Triple-A team for MLB's Texas Rangers.

Lastly, the University of Utah will house the Talons, with the reigning AUSL champions taking over the Utes' Dumke Family Stadium in Salt Lake City beginning this year.

"This is about creating lasting connections between our athletes, our teams, and the communities they represent, and setting up the sport of softball for long-term success at the professional level," said AUSL commissioner Kim Ng in Tuesday's announcement.

All six teams will kick off their 2026 season on June 9th, when games will be played across multiple cities simultaneously for the first time in AUSL history.

How to purchase 2026 AUSL season tickets

Softball fans can now score 2026 season tickets for their AUSL home teams online.