Bandits Lose Heart-breaker in Championship Tournament

The Bandits mission "to finish what they had started" seemed closer than ever as they looked forward to a trip to Connecticut for the championship tournament, and we followed along. Light rain and ominous dark clouds gathered as the playoff teams arrived at Frank DeLuca field in Stratford Connecticut on August 26, 2006. Would this be the year of Chicago’s vindication, or yet another heart-breaking finale for the league’s best team during the regular season? Similar to last year, the championship tournament would be single elimination, meaning that one good pitcher or one home run could win it for the underdog. The Bandits first opponent would be the New England Riptide, a team they had bested in two out of three games earlier in the season. Nonetheless, this was anybody's game and the tension was high. Gina Oaks was the starting pitcher for the Orange and Black, holding ace pitcher Amy Harre in reserve for what was hoped would be the championship game the next day. Harre never got her chance. From the outset, the opening game was a hard-fought tug-of-war. The standoff was due to solid pitching and tenacious defense on both sides. Despite back-and-forth heroics that threatened to break the stalemate, the game was tied at the end of regulation, sending it into extra innings. Tragedy finally struck for Chicago as a misguided throw to second base allowed New England’s Lyndsey Angus to dash for home, scarcely beating out a strong throw by Amanda Williams to Selena Collins, ending the game and the season for the Bandits.