In a thrilling 11-inning play-in victory over the Portland Cascade on Thursday night to punch their ticket to the AUSL Championship Series against the Utah Talons, the Chicago Bandits got a tremendous performance by right-hander Lexi Kilfoyl.
Kilfoyl came on in relief of starter Kat Sandercock in the fifth inning with her team trailing, 3-0. And from there, Kilfoyl was nearly unhittable over seven innings. She faced 28 batters and yielded just two hits while walking none, hitting a batter and striking out four on an incredible 115 pitches.
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
Although Portland scratched across a pair of runs against Kilfoyl, both were unearned. And she did not allow a hit over her final five innings — Cascade batters were 0-for-23 during that stretch.
The clutch performance was reminiscent of some of the greatest — and longest — relief appearances in MLB history. And by number of innings and pitches, it would be a rare feat in the Major Leagues.
Since 1994, there has only been one instance in the Majors of a relief pitcher going at least seven innings and throwing at least 115 pitches. That was Jordan Lyles for the Rangers against the A’s on Sept. 11, 2020, when he went seven innings and threw exactly 115 pitches.
