The Chicago Bandits improved their record to 18-6 with a 1-0 victory over the Akron Racers (10-15). Monica Abbott (10-1) and Rachel Fico (2-3) faced off in the circle, both pitching complete games. Abbott led the way with eight strikeouts to extend the Bandits' first place lead to 1.5 games over the USSSA Pride.
The Racers started the game with a single by Taylor Schlopy but she was left stranded as the Bandits ended the inning with a putout by shortstop Tammy Williams to Alisa Goler.
Chicago stringed together three hits in the second, led off by Alisa Goler and Tammy Williams back-to-back singles. Amber Patton's bunt advanced the runners and Vicky Galindo picked up her tenth RBI of the season after beating out the throw at first and scoring the first Bandit run.
Megan Wiggins led off the third with a line drive single and Racers' starting pitcher, Fico tossed her first walk of the game sending Alisa Goler to base but the two were left stranded to end the inning.
The bottom of the fourth saw singles by both Kimi Pohlman and Kazuki Watanabe; however, Wiggins was unable to convert the 3-2 count to bring home the runners, maintaining the Bandits' one-run lead.
Back-to-back singles by Taylor Schlopy and Kelley Montalvo put a pair of Racers on in the sixth but the Bandits escaped the inning unscathed as a couple of nice defensive plays ended the inning.
The Racers put the tying run on in the top of the seventh when Ayumi Karino singled and advanced on an error. However, Abbott shut out the Racers tossing two more strikeouts to end the game, bringing her game total to eight. She now ranks first in the league with 10 wins and an ERA of 0.40, tossing 111 strikeouts.
