The Utah Talons’ rule of the roost in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League continues after sweeping the 2026 AUSL Championship to win back-to-back titles.
The Talons defeated the Chicago Bandits again in the finals with a 2-1 victory on Saturday and a 6-1 win to hoist the trophy on Sunday afternoon at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas.
Outfielder Jadelyn Allchin was named the AUSL Championship Most Valuable Player, voted on by AUSL team & league personnel and broadcasters, after a pair of games that showcased her consistent bat, flashes of power, and defensive prowess. Pitcher Montana Fouts was in the elite postseason form expected of her. The 2026 Pitcher of the Year threw a complete-game shutout last season to seal the Talons’ first title and did the same a year later.
Fouts threw all seven innings, holding the Bandits to just four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
The two-hole batter in the Utah lineup, Allchin, launched a two-run blast over the right-center wall in the top of the first inning. She drove in Jayda Coleman, who started the inning with a single down the right-field line. It was her fifth homer of the year.
She later tacked on another run in the fourth, doubling down the right-field line.
“Incredibly proud of this group. Congratulations to the Bandits for a great year,” Talons head coach Cindy Ball-Malone said. “The first time I met all of them on a call in March, I asked them what their mission was, and they said to repeat. All I’m gonna say is job well done. Incredibly proud of them, and I’m pinching myself with this opportunity. I feel so blessed.”
Allchin didn’t go without showcasing why she was named to the 2026 All-AUSL Team as an outfielder, laying out for a catch in the third frame. She has been a Talons staple and fan favorite after going from being a top-contributing reserve pool player last season to earning a permanent spot on the roster.
“I don’t think I ever left the Talons, which is my favorite feeling,” Allchin said about her journey in the AUSL. “Even though I was a reserve last year, I was able to celebrate with them on the field, but being on the other side this year…it was all props to them. They still had the same belief in me.”
“Being able to just show up as me has taken me a long way,” Allchin added.
An error in the fourth inning cost the Bandits the third run of the game when a throwing error by third baseman Sami Williams allowed Hannah Flippen to score. The Talons added another unearned run when Allchin doubled to drive in Aliyah Andrews.
The exclamation point of victory came from Bri Ellis and Savannah Jaquish, who each launched home runs in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively. Ellis’ 245-foot home run cleared the left field scoreboard, while Jaquish’s homer was a 253-foot shot off the top of the board.
When asked what might be different about this year’s championship team compared to last, Ellis credited the way the offense supported the pitchers.
“We came out, and we hit today; that’s the difference,” Ellis said. Looking at Fouts, she added, “How many games did you have us on your back? And it’s about time for us to pick up and show up for her. “
In the 2025 AUSL Championship, the Talons scored just four total runs; the deciding game was a 1-0 shutout by Fouts.
Chicago scored its lone run of the afternoon in the bottom of the seventh. Skylar Wallace singled to left field to push Keirstin Roose across the plate, but Fouts got Sami Williams and Morgan Zerkle to ground out to shut down the Bandits’ comeback effort.
“I could feel in the middle of the game a little more intentional with locations,” Montana Fouts said. “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 locking in a little bit more on locations set the tone.”
The Talons showcased yet again that their calling card of great pitching, lockdown defense, and selfless offense is a championship formula in the AUSL.
Savanna Collins is the Senior Reporter for the AUSL. You can follow her on Instagram @savvyco.
