The 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League held its Opening Day on Saturday with a pair of matchups between star-studded rosters.
The Talons and Bandits kicked off the action in Rosemont, Ill., while the Volts and Blaze will meet at 7:30 p.m. ET in Wichita, Kan., in the second game of the day. Watch the Volts-Blaze game on MLB Network and MLB.TV.
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It’s the first of 24 games for each of the league’s four teams, who will compete in 10 different cities until the end of the regular season on July 23. From July 26-28, the top two teams will face off in the best-of-three AUSL Championship at the University of Alabama’s Rhoads Stadium.
Here are the results from Saturday’s Opening Day action.
Bandits 3, Talons 1
Erin Coffel’s two-run triple stood up as the winning hit for the Bandits in the first ever AUSL regular-season game, played at The Stadium at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Ill.
With two outs and two strikes in the third inning, Coffel ripped a ball to right-center to drive in two runs and give the Bandits a 2-1 lead. Sydney McKinney helped add some insurance, reaching on an infield single in the fifth and scoring on an error.
Starter Lexi Kilfoyl (four innings) and reliever Taylor McQuillin (three innings) limited the Talons to a single run. That came courtesy of outfielder Sierra Sacco, a Mississippi State product who received one of 12 “golden tickets” for the AUSL’s inaugural College Draft. Sacco hit the first home run in AUSL history, an opposite-field solo shot off Montana Fouts to start the scoring in the top of the third.
But Coffel responded quickly for the Bandits, and the Talons stranded a baserunner in each of the final four innings in the loss.
The two teams will meet again at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday in Rosemont as the Bandits seek a 2-0 start to the season. You can watch Sunday's game on MLB.com, MLB.TV and in the MLB App.