Nobody hands an expansion team a playoff berth. The Portland Cascade earned theirs the hard way, over 25 games, and made the AUSL's three-team postseason in year one. Then it ended about the cruelest way there is. Portland finished the inaugural regular season 14-11 and grabbed the No. 3 seed, then lost the win-or-go-home play-in 6-5 to the No. 2 Chicago Bandits on Thursday, July 23, on a walk-off in the bottom of the 11th inning, the longest game in league history. The first season is over. It was a good one.
Final: No. 2 Chicago Bandits 6, No. 3 Portland Cascade 5, in 11 innings, the longest game in AUSL history. Chicago won on a walk-off and advanced to the Championship Series against No. 1 Utah (July 25 to 27). Portland's inaugural season ends 14-11.
How an expansion team made the postseason
The AUSL takes only three of its six teams to the playoffs, and Portland was supposed to be a year away. Instead the Cascade were competitive from the jump and closed the regular season at 14-11, third behind two 16-9 clubs (Utah and Chicago). They did not clinch on the field: Portland finished its schedule with a 10-1 win over the Texas Volts on July 18, then waited. Oklahoma City sat 13-12, one game back, needing help. It never came. When the Spark were eliminated on the season's final day, the No. 3 seed belonged to Portland.
What stood out about the season is where the wins came from. The Cascade were better on the road (8-5) than at home (6-6), which is not how expansion teams usually work. And the schedule split in a way that would define the postseason: Portland went 4-1 against Utah, the top seed and defending champion, but just 1-4 against Chicago, the team that would end its season.
The debut season by the numbers
The tell of the season: the Cascade were road warriors (8-5 away, better than their 6-6 at home), owned the eventual No. 1 seed Utah (4-1), and could never solve Chicago (1-4), the team that ended their year. Their biggest win was a 10-1 run-rule of the Texas Volts to close the regular season.
Franchise firsts along the way
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Jun 11 | First franchise win, 12-4 at Carolina. All 12 runs scored in a single inning, a new AUSL single-inning record. Korbe Otis hit the first grand slam in club history. |
| Jun 13-15 | First series sweep, over the reigning-champion Utah Talons on the road, four straight wins after an 0-2 start. |
| Jun 18 | First home win, a 3-0 shutout of the OKC Spark in the Hillsboro home opener (Sam Landry complete game). |
| Jul 18 | Regular-season finale, a 10-1 win over Texas that finished the season 14-11 and clinched the No. 3 seed. |
| Jul 23 | First playoff game, a 6-5 loss to Chicago in 11 innings, the longest game in AUSL history. |
The play-in: eliminated in extras
Chicago had been Portland's worst matchup all year, and the play-in ran true to form, barely. The Bandits took four of the five regular-season meetings, including two lopsided ones on the road in early July (13-3 and 11-3), with Portland's lone win a 5-4 result at Hillsboro on July 12. The sixth meeting, on a neutral field with the season on it, went the distance and then some.
Tied into the 11th inning, it became the longest game in AUSL history before Chicago ended it: with two outs in the bottom of the 11th, Ailana Agbayani singled to score Taryn Kern for a 6-5 walk-off. Portland scored five, hung with the team that had owned it all year deep into extra innings, and came up a single run short. For an expansion team playing its first postseason game, that is a brutal way to lose, and proof that the Cascade belonged.
The what-if
Here is the part that stings. The Championship Series is Chicago against the No. 1 Utah Talons, the defending champion, and the Cascade are the one team that actually solved Utah this year: 4-1 against the Talons, including a road sweep in June and a 10-2 blowout in July. Nobody in this league matched up with Utah better than Portland did. The Cascade just could not get past Chicago to prove it. That is the tantalizing what-if of a first season that finished a single win short of the final.
The rest of the AUSL postseason
| Game | Date | Time (PT) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play-In: Portland vs Chicago | Thu, Jul 23 | Final | Chicago 6-5 (11 inn) |
| Championship G1: Chicago vs Utah | Sat, Jul 25 | 10:00 AM | ABC |
| Championship G2: Chicago vs Utah | Sun, Jul 26 | 11:00 AM | ESPN |
| Championship G3 (if needed) | Mon, Jul 27 | 4:00 PM | ESPN2 |
All postseason games are at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas (Texas A&M), and also air on ESPN Deportes. Game 1 on ABC is the first professional softball game broadcast on US network television. Portland is out, but the final it nearly reached is worth a watch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the Portland Cascade make the AUSL playoffs?
Yes. In their inaugural 2026 season the Cascade finished the regular season 14-11 and clinched the No. 3 seed, the last of three playoff spots. Oklahoma City finished 13-12, one game back, and its elimination on the final day locked Portland in.
What happened in the Cascade play-in game?
The No. 2 Chicago Bandits beat Portland 6-5 in 11 innings on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas. It was the longest game in AUSL history and ended on a two-out walk-off in the bottom of the 11th. Chicago advanced; Portland's season ended 14-11.
Are the Cascade still in the playoffs?
No. Portland was eliminated in the July 23 play-in, a 6-5 loss to Chicago in extra innings. The 2026 season is over. The next Cascade games are in 2027.
Who is in the 2026 AUSL Championship Series?
The No. 2 Chicago Bandits and the No. 1 Utah Talons, best-of-three, July 25 to 27, 2026 at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas. Game 1 is Saturday July 25 at 10:00 AM PT on ABC, the first pro softball game on US network TV, with Game 2 on ESPN (Jul 26) and Game 3 if necessary on ESPN2 (Jul 27).
What's next for the Cascade
The AUSL is a summer league, so the Cascade go quiet until 2027. But for an expansion team, 14-11 and a playoff berth in year one is a foundation, not a ceiling. They proved they can beat anyone in this league (just ask Utah), and the core is young: Sam Landry and Kelly Maxwell in the circle, Megan Grant and her record-setting bat, Sis Bates up the middle, and Oregon's own Paige Sinicki, back on the field after beating cancer. A walk-off play-in loss is the kind of thing a second-year team carries into the offseason. Portland showed up for pro softball in year one. The Cascade gave them a reason to come back.
Watch the Cascade hub and the combined calendar for the 2027 schedule once the AUSL announces it.
More Cascade
Record and results derived from our data (updates automatically). Play-in result and postseason schedule per theausl.com.