Bandits sweep weekly NPF awards

The Chicago Bandits' trio of Emily Carosone, Ally Carda and Sashel Palacios swept the NPF's weekly awards distribution, league officials announced Wednesday afternoon.

Carosone, named the Boombah Player of the Week, enjoyed a breakout road trip for the Bandits. The third-year infielder from Auburn amassed a .500 clip at the plate in the six-game series against the Aussie Spirit and owns top-five ranks across the league in a plethora of offensive categories, including home runs (five), on-base percentage (.538), slugging percentage (1.217) and RBI (10). All of her single-season high five home runs came during the six-game set against the Spirit and four were opposite-field blasts.

Bandits right-hander Ally Carda earned the Diamond Sports Pitcher of the Week honor after she posted three consecutive appearances without allowing a run. The Team USA standout continued to impress in the circle in her first year in Chicago, posting a pair of wins and one save. The former UCLA Bruin recorded a spotless 0.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts through 12.0 innings of work.

First-year catcher Sashel Palacios took home the Rawlings Rookie of the Week award. The Arizona State product joined the Bandits during the team's road trip across Kansas and excelled in her opening series behind the plate. Palacios delivered a .556/.600/1.111 slash line in the six-game set against the Spirit, which included her first career home run as part of a three-RBI performance June 10. Palacios has hit safely in three of her four games since her professional debut June 6.

The combined efforts of Carosone, Carda and Palacios helped guide the Bandits to six straight wins over the Spirit en route to the best season-opening start in franchise history. The Bandits (10-0) will be back in action against the Spirit at 7:35 p.m. Saturday at Parkway Bank Sports Complex.