Megan Gibson for the Force, Jessica Sallinger for the Bandits.

For the second time today, the home team took the lead for good in the first inning. But not before the Force got a short-lived lead of their own.

Clare Burnum started the game with a single, and moved to third on a single and a fielder's choice. Chelsea Spencer hit a sac-fly to score Burnum, and the Force were up by 1 with Chicago coming up to hit.

Gibson got two quick outs before the Bandits got going, and the Force started helping them. Rachel Folden singled, followed by Jaime Clark's double. Nicole Trimboli singled both runners home, then took second on an error by Sharonda McDonald (CF). Samantha Findlay singled, then took second on a throwing error by Savannah Long (LF), which also allowed Trimboli to score. The Bandits were up 3-1, with one of those runs unearned.

Neither team scored again until the bottom of the 4th. Aimee Morales lead off the inning for the Bandits with a single. After a lineout, error number three on a foul ball, wild pitch, and another single by Kristie Fox, Gibson was replaced by Katie Burkhart in the circle. This didn't help, as Findlay doubled to left center, scoring both runners. Chicago had 2 more runs to lead 5-1, and another run was unearned thanks to a Force error.

Neither team scored in the 5th, or the 6th, or the 7th, so the final score was 5-1.

The Force will meet the Glory in the first game on Sunday, with the winner moving on to face the Bandits, and would have to win twice to win the championship.