On the final day of round two, the Brisbane Bandits split the series vs the Auckland Tuatara by losing 4-0 and winning 4-2. The Sydney Blue Sox won the final game of the four-game series vs the Canberra Cavalry to avoid a sweep.
In the first game of the doubleheader between the Auckland Tuatara and the reigning ABL champs Brisbane Bandits, the Kiwis beat the Aussies in a shutout fashion: 4-0. But the Bandits avoided a series loss by winning the last game of the weekend by 4-2. The Auckland Tuatara took a 2-0 lead by scoring a run in the third and the fourth inning but their two-run lead would not even last an inning as the Bandits cut the lead in half in the fifth. One inning later, T.J. Bennett scored on a 4-3 groundout hit by Donald Lutz to tie the game at two.
The game continued with a deadlock so after nine frames extra innings were needed. In the meantime, Loek van Mil had pitched a perfect ninth in which he struck out one. As the Bandits scored twice in the tenth inning, van Mil earned the win, his first of the season.
In Sydney, the Blue Sox had lost three games so far. But today they avoided the sweep as they beat the Canberra Cavalry 11-1. Three big innings were enough to clinch the victory. The Blue Sox scored thrice in the second inning to turn the tables after the Cavalry had taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning. A five-run third inning and a three-run eighth inning lead to eleven runs.
Dutch hoofdklasse player Dwayne Kemp went 2 for 5 with an RBI and the other hoofdklasse player on the roster of the Blue Sox, Shogo Nakashima, pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out two, to rebound from a tough outing on Friday.
Standings after two rounds:
Australian Baseball League Northeast | ||||||||
Club | W | L | PCT▼ | GB | Home | Away | L 10 | Streak |
Sydney Blue Sox | 5 | 3 | .625 | – | 5-3 | 0-0 | 5-3 | W1 |
Brisbane Bandits | 4 | 3 | .571 | 0.5 | 3-1 | 1-2- | 4-3 | W1 |
Canberra Cavalry | 3 | 5 | .375 | 2.0 | 0-0 | 3-5 | 3-5 | L1 |
Auckland Tuatara | 2 | 5 | .286 | 2.5 | 2-1 | 0-4 | 0-4 | L1 |
Australian Baseball League Southwest | ||||||||
Club | W | L | PCT▼ | GB | Home | Away | L 10 | Streak |
Perth Heat | 7 | 1 | .875 | – | 4-0 | 3-1 | 7-1 | W3 |
Melbourne Aces | 6 | 2 | .750 | 1.0 | 4-0 | 2-2 | 6-2 | L1 |
Adelaide Bite | 3 | 5 | .375 | 4.0 | 2-2- | 1-3 | 3-5 | W1 |
Geelong-Korea | 1 | 7 | .125 | 6.0 | 1-3 | 0-4 | 1-7 | L3 |