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2036 Division Finals - Wellington Fury v Central Coast Thunder

The Fury broke their league-record 12-year postseason drought by winning 92 regular season games, 8 better than closest wildcard rivals, Newcastle. It was the Fury’s pitching and defense that got them past the regular season. They’d only scored the 10th-most runs in the league, and were ranked 11th in batting average, and 8th in OBP. However, they’d allowed the 4th-least runs, and had the best defensive efficiency. Their pitchers also had the 2nd best control in the league, only walking 422 batters all season.

In many ways, the Fury were a similar team to Central Coast, who’d rebounded after a poor 2035, winning 105 games in 2036 to completely dominate the Northeast Division. The Thunder had improved their offense this season, scoring the 3rd most runs. They had the best overall defense, conceding the least runs, and 2nd behind only the Fury in defensive efficiency. Opponents hit a puny .238 against them all season, and the 123HRs they’d allowed was the lowest in the AUNZBL.

The last time the Fury reached the playoffs they won it all. This time around the experts predicted a close series, but most went with the Thunder to win in 4 or 5.

Game 1

Carlo Schwer (9-11, 4.30 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.21 WHIP) got the Game 1 nod for Wellington, while Bradley Lundgren (16-7, 3.46 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.19 WHIP) would take the mound for the Thunder.

Jesus Galindo got the scoring underway in the 3rd with a 422-foot rocket over left centre that scored 2. The Fury evened the score in the 4th. The scores would remain tied until the top of the 8th. With 1 out, Fury catcher Danny Goodwin reached on an error by the shortstop, Wendell Baxter came out to pinch hit and was intentionally walked, and Marcos Dolgonos, who’d played all of 3 regular season games, singled past 2nd to load the bases. Lou Stapleton would strike out, but Simon Calleson didn’t let the chance go, doubling down the left field line and into the corner to clear the bases. 5-2 Fury.

Galindo would hit his second HR of the night to lead off the bottom of the inning. Arthur Sproule doubled and Bernie Baker singled to put runners on the corners. Trent Parsons hit a sharp one back to the pitcher, who bobbled and ended up throwing late to 1st. Sproule scored, and the Thunder now had the go-ahead run at 1st. An out later, Logan Stanley’s single would load the bases, but the Thunder couldn’t take advantage.

And that was all the scoring in the game. Naismith would retire the side in order in the bottom of the 9th to record the save and see the Fury to a 1st-up 5-4 victory.

Schwer got the win, though he was less than stellar in his 7.1 innings. He allowed 10 hits and walked 2, with 4 Ks, for 4 earned runs. Lundgren left the game in the 6th, throwing 103 pitches in 5.1 innings. He conceded 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 6, for 2 earned runs. Brock Humphries, a 30-game regular season starter, would cop the loss, allowing 3 relief runs in 1/3 of an inning.

Game 2

24 y/o Tim Thurgood (5-8, 3 saves, 4.78 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 1.44 WHIP, 15 starts), who had been moved permanently into the starting rotation in February would be Wellington’s SP. Thunder mid-season acquisition Neil Okolita (12-6, 2.68 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 1.15 WHIP) would be Thurgood’s opponent.

The Thunder got the scoring started in the bottom of the 1st, putting 2 runs up, 1 of those courtesy of an Arthur Sproule solo HR. The Fury loaded the bases with 0 outs in the top of the 2nd, and brought 2 home to even the score up, but could manage no more. The Thunder would go ahead again in the bottom of the inning, making the score 3-2, but the Fury would strike back the very next inning, scoring 3 (BB, double 9LS, sac-fly, rbi-single between 1st and 2nd, rbi-double 8LD). Arthur Sproule’s 2nd solo shot of the night in the bottom of the inning made it 5-4 through 3 innings.

The run-scoring would dry up after that until the 8th, when the Fury manufactured another run to go up 6-4. Ian Naismith would again go through the Thunder 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th to notch up another save.

Okolita struggled his way through 4.1 innings, giving up 9 hits and walking 5 for 5 earned runs. He struck out 4, and threw 111 pitches for a 10.38 ERA. Thurgood got over his early nerves to throw 7 innings, allowing 8 hits and 1 walk for 4 earned runs. A groundball pitcher who didn’t have a pure fastball, but could throw a 150 km/h cutter, a good sinker and a nasty knuckle curve (plus a poor changeup), Thurgood didn’t get a single strikeout in Game 2.

Thunder MR Luigi Kinnear left the game at the end of the 5th with a dead arm. He wouldn’t be available for the rest of the series.

Game 3

With a surprise (to the commentators, at least) 2 game lead in the series, the Fury had a chance to complete a sweep in front of their home fans.

The Thunder would finally unleash 20-game winner Bernie Limeburner, while the Fury elected to also go with their winningest starter of the season, Mitchell Gallagher (16-7, 3.30 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 1.14 FIP).

Both pitchers were tight through 5, before the Thunder scored 2 in the 6th to take the advantage. The Fury would hit back in the bottom of the 7th, scoring 3 (BB, single, rbi-single, F7, 2-rbi double).

The score would stay 3-2 Fury until the top of the 9th. Naismith strode out to the pitch, with the opportunity to make it 3 straight saves and a series sweep. Blair Ottaway, leading off the inning, had other ideas and when Naismith hung a 2-2 curveball over the plate he launched it deep over right centre and into the stands to even the score. Naismith would recover and finish off the inning with no further damage, and pitch a scoreless 10th as well.

Top of the 11th, and Blair Ottaway was leading off the inning again, this time facing reliever Karl Murphy. On the 2-1 count, Murphy threw a fastball at the outside corner. Ottaway, crowding the plate, got good contact, pulling it deep over right field. It stayed fair, for his 2nd pivotal HR of the night, to put the Thunder ahead 4-3.

The Thunder couldn’t add any more, but they didn’t need to. Andres Romero clearly enjoyed his opportunity to close out the game (Sheelah had thrown the 9th & 10th), and induced weak contact on all three Fury batters (fly, groundball, groundball). 4-3 Thunder to keep them alive in the series.

Limeburner threw 6.1 innings, surrendering 5 hits and 4 walks, striking out 6, for 3 earned runs. Gallagher went 7.2, walking none and allowing just the 7 hits for 2 earned runs. Sheelah got the win. The Fury had yet to hit a HR in the series.

Game 4

Lundgren v Schwer again.

The Thunder scored 3 in the 2nd (a Bernie Baker solo HR, and a Bryan Redelius 2-run blast) and never relinquished their lead. Edward Bebbington even hit a homer, in the 5th, to make the score 4-1. They added another 3 in the 7th, and while the Fury led off the bottom of the 9th with back-to-back doubles, making the score 7-3, that was all they could muster. Series locked at 2-2 and heading back to the Central Coast for the deciding game.

This would be the 1st time since 2028 both Division Finals had gone to 5 games.

Schwer threw 5.1 innings, giving up 7 hits and striking out 2 for 4 earned runs. Lundgren got the win, with 6.1 busy innings. He conceded 6 hits and 2 walks, fanning 4, for 2 earned runs.

Jason Brice hit Wellington’s 1st HR of the series in the 5th.

Game 5

First-year Thunder GM and former AA player Gordon Swan helmed the pre-match press conference. Gareth Torley and his coaching staff were “busy with last minute strategy stuff,” he said. What that ‘strategy stuff’ was, he wouldn’t reveal, though a few analysts on pre-match discussion shows quipped that he was trying to find a way to convince the team's medical staff that Limeburner could handle starting 2 games in 4 days.

However, Okolita started, and the Fury sent out Thurgood.

If Torley had been wanting Limeburner to start, he might’ve been cradling his head in his hands in the top of the 1st after Okolita loaded the bases with no-one out (bunt hit, single 5D, BB). Okolita took a few moments to compose himself, and then struck out the next 2, including power-hitter Harley Puckeridge. But he wasn’t out of the woods just yet. Wendell Baxter showed great patience, watching the 1st 4 pitches of his AB whizz past. With the count 2-2, he finally got a pitch to pull, and launched it into the right-field bleachers. Grand Slam! 4-0 Fury.

The lead wouldn’t stay with the Fury for long, though. The Thunder brought 9 batters to the plate in the 2nd, scoring 4 to tie it all up. The Fury got the lead back in the 4th, Jason Brice doubling Puckeridge home, and scored 2 more in the 5th, neither of them earned, to make it 7-4. Sproule’s 3rd HR of the series made it 7-5 in the bottom of the inning, but while both teams had opportunities, that was how the score remained.

Naismith had recovered from his blown save in Game 3, and needed only 9 pitches to finish the bottom of the 9th.

Okolita allowed in 7 runs (5 earned) in 4.2 innings, off the back of 7 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 5. Thurgood was also wayward, conceding 10 hits and 2 walks in 5.1 innings for 5 earned runs. He struck out 4 and got the W, but it was the Fury relievers who deserved the credit, 4 of them combining to throw 3.2 scoreless innings, only allowing 2 hits.

Despite the blown save, Naismith picked up Hurler of the Series. He threw 5.0 innings across 4 appearances, allowing only the 1HR, and 2 other hits. He notched up 3 saves.

Arthur Sproule was awarded Slugger of the Series. He was on the losing side, but hit .409/.435/1.000, with 3HR, 4 doubles and 6RBI.