[Izz]

2052 Division Finals

Game 1 - Wellington Fury vs Darwin Diggers

1st year Fury skipper Rhett Maher, who’d been a pitching coach for the Diggers’ AAA-affiliate before landing the Fury gig, admitted his side “probably didn’t deserve to be here” when talking to media before Game 1. But then he shrugged and continued, “But we are here, and that’s that. And we’re planning on winning the whole thing.”

It was the Diggers who got off to the best start in Game 1, though, up 3-0 after 3. Wellington roared back in the 4th and 5th, Lopez’s 2-run HR in the 5th giving them a 4-3 lead. The Diggers scored 3 in the 8th to retake the advantage, but if they thought that was the game, they were wrong. Alec Dickson led off the 9th with a HR and the equaliser scored an out later. The 10th through top of the 13th passed in 3 batters up, 3 batters down fashion before Damon McKinna singled with 1 out in the bottom of the 13th. A batter later Christos Hutchinson singled and CF Isaac Blythe bobbled the pickup, leading to McKinna scoring the winning run. Final score: 7-6 Darwin. Both starters went deep, Darwin’s Bruno Budd (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 1BB, 6K) going 8, while Dan Pankhurst (7.0IP, 9H, 5ER, 2BB, 4K) left with the lead but didn’t get the win. Former Wellingtonian Gavin Harris (mid-season trade) ended up getting the W, much to his delight.

Game 1 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

Both teams had exactly the same regular season record, but Canberra, who hit at a .294 rate, were favoured. They scored 5 in the 4th to take a 6-2 lead and looked set to hold the advantage, both teams trading single runs until the bottom of the 7th, when Newcastle exploded, 11 hitters coming to the plate and 7 runs scoring, though only 4 were counted as earned. They added another in the 8th to make it a no-contest, the final score 11-7 Roos. Angelo Spear (6.1IP, 11H, 6ER, 1BB, 3K) did what he often did: allow plenty of baserunners but still look like he would get the result. Brock Casey (3.2IP, 7H, 6ER, 2BB, 1K) didn’t last long, teammate Isaac Russell getting the win with an innings work. Willem Baldwin homered for Canberra, while Ronald Cowell did so for Newcastle.

Game 2 - Wellington Fury vs Darwin Diggers

This one was another tight affair... until the 8th when Wellington busted out with 5 runs to take a 4-run lead. They scored 4 more in the 9th to make it a cakewalk, 3 of those runs coming via an Isaac Blythe HR. Final score: 10-2 Wellington. Interestingly, Darwin only had 2 less baserunners than the Fury, though all the Diggers’ hits came in singles. Jay Cummins (6.2IP, 12H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 6K) allowed all of Darwin’s men on base, while Brad King (6.0IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 7K) left with the lead only to see his bullpen implode.

Game 2 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

Jacob Blanksby’s 2HRs accounted for 3 of Canberra’s runs and gave them a 4-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the 8th (all 3 Newcastle runs coming off the bat of Ruben Rosales, via 2 HRs). Then Connor Rowling, who’d snuck back into the AUNZBL, sporting a terrible mustache, this season after 2 years in the BL, crunched a 2-out line drive 397 feet down the LF line to put Newcastle ahead by 1. Robert Bywaters got 3 ground ball outs to save the game and Newcastle were up 2-nothing. Final score: 5-4 Newcastle. Al Dunlop (5.2IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K) threw some good stuff and some not-so-good stuff, while Wei-Liang Chang (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 1BB, 4K) stayed on the mound long enough to get the W.

Off Day

Brad King (34-28, 3.63 ERA, 4.24 FIP, 1.28 WHIP career) signed a 5-year extension with Darwin. Fans were overjoyed at the prospect of seeing him in their colours until he’d served at least 1 of his free agent years.

Game 3 - Wellington Fury vs Darwin Diggers

23 y/o Byron Moore had been a solid performer during the regular season, finishing with a 15-11 record. And today he showed veteran-like calm in his 1st ever ML postseason start, throwing 8 innings of 5-hit, 2-walk ball, allowing no runners to score. He struck out 5 and wasn’t let down by closer Edward Hewat, who recorded the easy save. Final score: 3-0 Wellington, for an unlikely series lead. Jesus Rodriguez (4.2IP, 7H, 3R, 2ER, 4BB, 4K) had an unhappy night for the loss.

Game 3 - Canberra Cavalry vs Newcastle Roos

Newcastle scored 6 in the 1st 2 innings (Marshall Tipping’s 3-run HR in the 1st helping things along), while Canberra scored 3 to keep themselves in the contest (Mike Wurfel hit a 2-run HR in the 1st). A 4-run 4th (including a 2-run Baldwin HR) saw Canberra momentarily pull ahead, but Ruben Rosales saw Newcastle back in front with a 2-run blast in the 7th. And that was how the score would remain, Newcastle winning 8-7 to move to the next round via a sweep. Blair Wurfel (2.1IP, 6H, 6ER, 3BB, 2K) took most of the responsibility for the loss onto his shoulders after the game, saying, “I really pitched badly today. If my catcher’s glove was at the knees that pretty much meant I’d throw at the shoulders.” Edwin Kerr (4.2IP, 7H, 6ER, 1BB, 2K) didn’t have a great outing either, but would get another chance to strut his stuff this postseason. Newcastle used 5 pitchers across the final 2 innings.

Game 4 - Wellington Fury vs Darwin Diggers

Could Wellington do the unlikely, and knock the deserving Diggers out? Yes, they could. It was a tight game from start to finish, though, Wellington scoring 2 runs across the 2nd-3rd to take a lead they’d never relinquish. Lindsay Colson homered against his previous club in the 3rd and couldn’t resist an exultant bat flip once the ball left the yard. Darwin hustled a run back in the 5th, but Wellington regained the 2-run cushion in the bottom of the inning. Darwin again showed their never-say-die attitude in the 7th to manufacture another run but that was as close as they would get. Final score: 3-2 Wellington and they were off to ride their luck against Central Coast in the Preliminary Finals. Budd (8.0IP, 9H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K) threw a complete game loss, while Pankhurst (6.1IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 4K) got himself a W.