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2053 Preliminary Finals

Game 1 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Rodriguez and Ralston rattled through their respective opposition until the 6th (though Rodriguez did load the bases via free passes in the 3rd before striking out 2 in a row to end the inning). A Robin Herbert sac fly opened the scoring in the top of the 6th, giving Darwin a brief advantage. A run of walks and singles in the bottom of the inning saw Brisbane score 3 to take the lead. Lance Fookes slammed a 2-run HR in the 7th and that was all the scoring, Brisbane’s hitters looking a bit rusty but their pitchers looking well rested and well oiled. Rodriguez (6.0IP, 5H, 3ER, 6BB, 4K) had a couple innings where he couldn’t find the strike zone. He got the loss, while Ralston (7.0IP, 5H, 1ER, 3BB, 6K) got the win.

Game 1 - Canberra Cavalry vs Wellington Fury

All the scoring in this one was completed before the 5th inning. Canberra scored 3 in the 1st, via a Willem Baldwin solo HR and a 2-run Aguirre blast, and added 3 more runs through the 2nd-4th (Tommy Hillson and Newbold contributing longballs). Wellington stayed close, scoring 4 in that time, but couldn’t come any closer, the Canberra pitchers hitting their spots. Final score: 6-4 Canberra. Rayner (6.2IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 3K) got the win, Jay Cummins (5.1IP, 8H, 6ER, 1BB, 6K) the loss. Bob Bowden cleared the fence for the Fury.

Game 2 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Neither starting pitcher had their best stuff today, but it was Darwin who made the most of the situation, running away with the game thanks to a 6-run 5th, the centrepiece of which was Hal Burrows' Grand Slam. In contrast, the only runs the Bandits could manage was via a 2-run Ladds HR in the 3rd. Final score: 8-2 Darwin. Clint Aitcheson (4.2IP, 9H, 8ER, 4BB, 4K) looked underdone, while Budd (7.0IP, 10H, 2ER, 0BB, 1K) had to be happy the Brisbane offense still appeared rusty from their opening series layoff.

Game 2 - Canberra Cavalry vs Wellington Fury

Byron Moore had a strong outing, containing the Cavalry offense apart from 2 runs scored in the 5th. The Fury offense scored braces in each of the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings to ease to victory. Final score: 6-2 Fury. Moore (7.1IP, 4H, 2ER, 4BB, 5K) got a deserved win, while Blair Wurfel (4.2IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB, 2K) was worked over for 97 pitches in just 4.2 innings. Aaron Kay homered for Wellington.

Off day

Wellington announced that 26 y/o Jean-Louis Villard (.264/.327/.444, 25HR in 2053, .260/.317/.433, 73HR in 3 1/2 major league seasons) had signed a 5-year extension. The Canadian-born OF, whose 1st language was French, hadn’t quite played up to potential yet, Fury scouts said.

Game 3 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

9 of the 11 runs in this game were scored via HR. All the early scoring was Brisbane, Wakely going deep in the 1st, Yok-sing Guao (just back from injury in time for the postseason) putting one into the bleachers in the 2nd, and Ladds jacking in 2 runs in the 3rd. Toohey and Noah Blenkhorn got 2 back in 4th, both with solo HRs, and Darwin equalized in the 5th, Jayden Downes driving in 2 with a double into the gap between right and centre. That was all the scoring until the top of the 9th, neither team able to put runners on base. In the 9th Carlo Gadsden lofted a fastball 454 feet over leftfield and onto the stadium roof to put Brisbane 2 ahead. Danny Goodwin, stuck on 299 regular season HRs, led off the 9th with a solo shot down the leftfield line, but Leo Long retired the rest of the side in quick succession. Final score: 6-5 Brisbane.

King (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 1BB, 7K) gave his bullpen some rest, while Gallo (7.0IP, 5H, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) looked good and bad in turns. Neither starter got a decision out of this one.

Game 3 - Canberra Cavalry vs Wellington Fury

The Fury jumped out to a 7-0 advantage after 5, doubles seemingly the order of the day. Lee and Kerr hit HRs in the 6th, Lee’s a 2-run shot, to bring Canberra into the game. They nicked another 1 off the deficit in the 7th, but with them still 3 behind going into the bottom of the 9th it looked like Wellington’s game. Ahernfeld led off the inning with a single, then 23 y/o rookie Daniel Cassidy, who had all of 25 major league games under his belt, and no major league HRs, plonked a 1-2 slider into the rightfield bleachers to make it a 1-run ballgame. Closer Leo Pryor got yanked and Al Dunlop came to the mound. He got 2 quick outs, then Aguirre doubled into the rightfield corner, before Blanksby doubled into the rightfield hole to bring Aguirre home and tie it all up.

Neither side scored through the 10th. Wellington put runners on the corners with 1 out in the 11th but 2 strikeouts ended that threat. With a runner on in the bottom of the inning Aguirre slammed a pitch deep to centre, but only as far as the warning track. Rex Herbert struck out the side in the top of the 12th, and Hillson and Lee were quickly retired in the bottom of the inning. Terence Kerr walked, Ahernfeld singled, and then Cassidy was hero again, hitting a walk-off single wide of 2nd. Final score: 8-7 Canberra, in a robbery!

Spear (4.1IP, 12H, 7R, 5ER, 0BB, 3K) had an awful night, while Dan Pankhurst (8.0IP, 9H, 4ER, 3BB, 1K) looked certain to pick up a win until his bullpen got spooked.

Game 4 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

A Vince Hudswell HR in the 2nd put Brisbane ahead and there was no further scoring until the 7th, both pitchers in fine form. In the bottom of that inning, Felipe Corona loaded the bases with 3 consecutive walks, then a Hal Burrows nubber caught him off guard on the mound, with the end result a runner scoring and Burrows safe at 1st. A wild pitch scored the go-ahead run, and a Robin Herbert single 2 outs later gave Darwin a 4-run inning. Brisbane were retired meekly in the 8th and 9th to see this series go to a 5th game. Final score: 4-1 Darwin. Ralston (5.1IP, 2H, 0ER, 4BB, 4K) and Rodriguez (6.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 3BB, 3K) had themselves a good battle.

Game 4 - Canberra Cavalry vs Wellington Fury

A Baldwin Grand Slam gave Brisbane a 1st inning 4-run leg up. They added 4 more in the 5th and 3 in the 6th (via a Blanskby HR) to make it a rout. Wellington finally got some runs in the 8th, scoring 3, but it was a bridge too far. Final score: 11-3 Canberra, and they were off to their 1st Championship dance since 2037, giving them an opportunity to add to the solitary Championship they’d won back in 2021.

Rayner (7.2IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 6K) picked up his 3rd win of the postseason, while Cummins (4.0IP, 8H, 7ER, 3BB, 1K) looked awful again. Aguirre had collected 4 hits in each of the last 2 games, but hadn’t cleared the fence once.

Game 5 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Could Darwin do the improbable, and knock the Bandits off their perch? Hudswell did his best to dispel them of that notion, his 3-run shot in the 1st giving the Bandits an early buffer. But Darwin were a tenacious team, and they had confidence in their ‘hustle-ball.’ They pegged 2 runs back in the 3rd, unearned, and equalized in the 6th. Ladds gave Brisbane back their 3-run advantage with a HR in the bottom of the 7th, and after 2 quick outs in the 9th it looked like it was series over for Darwin. Hutchinson drew a walk, and then Blair Toohey pulled the 1st pitch of his AB over the leftfield fence to make it a 1-run ballgame. Unfortunately, Noah Blenkhorn lined out directly to the SS to end the game and Darwin’s series. Final score: 6-5 Brisbane, and they were headed to their 5th Championship series in a row.

Aitcheson (7.0IP, 5H, 3R, 1ER, 3BB, 3K) was much better this time around, while Budd (6.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 3BB, 3K) toiled away, throwing 129 pitches. Brisbane’s Adam Guiney left the park in the 8th, with no immediate word from the team trainer as to the problem.