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2057 Division Finals

Game 1 - Perth Heat vs Melbourne Aces

In a real slugfest, Melbourne did most of their damage early, a lethargic Connor Chapman (2.2IP, 9H, 8R, 7ER, 0BB, 3K) serving up tater-balls until he was hoiked in the 3rd. However, Perth refused to lie down, fighting back to within 2 in the 5th. Still, the game was Melbourne’s to lose, and despite a few nerves in the 9th (an error followed by a hit batter) they got it done. Final score: 11-9 Aces. Li Loetzsch (4.1IP, 7H, 7ER, 0BB, 4K) didn’t have a happy night either, giving up 5HR. For Melbourne, Vern Bull, Danny Caporn, and Rowan Kimpton went long, while Calvin Hodnett, Ed Geoghegan, Steven Tipping and Quintin Welch did so for Peth, Welch twice. Beau Snell continued his hot form, going 4-4. He had a chance to make it a 5-hitter, but followed his skipper’s instructions and laid down a sac-bunt instead before getting replaced by a defensive specialist.

Game 1 - Darwin Diggers vs Sydney Blue Sox

Darwin opened the scoring in the top of the 2nd, but would’ve been disappointed to only notch 1 after loading the bases with 0 out. Arturo Medina extended the lead with a solo bomb in the 4th. Sydney got into the game in the bottom of the inning, and tied it up in the 5th thanks to an Isaac Whiskin HR. 2 errors in the 8th helped Darwin go back ahead by 2, but a 2-run Ryan Wie blast in the bottom of the inning tied it back up. The score was still tied at the end of 9. It didn’t remain tied for long though, Darwin hustling in a run in the 10th, before shakily closing it out in the bottom of the inning. Final score: 5-4 Diggers. Zachariah Pond (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 3BB, 3K) was probably left in an inning too long, while Ryan Douglass (7.2IP, 10H, 4R, 2ER, 2BB, 6K) threw a lot of pitches over the middle of the plate. Rhett Thurley got the win, throwing the 9th and 10th. Medina was 4-5.

Christos Hutchinson strained his back in the 4th diving into 2nd to complete a double. He wouldn’t be back this postseason. At that point he had Sydney’s only 2 hits of the game.

Game 2 - Perth Heat vs Melbourne Aces

In a cruel blow, 22 y/o Heat starter Barry Dean only recorded 1 out before hobbling from the field with a hamstring strain that would not only keep him out of the rest of the postseason, but would also wreak havoc on Perth's bullpen arms this game. Replacement Felipe Corona did an admirable job until the bottom of the 4th when Terence Guyatt jolted one down the RF line for a 2-run HR. Roy Haynes would crack another 2-run shot later in the inning (off another pitcher) to put Melbourne further in front. It was a lead they’d never relinquish, stamping their authority on the match with a 7-run 7th. Final score: 11-1 Melbourne to go within a game of the Preliminary Finals. Eddie Zglinicki (6.2IP, 4H, 1ER, 5BB, 9K) was either fanning or walking hitters, the only run he allowed a Geoghegan HR. The Heat bullpen struggled, as could be expected. Melbourne turned 3 double plays.

Game 2 - Darwin Diggers vs Sydney Blue Sox

Once again, Darwin loaded the bases with no outs in the 2nd, and once again could only muster 1 run. Sydney rallied 3 home in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Darwin had a near-identical 3rd inning to their 2nd. The game stayed close until the end, neither team mustering a ton of offense, but Sydney never looking like losing. Final score: 4-2 Sydney to even the series. Raymond Eykelbosch (8.0IP, 3H, 2ER, 5BB, 3K) had a few control issues but no Diggers hitters made strong contact on him, while Bruno Budd (8.0IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K) did what he did best: ate innings.

Game 3 - Perth Heat vs Melbourne Aces

Staring down the barrel at defeat, could the Heat rise at home and keep the series going at least 1 more game? Both teams exchanged blows across the early innings, the score 4-3 Perth after 4 (including Melbourne's Rowan Kimpton’s 463-foot monster jack to lead off the 3rd). Hodnett cracked a 452-foot homer in the 5th, and Mitch Donahue a similar-distance 2-run blast in the 7th. Melbourne couldn’t get anything more going, Jose Ramirez (7.0IP, 7H, 3ER, 2BB, 5K) doing a decent job in his maiden postseason start. Final score: 10-3 to continue the high-scoring nature of the series. Damian Flemming (4.0IP, 6H, 5ER, 3BB, 1K) got yanked after giving up a leadoff HR in the 5th.

Game 3 - Darwin Diggers vs Sydney Blue Sox

Both teams scrapped 3 runners across home plate during regulation innings, the Blue Sox looking the better offensively, but not able to capitalize. Rodney Donovan hit 2 batters in the 10th, extending the inning long enough for Isaac Whiskin to launch a 2-run HR into the leftfield stands. Darwin scrambled a run home in the bottom of the inning, and almost had another but instead Blue Sox 1B Joshua Angwin scooped a throw in the dirt to record the game-winning out. Final score: 5-4 Sydney. Marty Palmer (8.0IP, 4H, 3ER, 2BB, 2K) got a lot of weak contact, while Marcos Gallo (7.2IP, 8H, 3ER, 1BB, 1K) muddled his way through.

Game 4 - Perth Heat vs Melbourne Aces

Before festivities commenced, Melbourne announced that 27 y/o Lachlan Foley (.336/.373/.476, 11HR) had agreed to an arb buyout, signing a 3-year extension. He’d be with Melbourne at least 1 year into free agency if he saw out the entirety of his deal with the club.

The 2 battered starters from Game 1 would renew acquaintances. Loetzsch continued to serve up HRs, surrendering a 3-run bomb to the hot Welch in the bottom of the 1st to get the scoring started. A horror 2nd (2 errors, 3 hit batters, a passed ball) saw Perth score 4 more to take a commanding early lead. In the 4th Vern Bull was unlucky not to record Melbourne’s first hit of the night, his hard groundball back at the pitcher rebounding off Chapman’s hastily extended foot towards 1st, where Geoghegan barehanded it and stepped on the bag to retire Bull by a couple steps. The Aces finally got a hit next inning, but Chapman was a totally different pitcher in his home yard, and they could do nothing more. They would eventually score in the 6th, a succession of ground balls evading the infield and resulting in 1 run, but that was all they could muster, Perth completing their 2nd dominant performance in a row, the final score 12-1. Loetzsch (1.2IP, 4H, 7R, 5ER, 1BB, 1K) got yanked very early, while Chapman (7.0IP, 6H, 1ER, 1BB, 1K) was a groundball supremo. Welch went 4-5 and tied the postseason game RBI record, driving in 7.

Game 4 - Darwin Diggers vs Sydney Blue Sox

Angwin crunched a 445-foot HR into the wind in the 2nd to give the scorers their first action of the night, and Ryan Wie added another 4-bagger in the 4th. Sydney sent 13 hitters to the plate in the 6th, Darwin’s bullpen having trouble finding the plate, and scored 7 to bust the game wide open. Darwin loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning but, much as they had all series, could do little with the opportunity. It would prove to be their only chance to make a game of it. Final score: 11-1 Sydney and they were moving up and on. Douglass (5.0IP, 7H, 1ER, 3BB, 1K) wasn’t great but got the win, while Pond (5.1IP, 7H, 3ER, 1BB, 6K) took the loss. Zachary Woollett went 0-17 in the series, and Maggs 2-17, meaning the meat of Darwin’s lineup was all bone when it counted.

Off Day

Melbourne announced 27 y/o SP Eddie Zglinicki (18-9, 3.88 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 1.29 WHIP), due to throw tomorrow, had extended with them for 3 years. He had just over 4 years ML service time.

Veteran Sydney-sider Trent Allan (.278/.393/.422, 13HR) would extend his 13-year career with the Blue Sox even further. The 34 y/o LF had signed a 2-year extension, and said he was excited to have his playing future sorted, but was even more excited to be heading deeper into the postseason with his beloved club. He’d won a ring with them already, back in 2046, but definitely liked “the idea of getting that one a brother.”

Game 5 - Perth Heat vs Melbourne Aces

Ed Geoghegan had been hit by a pitch 4 times already this series, with Aces’ skipper Wendell Kay implying that the Perth slugger might be crowding the plate a bit more than he had during the regular season. When asked Geoghegan winked, patted his belly, and said, “Maybe the cushion’s grown a bit since last week.”

After 4 and a half unusual innings without much offense and plenty of strikeouts Melbourne busted out with 5 runs to put one foot in the Preliminary Finals. Stephen Tipping got 1 back with a solo shot in the 5th, but Melbourne regained the 5-run advantage in the bottom of the inning. Geoghegan slugged his 3rd HR of the series in the 8th, starting a rally which ended with a 2-run Donahue HR down the leftfield line and made it a 1-run game. Closer Craig Lewis marched out in the 9th, all confidence. Well-placed confidence, as it turned out. He induced 2 towering popups then struck Toohey out swinging to end the game. Final score: 6-5 Melbourne and they were headed to a date with favourites Christchurch. Zglinicki (6.1IP, 7H, 1ER, 1BB, 6K) got a deserved win, while Ramirez (3.1IP, 5H, 3ER, 1BB, 4K), pitching on short rest, looked good until that 4th inning. Beau Snell had his 2nd 4-hit game of the postseason.