2065 Preliminary Finals
Game 1 - Canberra Cavalry vs Christchurch Cowboys
Barry Dean, fully rested, would take on the Cavalry’s young ace, Brendon Penfold, who was one of only 2 players during the regular season to start 35 games. Penfold’s previous start this postseason had been a 6-inning, 3-run affair in Canberra’s 11-3 shellacking of Wellington in Game 3 of the Division Finals.
Late-February AA call-up Julian Damerall returned from injury and into Canberra’s starting lineup. The Cowboys made a few unusual decisions for their Game 1 starting lineup, with regular catcher Russell Smith warming the pine in favour of rookie Yu Kang, and Tomas Zartuche also left out.
Dean went through them in order on 15 pitches in the top of the 1st. David Romo drew a leadoff walk to begin the bottom of the inning but was quickly the victim of a fielder’s choice. Beau Hauer ground into an inning-ending 1-6-3 double-play and the 1st was done and dusted.
Venugopalan collected the first hit of the game in the 2nd, and made it to scoring position after a balk was called on Dean, who appeared entirely mystified. Canberra were unable to capitalize.
Maurice Clemens took a fastball on the arm in the bottom of the 3rd, and then stole 2B to give Christchurch an opportunity with none away. 2 outs later Romo hit a hard single to centre and Clemens chugged home for the opening run. 1-0 Christchurch.
Romo was in the action again in the top of the 4th, tracking a well-hit fly back into the shadows of the RF wall for the first out, and then tripping while chasing and catching a shallow fly from the next hitter. Still, he managed to hold onto it, though CF Wes Corless took great pleasure out of miming back to Romo how he’d looked.
It was a pitchers’ game through 4, both starters only allowing 1 hit and 1 walk each.
Venugopalan punched a single up the middle to begin the 5th, both of the Cavalry’s hit so far beside his name. Then Benbow launched the ninth pitch of his at-bat over the head of Corless for a double. The slow-running Venugopalan stopped at 3B but tagged up and came home off Culaham’s sac-fly. Rees trickled a single past 1B Rowan Kimpton and Benbow sprinted home to give Canberra the lead. Yegammai doubled into the RF corner and the Cavalry had runners on 2B and 3B once again. Dean took some time walking around the mound before pitching to Murphy, whose fly to CF scored Rees. 3-1 Canberra, the Cavalry hitters making a lot of good contact off Dean.
Watts led off the top of the 6th with a single up the middle and Damerall followed suit with a single past 1B. Watts tried for 3B but Romo’s throw was an on-target lightning bolt, Dean giving his teammate a round of applause. Damerall stole 2B and tagged up for 3B on a deep fly-out to left. He was left stranded and the score remained 3-1.
Culaham hurt himself while making a great running catch from 2B to shallow CF to rob Kimpton of a hit in the bottom of the 6th and left the field. An intercostal strain, was the word from the sheds, which would probably sideline Culaham for a couple of days. After 6 innings Christchurch had only managed 1 hit, while Canberra had knocked Dean around for 7.
Rees doubled with 1 away in the 7th but Dean struck out the next 2 hitters to end the inning.
Penfold (6.2IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 3K) allowed a pair of 2-out singles in the 7th and was replaced, but had looked far the better of the 2 pitchers tonight. To the surprise of the commentators Dean came out for the 8th. He got through the side, allowing a single in the process.
In the bottom of the 8th, Kimpton jumped on a fastball up in the zone and sent it soaring into the centre-right bleachers to pull Christchurch within 1, the home crowd rousing itself from its slumber in the process. Romo followed with a fly ball that bounced into the RF corner. He dived in at 3B safely and the Cowboys had the tying run on 3B with 2 outs left in the inning. Pickhills’ soft grounder saw him thrown out at 1B, Romo staying put at 3B. Hauer swung through a changeup to strike out and the threat had been extinguished. 3-2 Cavalry.
Wendell Koka came out to throw the bottom of the 9th. Corless dribbled one back to the pitcher and was retired. Zartuche, who’d subbed in as a pinch-runner in the 7th, singled up the middle. Utting nubbed one in front of homeplate. Watts hurled to 2B for the out but the throw to 1B wasn’t quite in time to get Utting. Clemens stroked a clean single to right and Utting safely took on the throw to get to 3B. Kang swung and missed a low fastball and Canberra had held on to win.
Final score: 3-2 Cavalry, Christchurch fans immediately taking to social media and the talkback lines to bemoan manager Marcus Kent’s lineup choices.
Game 1 - Auckland Metros vs Brisbane Bandits
Domenic Jones would take on Sebastian Woodger in a battle of the southpaws for Game 1 of this rematch of last year’s Championship Series.
Nigel Anderton returned from injury for Brisbane, strengthening their lineup considerably. Tadakuni Sasaki would sit out against the lefty.
Auckland might have got the bye but would not get the majority home-field advantage for this series due to being a wildcard.
Both pitchers got through the 1st without conceding any baserunners, Jones helped out by his CF, who made a great running catch to dismiss Yano.
Jones gave up a pair of 1-out walks in the 2nd but Young ground into a round-the-horn double play to end the inning.
The 4th inning began with a trio of walks, Auckland’s first baserunners, giving the Metros loaded bases with no outs. Callum McCabe ripped one into the gap at right-centre but Booth belied his poor regular season fielding stats to make a nice running catch. The runner at 3B tagged up and scored but the damage could’ve been a lot worse than 1. John Foreman struck out for the second time and rookie Calvin Harney ground out back to the pitcher. 1-0 Auckland.
Yano singled to left to open the bottom of the inning. That hit was the first of the night for either side. He got no further than 1B.
Quentin Welch’s 1-out double in the top of the 5th broke up Woodger’s no-hitter. An out later Cam Kline doubled over the head of the CF and it was 2-0 Metros. Walena punched a single past 2B and Kline scored. 3-nothing Auckland after 5.
Foreman singled with 1 out in the 6th and that ended Woodger’s night. He’d thrown 5.1 strong innings for 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts, but left looking down the barrel at a loss.
Yano singled in the bottom of the frame and got into scoring position thanks to a wild pitch but was left stranded. After 6, Jones had allowed just 3 hits.
3B Brendon Marris showcased his D in the 7th, diving to make a nice catch and rob Kline of a base hit.
Gary Young picked fastball in the bottom of the 7th and picked right, thumping some chest-high heat way back into the leftfield stands. 3-1 Auckland. Jones walked Sam Richards and was pulled, his replacement giving up a first-pitch double off the top of the LF fence to Marris. Richards scored. 3-2 Auckland. Jones (6.1IP, 4H, 2ER, 4BB, 3K) sat in the dugout and watched on nervously. Booth walked. Nishio hit a regulation groundball to SS Harney who threw it over the head of the 2B into RF. Bases juiced, 1 away. Yano struck out swinging and Harney made up for his error after Anderton hit a grounder to him, making sure of his throw to 1B to end the inning. 1 run game after 7.
Rory Karsumaatmaja, acquired from Sydney midseason, came out for the Metros in the bottom of the 9th, his task to protect their 1-run lead. Sasaki was put in to pinch-hit and singled wide of 1B. Marris cracked a grounder directly to Leo Walena at 3B, who started a 5-4-3 double-play. Booth flied out to left and this one was over.
Final score: 3-2 Auckland. Brisbane left 9 batters on base.
Game 2 - Canberra Cavalry vs Christchurch Cowboys
Robbie Chadfield took the mound for Christchurch, taking on Seto Sukarto, who’d thrown an excellent 7 innings for just 3 hits in Game 4 of the Division Finals.
Chadfield struck out 2 in the 1st, getting through the inning on 14 pitches. Zartuche, starting tonight and hitting in the 2-hole, hit a 1-out single and then tagged up at 1B after Hauer hit a deep fly to centre. CF Damerell fired in a bullet and Zartuche was tagged short to end the inning.
Chadfield struck out 2 more in the 2nd, his fastball whistling into the catcher’s mitt. Kelvin Pickhills, moved to cleanup, singled to begin the 2nd, advanced to 2B on a ground-out and scored when Utting hit a bouncer up the middle for a single. 1-0 Cowboys.
Murphy got dropped in foul territory by 1B Kimpton in the 3rd and profited, singling to left 2 pitches later. Canberra only had 1 out to get him home, however, and he was left stranded.
Bottom of the frame and Kimpton’s attempt to atone for his error was foiled by an excellent leaping catch by LF Yegammai.
Hauer got plunked with the count 3-2 to lead off the bottom of the 4th before Pickhills hit his 2nd single of the night up the middle. Hauer advanced to 3B on Wes Corless’s ground-out, Pickhills sliding hard to prevent the relay to 1B. Sukarto got a couple of weak fly outs to get out of the jam, pumping his fist and bellowing with delight on his way back to the dugout.
Benbow led off the 5th with a single. An out later Rees walked and then Yegammai singled to the edge of the leftfield grass, though Maurice Clemens’ backhanded stab prevented Benbow from trying for home. Chadfield went offspeed to Murphy, throwing 2 changeups for strikes followed by a slider that sat him down swinging. Chapple crushed one to centre but not far enough, Romo tracking it back to the wall to make the catch and get his team out of a tough situation.
Watts singled to begin the 6th and moved into scoring position off a soft groundball out. Venugopalan cracked a line-drive single to left but too sharply for Watts to round 3B and try for home with his catcher’s legs. Benbow struck out, Chadfield’s 8th victim. Bradley Mant - filling in for the injured Culaham - nubbed one in front of the plate. Russell Smith, back at catcher for the Cowboys, charged out but his throw to 1B was adjudged to be late. Watts scored on the play and the game was tied. Predictably, Christchurch challenged the call but there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn it. 1-1 after 5 and a half.
Zartuche hit a soft single to centre to begin the bottom of the inning and stole 2B an out later. Pickhills made it 3-3, his single to left easily scoring the speedy Zartuche. That ended Sukarto’s night (5.1IP, 6H, 2ER, 1BB, 2K), Corless singling off the relief. Utting advanced both runners with a deep groundball out but Smith couldn’t pull the trigger, struck out looking at a knee-high fastball. Still, the Cowboys had regained the advantage, 2-1.
Chadfield (6.0IP, 7H, 1ER, 1BB, 8K) sat down after 6, and his replacement got through the Cavalry in order.
Christchurch fans erupted in the 9th when Scott Carson came out to protect their team’s 1-run lead. They weren’t cheering for long, Mant slugging a 1-0 curveball into the rightfield bleachers for a leadoff, game-tying homer. Rees struck out. Pinch-hitter Riseley singled up the middle. Murphy singled to right and Riseley gunned it to 3B. Chapple found the alley in right-centre, his drive rolling to the wall. He rolled into 3B and the Cavalry were 2 runs ahead, Carson unceremoniously yanked. Watts singled to left, giving Canberra a 3-run buffer.
Koka, looking decidedly chipper, came to the mound. Utting swung at and missed a low fastball. Smith ground out to short. Clemens singled past the shortstop. Kimpton hit a shallow fly to left. It dropped in to bring the tying run to the plate. Yu Kang came out to pinch-hit and rewarded his skipper’s faith with a single up the middle. 1 run scored and CF Damerell came from the game injured after throwing to 3B in a vain attempt to catch Kimpton short. Catcher Yuan-zhang Lao came into the game, his manager hiding him in leftfield. Zartuche’s grounder into the hole was cut off by SS Rees, who threw across to 1B in time for the out.
Final score: 5-3 Canberra, the Cavalry handing the Cowboys 2 straight losses at home.
Game 2 - Auckland Metros vs Brisbane Bandits
Song Liang would pitch for Auckland, taking on Nelson Thurgood, who’d thrown 6.2 scoreless innings in his previous postseason outing while giving up 9 hits and 2 walks.
Thurgood got through the top of the 1st in order, though all 3 outs were well-hit flies.
Booth and Cook led off the bottom of the inning with consecutive singles but Liang dialled it up a notch, striking out 2 of the next 3 to get back to the dugout with a zero in the frame.
Richards cracked a liner back up the middle in the bottom of the 2nd but it bounced off Liang’s outstretched heel and caromed right into the glove of Foreman. He took a leisurely pair of steps to his right to step on the bag and retire Richards.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Brisbane again got the first 2 hitters aboard. An out later Yano hit a crisp single to left to drive home the game’s opening run. 1-0 Brisbane.
Thurgood continued to give up heavy contact without getting punished, Auckland unable to manage a single baserunner through 4. Liang, meanwhile, had surrendered 7 hits through 4 innings, for 1 run.
Quentin Welch picked up Auckland’s first hit in the 5th, a 2-out single. He got no further, though, Ashton brought down by a nice leaping catch in rightfield by Booth.
Cook’s single to lead off the bottom of the 5th was followed by the first extra-base hit of the night, a Yano double into the leftfield corner. Sasaki went one better, pulling a fastball into the RF corner for a 2RBI triple. Young delivered an RBI single an out later and Brisbane finished the inning with a commanding 4-run lead.
Thurgood plunked Bagshaw to start the 6th, and then Marris’ wild throw from 3B ended up with the rightfielder to give Auckland runners on 2B and 3B with no outs. Kline sac-flied home the Metros’ first run. Leo Walena singled to put runners on the corners but Auckland couldn’t profit, Booth again belying his regular season fielding displays to run down a flyball threatening the corner and end the inning. 4-1 Brisbane.
Liang’s night (6.0IP, 11H, 4ER, 0BB, 2K) was done after 6 but Auckland’s pain wasn’t. With 2 out and 1 away, Young drilled a fastball deep to left and into the bleachers. 6-1 Bandits.
Thurgood (7.0IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 5K) sat after 7, his expression a lot happier than Liang’s. He was yet to give up an earned run this postseason.
Bagshaw doubled of Thurgood’s replacement to begin the 8th but was left stranded. Cook hit a 2-out RBI-single in the bottom of the inning to further extend Brisbane’s lead.
Last chance saloon - in this game - for the Metros in the top of the 9th. Zhou led off with a clean single to right. McCabe struck out for the third time. Foreman hit a groundball right at SS Nishio, and the game-ending double-play was duly completed.
Final score: 7-1 Brisbane, the Preliminary Finals now tied up.
The Bandits scattered 15 hits to Auckland’s measly 4. Cook and Yano both went 3-5.
Game 3 - Canberra Cavalry vs Christchurch Cowboys
Christchurch faced the daunting task of having to win both games of their away leg to force a Game 5. Roy Blake would start for them, while Cain Withers, who already had 2 2065 postseason starts under his belt, would start for Canberra.
Withers started by walking Romo on 5 pitches. Zartuche singled wide of 3B to give Christchurch an early opportunity. Both runners moved up a base next pitch on a successful double steal. Canberra appealed the decision but were shot down by the officials. Hauer hit a soft fly to left, which was caught, but it was deep enough to score the speedy Romo. Pickhills slapped a single up the middle and Zartuche came home from 2B. Corless continued the inning with a single and a wild pitch advanced both runners. Withers wiped sweat from his brow and recovered to strike out Utting and get Clemens’ to ground out 5-3. 2-0 Christchurch.
Riseley and Venugopalan got aboard to begin the bottom of the 2nd but Benbow ground into a 5-4-3 double-play to lessen the threat. Culaham, returned from injury, flied out to end the inning.
Pickhills and Corless hit back-to-back doubles in the 3rd to extend Christchurch’s lead. Utting made it 3 doubles in a row, hitting a high fly that fell fair in the RF corner. 4-0 Christchurch.
Romo, playing in RF instead of CF this game, laid out to dismiss Yegammai in the bottom of the 3rd, robbing him of extra bases.
Russell Smith crushed the first pitch of the 4th deep over right-centre. 431 foot solo dinger to put Christchurch well and truly in command.
Chapple led off the bottom of the 4th with a single and progressed to 3B on 2 ground outs. Venugopalan singled over 2B and Chapple eased home for Canberra’s first run. Benbow extended the inning with a single but Culaham ground out to 3B to end Canberra's turn. 5-1 Christchurch.
The first pitch of the 5th went the same way as the first pitch of the 4th. This time it was Hauer, and while he didn’t quite put the charge into it that Smith did, it still resulted in 4 bases. That was the end of it for Withers (4.0IP, 9H, 6ER, 1BB, 4K), his night an unhappy one. 6-1 Cowboys.
Canberra got a runner into scoring position with 1 out in the 5th. Chapple followed up with a hard single to centrefield and just like that the bases were full. Watts flied out to right, Romo making good ground to catch it. Riseley showed good patience to draw a walk and force a runner home. Venugopalan couldn’t collect his third hit of the night, flying out to left. 6-2 Christchurch.
Smith hit a 1-out single in the 6th and Kimpton hit a double over LF Yegammai to put runners at 2B and 3B. Two pop-flies later and the inning was finished, Christchurch unable to tack any runs on to their lead.
Culaham singled with 1 away in the bottom of the inning and stole 2B the next pitch. The next 2 hitters were retired and Culaham had to take his hitting gear off while still at 2B.
Blake (6.0IP, 9H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K) was subbed off after 6. He’d been okay. His replacement began the 7th with a 4-pitch walk but a pair of ground outs later - the second a 1-6-3 double-play - the inning was done.
Pickhills added some 2-out insurance in the top of the 9th, driving a 1-2 slider deep to left for a solo homer. 7-2 Christchurch.
Jeremy Toohey, who’d thrown the last 2 innings, stayed out for the 9th. Culaham ground out. Rees ground out. Yegammai slapped a single wide of 2B. Murphy got froze up on a belt-high changeup to end the game.
Final score: 7-2 Christchurch, and they weren’t out of it yet.
Toohey threw 38 pitches over 3 innings for a well-earned save. The game took only 2 hours and 44 minutes.
Game 3 - Auckland Metros vs Brisbane Bandits
Matt Mulholland, 2-0 so far this playoffs, would start for Brisbane. He would go up against Auckland’s surprise package, Martin Booth.
Martin Booth retired Larry Booth to begin the game, the OotPB TV commentators making all sorts of unfunny puns about the matchup. Domenic Cook silenced the hometown fans immediately thereafter, however, curling a flyball around the LF fly pole for a solo homer. Yano hit an infield single to the edge of the LF grass and Sasaki worked an 8-pitch walk. Anderton hit one firmly up the middle but SS Richard Ashton showed good range to stop it behind the bag and shovel it to 2B Welch to start a 6-4-3 inning-ending double-play. 1-0 Brisbane.
Martin Booth nipped Young’s arm to start the 2nd but another 6-4-3 double-play cleared the bases.
Ashton led off the bottom of the 3rd with a double. Reginald Puckeridge - Auckland fans couldn’t understand his inclusion in the side at the expense of Li Hayes - ground out and Ashton advanced to 3B. Kline pulled a curveball over leftfield. It kept on carrying over the fence and Auckland took the lead, Mulholland giving up his first runs of the postseason. Walena singled and advanced to 2B on a balk, though Mulholland didn’t agree with the call. His pitching coach came out to calm him down and the pep talk worked, Mulholland getting the next 2 outs on 3 pitches. 2-1 Metros.
One pitch into the 4th and the game was tied, Sasaki lacing a pitch into the rightfield bleachers. Anderton followed up with a single, his first hit of the postseason. Young followed up with another single. 2 outs later Marris drew a walk to load the bags. Larry Booth got one up on his namesake, his fly to left finding grass and the corner. He dived in safely with a bases-clearing triple. 5-2 Brisbane.
Mulholland had a second balk called against him in the bottom of the 4th with 2 outs, and was lucky not to be ejected, his usual mild manners forgotten in the heat of postseason battle. Again, he got back on track, striking out Ashton swinging to end the inning.
An error by Ashton in the 5th was followed by 2 singles and the Bandits had loaded the bases with 1 out. Richards ground out to 1B. Foreman slung the ball to 2B but a hard slide by Gary Young ended any chance of a double-play. 1 run scored and Martin Booth was led off the field by his manager. Nishio flied out to end the inning. 6-2 Brisbane.
Kline walked with 1 out in the bottom of the 5th and advanced into scoring position on the following ground out. Axel Zhou singled to left centre and Kline rounded 3B and headed for home. LF Yano sent the ball towards home-plate and the tag was applied... in time. Inning over, Auckland no closer than they had been at the end of the 4th.
Yano singled home Marris in the 6th to extend Brisbane’s lead further. Booth then stole 3B but was left there. 7-2 Brisbane.
McCabe and Foreman hit back to back singles to start the bottom of the 6th before Welch hit a double into the leftfield alley to score McCabe. Bagshaw struck out chasing some high heat and Ashton also struck out. Puckeridge delivered a hit to left and both runners scored. Mulholland came from the mound. Kline walked on 4 pitches for the second time in the game but Walena got froze up by a slider to end the inning. Still, Auckland were now just 2 runs back, the score 7-5.
Zhou started the bottom of the 7th with an infield single. McCabe got dropped in foul territory by LF Yano and 2 pitches later walked. Foreman singled opposite field and Zhou scored without a throw. Welch’s ground out advanced both runners, the go-ahead run at 2B. Bagshaw crunched a double off the base of the right-centre wall and the go-ahead run cantered home. 8-7 Auckland after 7. They’d scored 6 runs across the last 2 innings.
Rory Karsumaatmaja came out for the top of the 9th. Sasaki flied out to left. Anderton’s groundball down the 3B line resulted in a 5-3 out. Young continued his perfect night at the plate with a single up the middle. Richards struck out looking at a splitter and Auckland had come from behind to win it.
Final score: 8-7 Metros. Martin Booth (4.2IP, 9H, 6R, 5ER, 2BB, 0K) didn’t have a good night but left without an L next to his name, while Mulholland (5.2IP, 10H, 5ER, 1BB, 4K) looked better to start with but struggled with his concentration after the balk calls. Larry Booth went 2-5 with 3RBI and stole his fourth base of the postseason.
Game 4 - Canberra Cavalry vs Christchurch Cowboys
Julian Damerell’s season was probably done. He had ongoing back spasms.
Dean and Penfold would go at it again, the pressure still on the Cowboys.
Romo singled to begin the game. Zartuche bounced one past 3B for a single, and then both runners executed a double-steal to give the Cowboys a pair of scoring opportunities with nobody out. Hauer hit one hard into the gap between 1B and 2B. Venugopalan got across, stopped it and just got the ball to Penfold, covering, in time. The opening run scored but Zartuche held up at 3B. Penfold got the next 2 outs with no further damage. 1-0 Cowboys.
Romo singled and then stole his second base of the night in the 3rd but was left stranded.
Yegammai recorded Canberra’s first hit of the night in the bottom of the 3rd but with only 1 out left in the inning the Cavalry could not advance him around the bases.
Pickhills punched past a diving 2B to start off the 4th and then Wes Corless thumped a hanging changeup over right-centre and into the stands for a 2-run homer. Utting singled and Clemens went opposite field over 1B and into the RF corner for a double. Utting held up at 3B but charged home on Smith’s 6-3 ground out. 4-0 Christchurch.
The Cavalry got themselves a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the inning but Dean wasn’t fazed, picking up the necessary outs to preserve the 4-run lead.
Culaham and Rees began the bottom of the 5th with a pair of singles. Dean fooled Yegammai completely with a 1-2 changeup to get the first out. Barnett flied out to right and Culaham tagged up and made 3B. Murphy singled up the middle and Canberra were on the board! Watts ground out, the score now 4-1 in Christchurch’s favour.
With 2 outs in the 6th, Benbow crushed a cutter over leftfield for a long solo homer. 4-2 Canberra, and they were back in striking distance.
Penfold (7.0IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB, 1K) came from the mound after 7, having recovered well from a poor start. Dean (7.0IP, 7H, 2ER, 0BB, 7K) also sat, today’s effort much better than his Game 1 start.
A walk and a single in the bottom of the 8th brought the go-ahead run to the plate with 2 outs left. Chapple walked and the bases were full. Benbow crushed one towards the left-centre alley but Pickhills showed great range to make a catch at full extension. The runner at 3B tagged up and scored without a throw and it was a 1-run game. Culaham ground out up the middle to end the inning. 4-3 Christchurch.
Top of the 9th, Koka on the mound. Clemens walked with 1 out and PH Yu Kang hit a double over the glove of the CF. Eduardo Maldonado also came out as a pinch-hitter but struck out swinging. Romo popped out to 2B and Christchurch had failed to add some insurance.
Carson came to the mound for the bottom of the inning, Game 2 surely still on his mind. The nightmares would continue, his first pitch dispatched by Rees over the leftfield fence to tie the game up. PH Bradley Mant walked. Garrett Barnett - the replacement for Damerell - singled to left. Winning run at 2B, 3 outs still left. Murphy struck out. Watts popped out to left. Venugopalan also popped out and this one was headed to extras.
Carson stayed on the mound for the bottom of the 10th. Chapple led off with an infield single and was bunted into scoring position. Culaham ground out back to the pitcher as did Rees to end the inning.
Utting singled with 1 out in the 11th. An out later Kang hit one even better than last time, this one hitting the top of the right-centre fence. Utting rounded 3B and tried for home but the throw from CF to the relay man and the throw from the relay man to home were too good and Utting was cut down.
Riseley walked with 1 away in the bottom of the 11th before stealing 2B an out later. Watts somehow threaded a ground ball between 1B and 2B and Riseley didn’t slow rounding 3B, scoring the series winning run without a throw.
Final score: 5-4 Cavalry, and one had to feel for Carson, who’d have to carry the brunt of the fans’ disappointment.
Damian Rees (.333/.412/.600, 1HR) was named Series MVP. “To knock off the regular season’s best team will give us a lot of confidence going into the Championship Series,” he said before his interview was rudely cut short by a bucket of sports’ drink.
Game 4 - Auckland Metros vs Brisbane Bandits
Auckland had the chance to clinch the series at home. Woodger and Jones would face off again.
Booth fought his way to a 10-pitch leadoff walk, fouling off 6 pitches in a row before getting one he could lay off. An out later, however, he was the first victim of an inning-ending double play.
Bottom of the 1st, Kline bashed a single up the middle to open the inning but was thrown out stealing on a pitchout.
Bagshaw started a 2-out rally in the bottom of the 2nd, Quentin Welch plating him 2 batters later to make it 1-0 in Auckland’s favour.
Young began the 3rd with a single. An out later, Marris walked and Booth got aboard with an awkward bouncing groundball that stayed fair inside the 3B line but didn’t make it to the bag. Nishio hit a soft line drive which Ashton pulled down with a nice leap. Yano ground out back to the pitcher and the Metros had survived an early loaded-bases scare.
Foreman crunched a 2-out double into the leftfield corner in the 3rd, scoring one runner and moving the other to 3B. Bagshaw got froze up by a perfect forkball to end the inning. 2-0 Auckland.
Anderton led off the 4th with a walk and advanced to 3B on Cook’s follow-up single. Sasaki, a late inclusion as he usually warmed the pine against southpaws, ground into a 4-6-3 double play. Anderton scored, though, to pull Brisbane within 1. Young became the second Bandit to hit an infield single just inside the 3B line. Sam Richards then pulled a 1-0 fastball down the RF line and into the stands to give Brisbane the lead. Jones’ pain continued with Marris doubling over the CF. Booth then hit a grounder to 1B but Foreman’s shovel throw was wild. Marris scored and Booth ended up at 2B. 4-2 Brisbane.
Kline led off the tail end of the 5th with a single. Walena followed with a double, putting the tying run in scoring position. Zhou rapped a single past the diving 1B to drive 1 run home. McCabe flied out to left and Walena took on the throw to score and tie things up. Cook made a great diving catch at 2B to end the inning. 4-4 the score after 5.
Jones (5.0IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 2K) was done after 5. His relief immediately gave up a pair of singles to Sasaki and Young. Richards struck out swinging and Marris struck out looking. Booth ground out to 2B and the game remained a tie.
Woodger (5.0IP, 10H, 4ER, 1BB, 1K) was also finished after 5, lucky to not be leaving the game behind on the card. Yano, typically a poor leftfielder, pulled off an unbelievable diving catch to rob Welch of a 1-out hit, earning a well-deserved tip of the cap from pitcher Tommy Fomai.
Kline doubled over Yano’s head to start the bottom of the 7th and moved to 3B on Walena’s 4-3 ground out. Zhou then showed his power game, launching a 160 km/h fastball deep over left for a 2-run bomb. An out later, Foreman successfully picked slider with the count 2-0, going deep to give Auckland a 3-run buffer. 7-4 Metros.
Gary Young collected his fourth hit of the night in the top of the 8th, crunching a 2-out double to centre. The hit moved him to .462 for this postseason. He’d also gone 3-3 in yesterday’s loss. His 2 hits in Game 2 had been his last 2 of the night, giving him 9 postseason hits in a row (plus a walk).
Karsumaatmaja came out for the 9th, looking to collect his third save of the series. Marris struck out chasing a fastball. Booth whiffed on a splitter low and inside - a pitch he normally would never have swung at. Nishio kept Brisbane’s hopes alive with a single to left. Yano singled up the middle. Tying run at the plate, and Anderton due for a big hit. Anderton threaded the needle between 3B and short for a single and Nishio scored without a throw. Cook walked on 4 pitches and the bases were loaded. With the count 2-2 Sasaki tried to hold up against a low splitter. Catcher Puckeridge appealed and the 1B ump agreed. Sasaki had gone around. Game over and series done! Karsumaatmaja sunk to knees in relief.
Final score: 7-5 Auckland, Kline and Zhou both going 3-4.
Despite being on the losing team, Young’s series (.667/.706/1.133, 2HR) was too good to ignore, the veteran claiming his fourth postseason series’ MVP award. Zhou (.438/.471/.625, 1HR) had a strong series for the victors, while Callum McCabe (.071/.118/.071, 0HR) needed to break out of his slump real fast.
