2065 Championship Series - Auckland Metros vs Canberra Cavalry
Preview
The Metros boasted a regular season record 5 games better than the Cavalry but it was Canberra who’d get home field advantage due to winning their division.
Metros’ skipper Antonio Altagracia had this to say: “I can understand why wildcards don’t get home advantage in the Division Finals, and even in the Preliminary Finals, but surely in the Championship Series the team with the better regular season record should get some reward. If we played in Canberra’s division they’d be the wildcard team, so it doesn’t seem fair to me. But that won’t matter at the end of the day. I’m confident we can defend our title.”
Auckland had deserved their better regular season record. They’d scored the second most runs in the league (886) on the back of the best BA (.292) and OBP (.357), and second-best SLG (.459). Their 1665 hits were the most of any team, and their 889 strikeouts the least. On the pitching side of the diamond they had the conceded the fourth-least runs (714), thanks to their fourth-ranked pitching (4.07 ERA). They’d walked the least hitters (437) but had only struck out the seventh-most batters (1086). They’d allowed 1530 hits, ninth in the league, and also had the ninth-ranked defensive efficiency, with .680.
Canberra were a pitching team, their ERA of 3.95 the third-best in the league. Their bullpen was strong, conceding just 3.45 runs every 9 innings pitched, the second-best in the AUNZBL. They’d allowed the least homeruns (154), and the third-least runs (690), and their .689 defensive efficiency, while only .009 points better than Auckland, was fourth-best overall. They’d scored the sixth-most runs (854), though their BA of .271 was seventh overall. They were patient at the plate, however, with an OBP of .340, their 563 walks third-most among all teams.
Auckland were stacked with stars, while Canberra were not, and had got to the Championship Series despite a terrible injury toll. The Metros weren’t missing anyone vital to their lineup, but Canberra were. 32HR guy Mitch Goddard was out, as was league-leader in OPS (.983), Neil Bellett. SS Jorge Perez, only a .247 hitter but a stable defensive presence, returned from injury in time for the series.
The Metros had veteran presence in John Foreman and Quentin Welch, with 3 and 4 rings respectively. They also had offensive dynamos Axel Zhou and Callum McCabe, though McCabe only hit .071 against Brisbane. On the mound, Domenic Jones, Song Liang, and Martin Booth formed an imposing trio, though their bullpen was a concern.
Canberra would be hoping Jay Watts would hit more than singles during the Championship Series.
Alan Sneddon’s prediction: Auckland in 5. Canberra would keep it tight but they just wouldn’t have enough to stop the Metros from going back to back.
Game 1
Song Liang (17-8, 4.13 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) would start for Auckland. Seto Sukarto (14-5, 3.29 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 1.34 WHIP) would make his fourth start of this postseason for the Cavalry.
Li Hayes replaced Reginald Puckeridge as Auckland’s starting catcher.
Walena snagged the first hit of the game with 1 away in the 1st, his bouncer finding space between 1B and 2B. Next up, Zhou hoisted a flyball over the head of LF Yegammai. It caromed off the wall and Zhou dived in safely to 3B. Walena scored and Auckland had the early advantage. McCabe struck out to continue his wretched postseason run and Foreman’s grounder found SS Jorge Perez, who showed good range to flag it down and get it to 1B in time for the out. 1-0 Auckland.
Perez walked a 2-out walk in the bottom of the inning and Watts followed with a 2-strike single, Perez coasting into 3B. Venugopalan hit a firm grounder wide of 1B. Foreman got across to knock it down before barehanding it to Liang in time for the inning-ending out.
Welch walked to lead off the 2nd but was left at 1B for the rest of the inning.
Benbow crunched the first pitch of the bottom of the inning to deep left centre for a stand-up double. Culaham lined a bullet up the middle but Welch made a sprawling catch to retire him. Two pop-ups later and the inning was over.
Sukarto retired them in order in the top of the 3rd. Chapple singled with 1 out in the bottom of the frame and Watts followed suit an out later. Venugopalan hit a high fly to left and was caught near the foul line. The score remained 1-0 Auckland.
With 1 out in the top of the 4th, Foreman got a pitch to pull and got full value, sending it over the leftfield fence for his second four-bagger of the 2065 postseason. 2-0 Auckland.
Ashton drilled a fastball to left for a leadoff single in the top of the 5th. An out later Kline went opposite field down the rightfield line. The ball eluded Kyle Murphy’s lunge and ended up in the corner. RBI-double for Kline. 3-0 Metros.
Perez led off the bottom of the 6th with a single and stole 2B next pitch. Watts struck out but Venugopalan’s hard single to left gave Canberra runners at the corners. A wild pitch saw Perez canter home to score the Cavalry’s opening run. Venugopalan advanced to 2B and then tagged up and made 3B on Benbow’s fly out to the left field wall. Culaham ground out 5-3 to end the inning. 3-1 Auckland.
Liang (6.0IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 3K) was replaced for the 7th and took a seat in the dugout. He was replaced by Autathya Tapti, who threw a hard fastball and a big slider. He had a K/9 rate of 11.3 for the regular season. 1 out into the 7th Yegammai put the barrel of the bat on one of those hard fastballs and went yard to make it a 1-run game. 3-2 Metros.
Sukarto (7.0IP, 7H, 3ER, 1BB, 4K) sat down after 7, replaced by Victor Palakikio, who had been in and out of the rotation in 2065. He got through the inning in order on 7 pitches, reaching 163 km/h with both of his offerings to McCabe.
Roy Blake, 8-7 with 11 saves from 50 games (14 starts), came to the mound for Auckland in the bottom of the 8th. Perez worked a walk. Tying run on 1B. Takanori Komatsu came out to pitch and got Watts to ground into a 6-4-3 double-play. He was replaced by Ferry Schalk. Venugopalan singled to centre and Schalk was replaced by Nelson Casey. Casey, not used to working out of the pen, walked Benbow. Tying run in scoring position, 2 outs, Culaham at the plate. With the count 0-2, Culaham swung through a high fastball for an inning-ending strikeout.
Wendell Koka took the hill for Canberra for the top of the 9th and did his job, retiring the Metros in order.
Karsumaatmaja marched out for the bottom of the 9th, facing PH Bradley Mant first up. With the count 0-1 he hit a weak fly to centre. It found grass and Canberra once again had the tying run aboard. Yegammai hit a groundball straight to Welch who started a 4-6-3 double-play. Murphy couldn’t get his bat off his shoulder with the count 2-2, Karsumaatmaja’s fastball painting the outside corner. Auckland had held off the Cavalry’s late charge.
Final score: 3-2 Auckland. Karsumaatmaja picked up his fourth postseason save in a row. Auckland used 7 pitchers to Canberra’s 3.
Game 2
Auckland’s surprise package of 2065, Martin Booth (19-6, 3.62 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 1.48 WHIP) would start Game 2, hoping to turn around his previous postseason outing, a poor 4.2 innings against Brisbane. He’d take on Amol Thundyil (4-3, 1 sv from 21 games and 9 starts, 3.88 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.34 WHIP). 23 y/o Thundyil had made 3 relief appearances so far this postseason and looked like a future star, boasting 5 pitches, though his curveball and changeup were definitely still works in progress. Was he up to the pressure of a Championship Series start? Only time would tell.
Puckerdige would start at catcher for the Metros against the left-handed Thundyil.
Thundyil needed just 7 pitches to complete the top of the 1st.
Murphy drew a 1-out walk in the bottom of the inning but was gunned down by Puckeridge on a steal attempt. Perez stroked a fly deep to right-centre but McCabe tracked it down and made a great leaping catch to ending the inning.
The catch didn’t revive McCabe’s bat, however, the clean-up hitter struck out looking to begin the top of the 2nd, his 2065 postseason BA now .053.
Booth plunked Culaham to begin the bottom of the 3rd, neither side with a base hit yet. Then, with the cont 0-1, Booth snapped a throw to 1B, catching Culaham napping. An out later Yegammai recorded the first hit of the game with a bloop single to right. Auckland anticipated a steal and pitched out next pitch. They made the right call, Yegammai caught well short. 0-0 after 3.
Walena’s 1-out single to right in the top of the 4th broke up Thundyil’s perfect game. Zhou followed with a double over to deep right-centre and Auckland suddenly had 2 runners in scoring position, the cold McCabe at the plate. A forkball down the middle with the count 2-2 froze him up for his second strikeout in as many at-bats. Foreman belted a cutter to centre but not deep enough, Chapple making a comfortable catch to end the inning.
Canberra got a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the inning but also couldn’t do anything with them.
Benbow led off the bottom of the 5th with a single that threaded the needle between short and 3B. With the count 3-2 Canberra instituted a run and hit. Culaham struck out swinging and Benbow was gunned down by Puckeridge. The score remained knotted at 0 after 5, Thundyil with 6 punch-outs to Booth’s 2.
Kline became Thundyil’s seventh strikeout victim to begin the 6th, and an out later Zhou became his eighth, though the Metros’ CF didn’t agree with the call.
Yegammai picked up his second hit of the night to open proceedings in the bottom of the frame but quickly became the first victim in a 3-6-3 double-play. A pitch later Bagshaw made a diving catch to retire Murphy. The Metros’ defence was really behind Booth today!
Thundyil had McCabe’s number, striking him out for the third time in the 7th.
Perez began the bottom of the 7th with a leadoff walk but then got caught stealing for the second time in the game. Puckeridge was 5 from 5 so far catching baserunners which, the commentators said, was odd given his arm was so much weaker than Hayes’. Booth was doing such a great job holding runners, they continued, that it didn’t make sense for Canberra to continue their aggressive stealing strategy against him.
Watts continued the inning with a walk and then Foreman couldn’t handle a throw from 3B, allowing Venugopalan aboard. Benbow flied out to centre and Watts advanced to 3B. Culaham hit a ground ball to third. Walena’s throw to Foreman was high but this time he made no mistake, hauling it in and landing back on the bag in time for the inning-ending out.
0-0 after 7, this game all about the pitching and defence.
Welch drew a 1-out walk in the 8th to end Thundyil’s night (7.1IP, 2H, 0ER, 2BB, 9K). Palakikio replaced him and immediately gave up a single to Puckeridge. Welch tried for third but was gunned down by a fine throw from CF Chapple. Kline popped out to end the inning.
Pinch-hitter Todd Riseley worked a 1-out walk in the bottom of the inning but Booth got through the rest of the inning unscathed.
Koka came out for the top of the 9th. Walena ground out 4-3, and Zhou 6-3. McCabe put the ball in play this time but only for a ground-out.
Booth (8.0IP, 4H, 0ER, 5BB, 2K) was replaced by Karsumaatmaja for the bottom of the 9th. Perez popped out to Walena. Watts walked. Venugopalan flied out to deep left and Benbow expanded the zone to strike out.
Extra innings awaited! Top of the 10th, Bagshaw hit a 1-out single and advanced into scoring position on a poor pickoff attempt. Calvin Harney, who’d subbed into the game a couple innings earlier, ground out but Bagshaw made 3B. Welch hit a groundball down the 1B line but was thrown out to end the inning.
Zachary Quinn subbed in for the top of the 11th and gave up a 1-out single to Kline. Walena followed with another single but Zhou could only ground into a 6-4-3 double-play.
Roy Blake took the mound in the bottom of the inning. Chapple hit a sharp grounder up the middle. Welch got across but had no play at 1B. Winning run aboard. Murphy flied out to left. Perez crunched a single to right. Winning run in scoring position. Canberra went for the double steal but Puckeridge was on fire tonight, gunning down Chapple at 3B. Perez was safe at second. Watts hit a soft fly down the leftfield line. A sliding Bagshaw couldn’t get there in time and Perez touched home for the game-winning run!
Final score: 1-0 Canberra in a hard fought contest.
Puckeridge caught 6 attempted stealers. Whether that was a record or not nobody was quite sure.
Game 3
The aces of both teams would face off in this encounter. Brendon Penfold (15-12, 3.99 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.32 WHIP), only 25 y/o and, his pitching coach proclaimed, ‘still growing into his frame,’ would take the mound for Canberra. Penfold was only 6’0” but he threw hard and kept the ball down in the zone. 29 y/o Domenic Jones (16-6, 2.78 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.06 WHIP), Auckland’s southpaw supremo would make his third start of the postseason.
Jay Watts had come down with the flu but would still play. By dint of his supreme effort throwing out base-stealers in Game 2, Reginald Puckeridge retained his spot as Metros’ starting catcher.
Perez hit a 2-out single to left off a 3-2 forkball, the first pitch Jones had thrown that wasn’t a regulation 4-seam. Venugopalan hit one hard toward the leftfield alley but it was hunted down and caught by Bagshaw to end the inning.
Zhou also hit a 2-out single to left in the bottom of the inning before stealing 2nd a pitch later. The out of form McCabe battled for 8 pitches before flying out to centre to close proceedings.
Welch got some launch angle on a low sinker with 1 out in the bottom of the 2nd, sending it over the head of the CF for a stand-up double. That was where he stayed however, the game still scoreless after 2.
Bottom of the 3rd and Kline almost lead off the frame with a dinger, his blast instead bouncing off the top of the CF wall for a double. Walena singled up the middle to put runners on the corners and Zhou sac-flied Kline home for the game’s opening run. McCabe hit a first-pitch changeup back to the pitcher, who started a 1-6-3 double-play. McCabe’s postseason BA dropped to .043. 1-0 Metros.
Jones was doing a nice job of painting the corners and mixing his pitches up, allowing just 1 hit through 4 innings. He struck out 2 in the 5th, needing just 9 pitches to complete the inning, his punch-out tally up to 5.
Zhou blooped a single to right to begin the bottom of the 6th, and then McCabe broke his cold streak, pulling a sinker into the RF corner for an RBI-double. Penfold regathered to get through the rest of the inning unscathed, striking out 2 along the way. 2-0 Auckland.
Perez got aboard for the second time in the top of the 7th, drawing a 1-out walk, then Venugopalan - ‘criminally underrated,’ according to Sneddon - doubled down the 3B line. Perez pulled up at 3B but Canberra had the tying run in scoring position. Watts’ groundball out to short was deep enough to score Perez but Jones struck out Benbow to limit the damage. 2-1 Auckland.
Kline hit a 1-out single in the bottom of the innings, and advanced into scoring position on Walena’s groundball out to 1B. Zhou continued his hot game, doubling to left. Kline scored to make it 3-1 in Auckland’s favour.
Jones sat them down in order in the 8th.
Penfold (7.0IP, 8H, 3ER, 2BB, 5K) was replaced by Palakikio for the bottom of the inning. Palakikio had made 6 relief appearances this postseason prior to tonight, and was yet to allow a run, and had only conceded 1 hit in 4.2 innings of work. He struck Foreman out chasing a low fastball to start the inning but then walked Welch on 9 pitches. Ashton drilled a fastball to RF for a single. Welch took on the throw and made 3B safely, Ashton advancing to 2B in his wake. Bagshaw popped out. A 163 km/h high heater went over the head of the catcher and to the backstop, Welch easing home for an insurance run. Puckeridge crunched the next pitch deep to centre but only as far as the Chapple’s glove. 4-1 Auckland.
Karsumaatmaja strolled out for the top of the 9th, looking the picture of confidence. Chapple ground out 4-3. Murphy couldn’t hold up against an inside fastball to strike out. Perez fell behind 0-2, fouled a couple off, then hit a splitter to 3B and was retired.
Final score: 4-1 Auckland, in a masterful display. Canberra only managed 2 hits and 1 walk, though they did manage to score 1 run. Zhou went 3-3. Nobody attempted to steal on Puckeridge tonight. Jones (8.0IP, 2H, 1ER, 1BB, 6K) deservedly was named PotG.
Game 4
The Cavalry put Cain Withers (16-4, 2.91 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.20 WHIP) on the mound for his fourth start of the postseason. He hadn’t had a good run so far, his ERA across those previous three starts 6.91. He would be up against Auckland’s Game 1 starter, Song Liang.
Li Hayes returned to the Auckland lineup in place of Puckeridge.
Perez recorded the game’s first hit with a 2-out single in the top of the 1st. Watts then punished a fastball towards right-centre but McCabe tracked it back to the wall to make the catch.
Withers hit one weakly up the 3B line in the bottom of the 1st, beating out the throw for a 1-out infield single. Zhou worked a walk, and McCabe showed good determination to do the same on 9 pitches. Bases jammed for the big fly man, John Foreman. And he didn’t disappoint, fetching a 1-0 fastball over left and into the front rows for a Grand Slam! 4-0 Metros, the fans going nuts.
Withers hurt himself in the process of throwing the final pitch of the 2nd and came from the game, no immediate word on his injury forthcoming from the Cavalry dressing room.
Yegammai and Chapple hit a pair of 1-out singles in the top of the 3rd and an out later Perez continued his fine form, his groundball finding space between 3B and short. Yegammai scored to reduce the deficit to 3. Watts flied out to left to end the inning. 4-1 Auckland.
Domenic Carr came into the game to replace the injured Withers and got through Auckland in order.
Foreman led off the bottom of the 4th with a single to centre, Chapple appearing to initially think Foreman had hit it better than he actually did. Carr got through the rest of the inning without allowing the Metros to add to the scoresheet.
Chapple hit a 1-out single in the 5th, stole 2B - with Hayes back behind the plate Canberra were running aggressively again - advanced to 3B on a ground-out and then scored on a passed ball, Hayes cursing himself as he ran to the backstop to collect his mistake. Perez hit a groundball to Walena who threw the ball into the stands for a 2-base error. Once again, Watts proved to be the final out of the inning. 4-2 Auckland.
Kline duked an infield single with 2 outs in the bottom of the 5th and then Walena more than atoned for his error, thumping a line-drive homer over right-centre. 6-2 Metros.
Venugopalan began the top of the 6th by parking a Liang fastball in the leftfield stands for his first homerun of the postseason. 2 outs later Rees lofted one a few rows back for another solo homer. 6-4 Auckland, Canberra nipping back 2 runs to keep themselves firmly in the Metros’ rearview mirror.
Liang (6.0IP, 9H, 4R, 3ER, 0BB, 3K) sat down for the 7th, replaced by Autathya Tapti, whose previous outings this postseason hadn’t been great. With 2 outs he served up a gopher ball to Perez who didn’t miss, getting just enough on it to send it over the despairing glove of the leftfielder and into the bleachers. Walena then made his second error the night to allow Watts aboard and extend the inning. Venugopalan walked to move the tying run into scoring position. Benbow got behind 1-2 but stayed in the fight to draw a walk and the bases were full. Culaham sent a towering fly to centre but didn’t quite put enough charge into it, Zhou retreating to the track to make the inning-ending catch. 6-5 Cavalry.
Zachary Quinn came into the game for the bottom of the 7th and struck out 2 on his way to a 1-2-3 inning.
Roy Blake replaced Tapti for the 8th. He got the first 2 outs before subbing off for Takanori Komatsu. Welch helped the reliever out by taking a fine jumping catch at 2B to end the inning.
Quinn got through them in order in the bottom of the 8th, meaning the Cavalry started the 9th just 1 run in arrears and facing Karsumaatmaja. Murphy sent a popup soaring towards the stars. It eventually fell into Welch’s glove for the first out. Perez ground out 6-3. Watts walked on 4 pitches. Venugopalan roped a liner to right for a hit. Tying run at 2B, 1 out left, pinch-runner Todd Riseley checking into the game. Benbow hit a fly to left-centre and it fell in front of Bagshaw. Riseley didn’t pause rounding 3B and scored without a throw. Tie game! Culaham struck out swinging to end the inning.
Koka came out for the bottom of the 9th. McCabe came to the plate hitting .070. First pitch was a curve that missed the plate. Second pitch was a fastball and everybody knew it was gone as soon as it made contact. No ballpark in the league would’ve held that monster. The ball landed on the upper tier of the left-centre stands, its measurement an astounding 494 feet!
Final score: 7-6 Auckland, McCabe joking afterwards, “I’m glad Super blew the save. Who knows if I’ll ever hit one that well again.”
Canberra outhit Auckland 12-6.
Game 5
Sukarto and Booth would go head to head, the Cavalry on their last legs.
The big news before this game was that Neil Bellett would play RF for the Cavalry. He’d last played in early March before going down with a knee sprain and had been pronounced sufficiently fit to play. With their Championship hopes on the line Canberra weren’t about to leave him out.
“Really excited,” Bellett said. “I just want to get out there and contribute as best I can.”
The Metros would continue their catching merry-go-around, opting for Puckeridge over Hayes.
Booth got through Canberra in order in the top of the 1st, helped by a nice one-handed catch by LF Bagshaw to rob Chapple of extra bases. Kline led off the bottom of the inning with a 3-1 single wide of 1B. Watts gunned him down next pitch as he tried for 2B. Walena singled but was left at 1B.
Bellett demonstrated his plate eye in his first at-bat of the postseason, drawing a walk to begin the top of the 2nd. Booth got his curveball going, though, to strike out 2 of the next 3 and get out of the inning with Bellett still at 1B.
It was still a pitcher’s game after 3, Auckland with a trio of hits and Canberra still hitless.
Chapple led off the 4th with a soft single to centre and advanced into scoring position on a ground-out. And then Neil Bellett dropped the hammer, slugging an 0-1 curveball deep over right and into the stands for a 2-run dinger. That was Bellett’s first ever postseason hit in this, his first ever postseason game. 2-0 Canberra.
Zhou returned fire in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff double but then got thrown out trying to steal 3B. ‘Why?’ one of the commentators asked. ‘Zhou’s fast enough that he can score from second on any base hit past the infield.’ An out later Foreman spanked a curveball deep over left for a solo homer. ‘Game could’ve been tied,’ the commentator said. 2-1 Cavalry after 4.
Top of the 6th, Watts fetched the first pitch he faced down the RF line and into the seats for a 2-out four-bagger. 3-1 Canberra.
A 2-out error by 3B Culaham in the bottom of the 6th allowed Zhou to reach 2B but McCabe ground out to end in the inning.
Venugopalan led off the top of the 7th with a double that missed being a homerun by an inch of fence. Benbow was intentionally walked. Culaham struck out swinging, his early postseason heroics long forgotten. Pinch-hitter Bradley Mant walked to load the bases but pinch-hitter Todd Riseley could only ground into a 4-6-3 double-play. Canberra had missed an opportunity to grab the game by the throat.
Sukarto (6.0IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 6K) was replaced by Quinn for the bottom of the inning. Bagshaw hit a 2-out single but Ashton ground out to 1B. Still 3-1 Cavalry.
Blake replaced Booth (7.0IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB, 5K) for the 8th and retired all 3 hitters on groundballs up the middle.
Chapple pulled off a great tumbling catch to rob Kline of a 1-out single in the bottom of the frame. Walena followed up with a double into the leftfield corner. Palakikio was called in but gave up a double to Zhou. Walena scored to make it a 1-run game. McCabe, woeful this series apart from his walk-off homer in Game 4, was replaced by pinch-hitter Calvin Harney to combat southpaw Roy Sorenson’s arrival at the mound. No matter for Sorenson, who struck out Harney swinging. 3-2 Canberra.
Benbow drew a 2-out walk in the top of the 9th and hurried to 3B on Culaham’s follow-up single to right. Mant lined one to right. It stayed fair and bounced into the corner. Benbow scored an insurance run but slow-running Culaham stopped at 3B. Riseley struck out. 4-2 Canberra.
Koka had a 2-run lead to protect. First up was Foreman. With the count 3-1 he broken-bat blooped a single to centre. Welch lined a curveball into right for a single. Bagshaw got beaten by a fastball to go down on strikes for the third time in the game. Ashton fell behind 1-2 but then watched 3 balls to walk and load the bases. Puckeridge hit one sharply up the middle. Perez ranged to his left, flipped to 2B Mant, who pivoted and fired to first in time for a game-winning double-play.
Final score: 4-2 Canberra, and they’d succeeded in taking the series back to home territory.
Off Day
Cain Withers had torn his triceps. He should be fully recovered by the time the 2066 season rolled around.
Game 6
Domenic Jones and Amol Thundyil were the Game 6 starters. Thundyil had yet to allow an earned run this postseason, across 1 start and 3 relief appearances, 2 of which were 2 innings or longer.
Zhou singled with 2 out in the top of the 1st and then McCabe launched a fly that bounced off the top of the right-centre fence. Zhou rounded 3B and headed home but Bellett’s relay throw was perfect, as was 2B Rees’ bullet to the catcher and Zhou was tagged out.
Foreman doubled over the glove of Bellett to begin the 2nd and then Ashton took an errant slider on the shin. Bagshaw ground into a 6-4-3 double-play and Welch got frozen up by a forkball to strike out and end the inning, Foreman stranded at 3B.
Venugopalan became Canberra’s first baserunner when he drew a 1-out walk in the bottom of the inning. Watts doubled into the rightfield alley, both pitchers giving up plenty of hard-hit flies to begin the game. Culaham’s groundout to short was deep enough to score Venugopalan. Rees extended the inning with a single, moving Watts to 3B. Yegammai singled to shallow right and Watts scored. Rees attempted to make 3B but was gunned down. 2-0 Cavalry.
With 2 out in the 3rd, Walena showed fast hands and great power to pull a high inside fastball over right and into the seats for his second homer of the postseason. 2-1 Canberra.
Benbow and Perez singled with 1 away in their turn at bat but Jones retired Bellett and Venugopalan and fair ran back to the dugout.
Watts crushed a belt-high slider over left in the bottom of the 4th for a leadoff jack. 3-1 Canberra.
Welch strolled into 2B with a leadoff double in the 5th. Puckeridge walked and then Rees fluffed a regulation groundball from Kline to load the bases. Walena popped out and Zhou struck out swinging at a slider. He was Thundyil’s 20th strikeout victim of the postseason, his K/9 rate 11.0. McCabe hit a sharp grounder into the hole between 1B and 2B. Rees ranged across, picked it up and threw off-balance to 1B to get the final out, making up for his earlier error in a big way.
Chapple opened the bottom of the 5th with a single and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. He got as far as 3B but no further, the Cavalry unable to extend their lead.
Ashton doubled with 1 out in the 6th and Thundyil (5.1IP, 7H, 1ER, 1BB, 6K) was replaced by Peter Edlich, who’d only been called into the squad the day before to replace the injured Cain Withers. He looked nervous and his first pitch backed that up, it hitting Bagshaw on the knee. Bagshaw gave Edlich a spray and started for 1B but then collapsed. He was taken from the game with a knee contusion, which would keep him out of Game 7, should it be needed. Keiran Cooper replaced him for his first appearance of the postseason. Auckland skipper Altagracia had an animated conversation with the home-plate umpire, demanding Edlich’s ejection but was not rewarded for his efforts. Ashton advanced to 3B on Welch’s deep fly out. Puckeridge also flied out and Auckland returned to the field still 2 runs behind.
With 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th, Jones plunked Culaham in what looked like revenge for Edlich but the umpires took no action.
Kline led off the 7th with a single but quickly became the first out in a U4-3 double-play.
Jones (6.0IP, 7H, 3ER, 1BB, 1K) cut an unhappy figure in the 7th, sitting in the dugout chewing his nails. He was replaced by Nelson Casey. He gave up a 1-out single to Chapple, followed by a walk to Benbow. Perez and Bellett both flied out to right and the inning was over.
Edlich stayed on to begin the top of the 8th and McCabe singled up the middle to start the inning. Rees continued to make up for his earlier error, showing some class to snare a grounder up the centre from Foreman and turn another U4-3 double-play. Edlich then struck out Ashton with a perfect changeup and the inning was over.
Casey got through Canberra in order in the bottom of the inning and Koka came to the mound for the 9th. His ERA over 10 postseason innings was 2.70 but he’d made hard work of it, giving up 12 hits and 2 walks. Cooper flied out to CF. Welch got a 1-0 fastball up in the zone that he hammered 442 feet over straightaway centre to make this a 1-run game. Next up was Puckeridge, 2-28 so far this postseason. But like last season, he came through when all was on the line. He fetched his 1-0 pitch over left and into the seats. Tie game! Koka, clearly rattled, walked Kline. The pitching coach came out and settled him down and he struck out Walena. Kline took off for second on the next pitch. It was a pitchout but Watts’ throw was awful, sailing into CF and Kline made 3B without another throw. Zhou lofted a fly to right but got too much launch angle and was easily caught to end the inning. 3-3 game.
Karsumaatmaja had rushed through his warmups and took the mound for the bottom of the 9th. PH Mant singled between 1B and 2B. Yegammai ground out to short but beat out the throw to avoid the double-play. Chapple didn’t have the wheels to do the same, however, and the inning ended on a 4-6-3 double-play.
Koka stayed out for the 10th and should have eased to 2 outs but Culaham threw the ball into the bleachers and Foreman was awarded 2B. Calvin Harney came on to pinch-hit and pulled a fastball into left for a single. Cooper popped out and whacked his bat on the ground in frustration. Welch showed his big-game chops, staying back on a 1-0 fastball and driving it up the middle for an RBI-single. Auckland had the lead for the first time in the game. Koka was replaced by Quinn. Puckeridge was up again and popped up towards shallow right. The Cavalry were in disarray. Nobody called for it and it found grass. Harney scored from 2B and Auckland suddenly had insurance. Kline ground out to 3B and the inning was over, the hometown crowd silent, hands on mouths. 5-3 Auckland, their go ahead runs both unearned.
Karsumaatmaja stayed on to attempt to secure victory. Benbow punched a double into the RF corner and the crowd got some voice back. Perez ground out to 1B but Benbow cruised into 3B. Bellett struck out on 3 pitches and Karumaatmaja bellowed in delight. Venugopalan hit a strong fly to right-centre but Zhou tracked it back and took the catch near the warning track. Game over, Auckland winning the Championship with a late surge.
Final score: 5-3 Auckland. Puckeridge contributed very little all postseason, bar his efforts gunning down baserunners, until this game and both of his hits were big ones.
Back-to-back trophies for the Metros, and for the second year in a row John Foreman was named Championship MVP. He hit .292/.292/.708, with 3 dingers.
2065 Championship-winning Metros