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Old 06-22-2018, 09:49 PM   #761
Izz
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2065/2066 Season - December

2065/2066 Season - December

2065 #1 Draft Pick



Perth had the first overall pick this year and went with 21 y/o RHP Marshall Murray. Murray had dominated the college scene this year, posting a 13-2 record with an ERA under 2 while striking out 11.9 hitters per 9 innings. A groundball pitcher, Murray boasted a four-seam fastball, sinker, changeup and forkball. While he projected to have great stuff and control, scouts were most excited about the movement of his pitches. “He’s going to frustrate plenty of hitters,” one said, “because they’ll think they have him lined up but won’t be able to make solid contact, time after time.”

Murray had a reputation around his university for being a party animal who would often turn up hungover when it was his day to pitch. In fact, according to one anonymous source within his university’s faculty, Murray had flirted with suspension several times, his athletic ability bailing him out on each occasion.

Perth, too, were focused on that ability, immediately assigning him to the Bongaree Blazez, their single-A team. The pitching coach there felt Murray would be major-league ready as early as next season.

A quick look at how the previous 4 #1 draft picks were doing:

2064, Warren Collard: Collard had grown a goatee over the offseason and was looking forward to sporting it for short-A Burnie Hit Club, where he’d been assigned to start the 2065 season. Last year, in rookie ball, he hit .209/.260/.302 in 47 games, with 1 homerun. He was struggling to pick up 3B, too, his ZR for the season -10.9. Still, the Cavalry retained confidence in the now 20 y/o. “He’ll get there,” Canberra GM Balamitra Mukundan said. “There’s no need to rush him.”

2063, Vinnie Hanscombe: Finished last season in the bigs and had played 26 games there so far this season, an injury suffered on the 2nd of October keeping him out for just under 5 weeks. He was hitting .262/.301/.383, with 2HR. He had a 7-game hit streak going, as well as a 5-game RBI streak.

2062, Brendan Penfold: The 24 y/o was Canberra’s #1 starter in 2065 and had so far justified the move, going 8-3 from 13 starts, with a 3.89 ERA, 3.19 FIP, and 1.32 WHIP.

2061, Axel Zhou: Zhou had remained injury-free so far in 2065 and was leading the way for the Metros, hitting .362/.404/.576, with 13 doubles, 3 triples and 11HR. He led the team in BA, SLG, OPS, hits (88), RBI (49), and runs (48).

Notable Performances

1 Dec: A 2-run Nathan Kapuna dinger in the 8th inning pulled Central Coast level with Adelaide, the Thunder having trailed since the 3rd, when the Venom put together a 4-run frame. In the top of the 10th Gu Luo led off with a solo homerun to push Central Coast into the lead. An out later Jesus Fuentes also did the four-bag trot, giving the Thunder a 2-run advantage. That was more than enough for closer Toby Vankrimpen, who sat down Adelaide’s 4-5-6 hitters in order to finish the game. 7-5 Central Coast victory and their fifth win in a row.

3 Dec: Sydney and Canberra battled through 9 scoreless innings, the Blue Sox’s Luigi DeJong throwing 7.1 innings for just 5 hits and a walk while striking out 6. The Blue Sox singled to begin the top of the 10th but couldn’t score the runner. In the bottom of the inning Arnold Kalman fought his way to a 9-pitch single. Damian Rees earned a 7-pitch walk. Sun Cha struck out after 2 failed bunt attempts before Jorge Perez drew a walk to load the bases. Andrew Benbow sent a regulation fly to right, and Kalman tagged up and raced home, the throw from the RF not in time. 1-0 Canberra victory to take them to 39-21 for the year.



3 Dec: After scoring 3 in the top of the 1st Melbourne laid goose eggs until the 12th when Vinnie Hanscombe scored the go-ahead run off a Jose Villegas single. That was enough, Tadiyuki Okubo retiring the Thunder in the bottom of the inning on 6 pitches for a 4-3 Aces' victory.

4 Dec: Victor Doubleday and Robbie Chadfield held sway in the majority of this contest, Doubleday throwing 8 innings for 7 hits, 2 walks and 1 run, while Chadfield conceded just 2 hits and 1 walks across 7 innings, also for 1 run. In the top of the 9th Cairns went ahead via 2 walks and a single but Christchurch quickly equalized in the bottom of the inning, Rowan Kimpton, starting just his fifth game of the season, slugging his second homer of the game. In the bottom of the 10th, with 2 away, Tomas Zartuche drew a walk. Cairns’ closer Josh Duggan tried to pick him off but the throw was bad and Zartuche scooted to 2B. Beau Hauer then singled to shallow left and Zartuche showed off his wheels to score from second. 3-2 walk-off Cowboys win.

4 Dec: Stephen Lawless took a no-hitter into the 6th inning of Hobart’s clash with Perth before giving up a single. He allowed a double in the 7th but those were the only hits the Heat could muster, Hobart cruising to a 7-0 victory. Lawless was pulled after 8 with his pitch count 108, having giving up just 2 hits and 2 walks while fanning 8.

7 Dec: Michael Baker won PotW. He hit .524/.524/1.048 in 5 games, with 3 homers.

7 Dec: Tadakuni Sasaki went 5-5 for Brisbane against Auckland, his pair of doubles and homerun contributing to an 11-1 Bandits’ win. Of Auckland’s 5 hits, 3 came from the bat of Axel Zhou. This was the second time Sasaki had collected 5 hits in a big-league game. The last time he did so, in the 2061 season, had also been against Auckland.

7 Dec: Kununurra’s Jaydek Koka also picked up 5 hits, going 5-6 as the Pioneers destroyed the Sluggers 16-2. Koka hit a double and a homer and was responsible for 4RBI. Kununurra racked up 22 hits in the game, Ricardo Ortiz and Jai Rowe finishing with 4 each. Whangarei’s pitchers only had 2 innings without pain, the 1st and the 5th.



8 Dec: A capacity crowd at Venom Ballpark watched Hobart and Adelaide battle it out for 11 innings. Despite struggling to get on-base and not having a good night in the field the Venom kept with Hobart until the end, the Prospects only getting the go-ahead run via a 2-out rally. Isaac Graham retired Adelaide in order in the bottom of the inning to see Hobart to a 6-5 win.

9 Dec: “Well,” one of the commentary team exclaimed at the conclusion of this epic battle between Wellington and Sydney, “I certainly didn’t see that coming after the first inning.” The Blue Sox went bananas off the pitching of Bob Cline in the bottom of the 1st, Hulama Alkina slugging his first career Grand Slam, followed soon after by a John Roberts’ 2-run shot and a Javier Rodriguez solo blast. 7-0 after 1 and it looked like it would be a long night for Wellington’s pitching staff.

Mitchell Cox led off the second with a line-drive four-bagger over right and the Fury rallied in 4 more runs to close the gap to 2. They evened it up in the top of the 3rd, and then went ahead in the 6th, stretching their lead to 4 heading into the bottom of the 9th. What a win, right? Sydney had other things to say. Alkina started proceedings with his second homer of the night, this one a 436-foot affair over right-centre. Closer Ronald Cornell entered the fray but didn’t go so well, giving up 3 hits and a walk before recording an out. By then the Blue Sox were just 1 run back and an infield single later the game was tied with a runner in scoring position. Matt Hale took the mound and induced a 6-4-3 double-play.

Extra innings and suddenly the offense dried up. In the 11th Sydney drew 2 walks but couldn’t convert. In the bottom of the 12th Lachlan Barnett’s booming fly to CF was caught at the wall. Gin-fan Zhang led off the top of the 14th with a double to left and made 3B two outs later but was left there. The Fury got runners to 2B and 3B with only 1 out in the 15th but Aaron Fingleson bled out his tank to get the next 2 outs and finish his fourth inning of scoreless relief. In the 17th an error allowed leadoff hitter Graha Pamungkas aboard. Dustin Bacon walked and an out later Ivan Bostock singled the go-ahead run home.

This thing wasn’t over yet, however. With 2 away in the bottom of the frame Barnett doubled into deep right. Jose Ojeda followed with a double to left and we were tied up once again.

The first 2 outs of the 18th were recorded tamely. Then Noah Budd beat out the throw on a miscue down the 1B line. Pamungkas singled to left. Bacon singled between 1B and 2B and Budd scored. Cox singled to nearly the same spot and Pamungkas trotted home. Would the 2-run buffer be enough? It would. Gary Ward punched a 2-out single but finally, 6 hours and 29 minutes after the first batter walked into the box, Alexander Whiffin popped out to 2B to end the game. 14-12 Wellington. Both teams had more than 20 base hits, Wellington with 27 and Sydney with 23. Four Fury players had 4 hits in the game, while 1 Blue Sock reached that mark.



10 Dec: Wellington and Sydney went to extra innings again, with Sydney the victors this time around, walking off 3-2 winners in the bottom of the 11th. Fingleson, whose 4 innings of scoreless relief yesterday had gone unrewarded, this time picked up the win.

11 Dec: Melbourne appeared to have the first game of their series against Newcastle by the scruff of the neck after 5, leading 8-0. Then in the bottom of the 6th the Roos got on a roll after Guillermo Julio and Temaki Hokualohi led off the frame with back-to-back doubles. They rallied in 7 runs in total, Julio and Hokualohi singling in their second at-bats of the inning. Still, the Aces held onto their lead until the bottom of the 9th before the Roos brought home the equalizer. Fast-forward to the bottom of the 12th and Thomas Boniface, who’d doubled and scored to tie things up in the 9th, cracked his third double of the night, tying the AUNZBL extra-innings game record. An out and an intentional walk later Vic Pankhurst hit a line-drive single between 3B and short, Boniface scampering home to give Newcastle a 9-8 victory. No homeruns were hit in this one.



11 Dec: Brisbane had by far the better of this contest but could only convert their 10 base-hits into 2 runs. On the mound, John Zglinicki gave up just 2 hits through 8 and stayed in for the 9th, undoubtedly eager to add to his career shutout haul. The first out was a simple 4-3 but then the Kununurra offense kicked into gear. Ricardo Ortiz singled. Norm Blume crunched a double over the head of the rightfielder. Ramon Martinez’s ground-out scored a run, breaking up Zglinicki’s shutout and pulling the Pioneers to within 1, though with only an out left. Allen Jiang came to the mound and promptly gave up a double to Jai Rowe, Blume scoring the tying run. Krpana Surtik lobbed a single to left-centre and Rowe rounded 3B and headed for home. Walk-off 3-2 win for the Pioneers and Zglinicki was devastated after the game. “That one was totally on me,” he said. “I felt like I was cruising and between innings Tim* asked me whether I was okay to keep throwing. ‘Of course,’ I said. I mean, I’d only thrown 90 pitches or something. First out, sweet as. Then a single off the first pitch to the next batter and I knew straight away I’d lost my rhythm. Eddie** knew too but I waved him back into the dugout and kept throwing. Sometimes I can be a stubborn fool. Today was one of those times.”

*Manager Timothy Donaldson
**Pitching Coach Eddie Geaner




12 Dec: Li Ayliffe restricted Darwin to 4 singles and no runs in a sterling complete-game shutout. He walked 1 and struck out 6, Hobart defeating the Diggers 4-0. Gordon Ladds was the other star for the Prospects, both of his 2 hits homeruns and responsible for scoring 3 of the game’s 4 runs.

12 Dec: Whangarei didn’t score their first run in this game against Sydney until the bottom of the 8th. Tim Firth hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game up and both sides remained scoreless until the 15th, though the Sluggers loaded the bases in the 13th before Firth lined into an unassisted double-play at 1B to end the threat. They jammed the bags again in the 14th with 2 away but once again couldn’t deliver the win. In the top of the 15th Sydney hustled a runner home to go ahead. Hector Moran led off the bottom of the frame with a triple into the RF corner and it looked certain Whangarei would level this thing back up. The Sluggers then put on a squeeze bunt which resulted in Moran being thrown out at home. An out later Firth walked to put runners at 1B and 2B with 1 out remaining. Marco Auty’s 2-2 single tied the game back up before Christos Barclay hit a line-drive between 1B and 2B with the count full to finally give the Sluggers a walk-off victory. Final score 4-3, Sydney’s Jayartha Mhari unlucky after throwing 8 innings for just 2 hits and 1 walk.



12 Dec: Norm Blume hit 2 homers against former club Brisbane as Kununurra fought their way to a walk-off 7-6 victory. Blume’s second homerun was the winning shot, a solo 2-out effort in the bottom of the 9th that carried 435 feet over centrefield. Blume currently led the AUNZBL in four-baggers with 23.

13 Dec: Brisbane savaged Kununurra 16-3 in a 23-hit performance. Larry Booth was the best of the hitters, going 5-5 with a walk and 4 runs. His hits included a double and a triple. Kununurra’s only extra-base hit was a Blume dinger in the 4th.

14 Dec: Nigel Anderton won just the second PotW award of his career on the back of a .481/.563/1.037 stat-line. Of his 13 hits, 3 were doubles and 4 were homeruns. He’d scored 40 runs so far this season. 10 of those came in the past week.

14 Dec: Adelaide needed 12 innings to get past Canberra in a low-scoring contest, eventually busting out with 3 in the top of the 12th to win 4-1. Teddy Wigley threw 9 innings for the Venom, giving up just 4 hits and 2 walks for 1 run and 6 strikeouts.

16 Dec: Auckland and Melbourne traded regular blows through regulation innings to be tied at 6 after 9. In the bottom of the 11th Glen Walsh led off with a walk, advanced to 2B and 3B on 2 wild pitches in the next at-bat and scored off a Vinnie Hanscombe single to give the Aces the victory 7-6.

17 Dec: Justin Auger went 2-3 in Central Coast’s 3-2 victory over Hobart. In the 4th he clobbered the first pitch of the inning 436 feet over centre for career homerun 498.

17 Dec: Brisbane trailed for most of this one and entered the bottom of the 9th behind by 1. Gary Young doubled to the left-centre wall with 1 away. An out later Roman Woods launched a fly to the same part of the ground. His had slightly more legs than Young’s shot and landed in the bleachers for a 2-run walk-off jack. 4-3 Brisbane victory.

18 Dec: Central Coast went down 8-7 to Hobart thanks to the Prospects rallying in 6 in the 7th but the occasion was stolen by Justin Auger. The 39 y/o hit a 1-out single in the 2nd, his 2498th career hit. In the 6th he singled again. In the 9th, with 2 out, he doubled down the 1B line and there it was: 2500. Auger was the 23rd player in AUNZBL history to reach that mark.

20 Dec: Auckland and Christchurch began a series dubbed by NZ-based media as ‘The Battle of the Islands.’ Auckland had a 2-game lead over Christchurch in the NZ Division but the Cowboys were going the better for the month so far, their record 12-5 to the Metros’ 10-7. The game remained close throughout but the Cowboys came away with a 7-6 win. For Auckland, Quentin Welch went 5-5 with a homerun, 2 runs and 3 ribbies, the second time this season he’d cranked out 5 hits. Beau Hauer had him covered, though. The offensive dynamo also went 5-5, with 2 dingers, 2 runs and 3RBI.

20 Dec: Whangarei and Adelaide also shared a 7-6 scoreline but their contest ended far more dramatically than Christchurch and Auckland’s had. Adelaide took the lead in the top of the 9th, scoring 2 to go up by 1. In the bottom of the inning Christos Barclay singled with 1 away, followed by Glen Donovan pulling the first pitch he saw over right and into the bleachers for a 2-run walk-off dinger.

20 Dec: “Well, that sucked!” Jack Binns exclaimed after his Blue Sox lost 4-3 to Cairns. All of the Crocs runs came in the 7th. Valentin Rubio led off the inning with a solo homerun to right. Ewan Stenis made it back-to-back dingers with a jack over left. Michael Baker walked, and then Ronald Aitken launched a fly 433-feet over right-centre. What was Binns’ plan to avoid any similar fate in the future? “If it looks like happening again I think I’ll bean a couple guys and see if I can’t get a fight started. Wearing a couple punches and getting ejected is 100 times better than that crap!”



21 Dec: Tashiaki Yano won PotW with a .550/.640/1.150 stat-line. His 11 hits included 3 doubles and 3 dingers. Teammate Larry Booth also put forward a good case for the award, hitting .591/.625/.864 with 3 doubles and a homer. He played in 5 games, 3 of them worth 4 hits.

21 Dec: John Dalton equalled the longest homerun streak of the season, going deep today for the fourth game in a row. The affable Hobart catcher launched a solo shot in the 5th inning of an 11-4 win over division rivals Canberra. The win pulled Hobart to within 1 of the Cavalry at the top of the Southern.

21 Dec: Nalukea Alana had recently returned from a stretched elbow ligament, making his first start back in the bigs for Cairns on the 14th. That day he exceeded all expectations, throwing 8 innings for just 3 hits and 3 walks, allowing 0 runs in a 1-0 Crocs victory. Today, against Sydney, he again went into the 8th inning, this time coming from the mound with an out remaining. Once again, he kept his opposition scoreless, his stat-line 7.2IP, 5H, 0ER, 2BB, 5K. That gave him a 15.2 scoreless-inning streak.

22 Dec: 35 y/o Sebastian Horton had a game he’d never forget in helping Melbourne to a 9-6 victory over Kununurra. The Aces got off to a flyer in the top of the 1st, Marcos Lopez launching his 488th career dinger with 1 out, followed immediately by Glen Walsh’s flat line-drive over left finding bleacher-town. An out later Horton’s fly down the leftfield line had just enough carry to make the score 3-0. In the 5th he crunched a 2-run homer over left-centre and then outdid himself in the 9th, smashing an 0-1 fastball 436-feet over centre for his third homer of the night. He was 3-4 for the game, with 4 runs and 4RBI.



22 Dec: Christchurch beat Auckland for the third day in a row, thus overtaking the Metros at the top of the NZ. It took 12 innings today, Auckland coming back in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game before Russell Smith pushed the Cowboys back in front in the top of the 12th with a 2-run dinger. The final score was 8-6 Cowboys.

23 Dec: 37 y/o Al Rees had come across to the AUNZBL from the ABC in 2062 but this was the first season he was an everyday player. Today he was 5-5 in Hobart’s 10-inning 8-3 win over Canberra, his hits including 2 homers. The second of those was a 2-run shot in the 10th, capping off a 5-run inning and putting the game out of Canberra’s reach. He also scored 3 runs and plated 4 runners.

23 Dec: Hulama Alkina hit two bleacher-features in Sydney’s 6-4 walk-off extra-innings win over Cairns, part of a 4-5 night. His second effort was the money shot, a 1-out 435-foot blast in the bottom of the 11th that gave the Blue Sox victory.

27 Dec: Central Coast edged Canberra 4-3, handing the Cavalry their fourth loss in a row. Justin Auger got the Thunder off to a great start with a 2-out 3-run blast in the top of the 1st. Auger needed one more round-tripper to get to 500.

28 Dec: After a week truncated by All Star festivities, Gavin Howell was awarded PotW. In 4 games the veteran hit .500/.556/1.188 with a triple and 3 homers among his 8 hits.

28 Dec: Melbourne and Sydney battled for 11 innings before the Aces walked off 4-2 winners. Marty Downes was the big man on campus for Melbourne, slugging the only 2 homers of the game, the second of which was the 2-run winner. The 2 runs the Blue Sox scored were both unearned.

30 Dec: Eduardo Maldonado came to the plate for the Cowboys in the bottom of the 10th with 2 on and 2 out and the score with Kununurra tied at 2. He let four pitches pass by to see the count to 3-1. He fouled off the next pitch. And then he got velocity and launch angle on a low splitter, sending it high, wide and handsome over left-centre. It landed in the upper deck and he was duly mobbed upon reaching home-plate. 5-2 Cowboys victory. Maldonado had been the go-to guy all game, with a 4-5 night.

Notable Injuries

3 Dec: Edgardo Rico (.372/.420/.467, 3HR) was likely no longer in All Star contention, at least if the final selection committee applied the same processes as the 2064 committee had. The 25 y/o had a sprained ankle and was looking at a month off. At the time of his injury Rico was tied for the league lead in BA.

5 Dec: Axel Nankervis (.239/.271/.409, 10HR) had a strained MCL and would be on the DL around 5 weeks. His slow start to the season had seen his career BA drop to below .300.

13 Dec: Ethan Humphries (5-3, 4.23 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.39 WHIP) blew out a tendon in his finger and would be touch and go to return to Melbourne’s rotation in 2065.

14 Dec: It looked like Neil Bellett (.322/.425/.590, 15HR) would miss the All Star Game after he left the field today against Adelaide. The Canberra OF had shoulder tendinitis and was expected to miss around 3 weeks.

15 Dec: Manuel Alou (.229/.368/.293, 2HR) was only back in Hobart’s lineup for just over a week after recovering from a herniated disc in his back before being struck down by injury again. This time it was a sprained thumb and he’d likely be out another 3-4 weeks.

19 Dec: Sydney’s Brent Dwyer (.273/.336/.398, 8HR) was set to miss at least 2 months with a torn thumb ligament. He went to the DL on a 3-game homerun streak.

21 Dec: Tashiaki Yano (.346/.400/.592, 14HR) became the latest player to be scrubbed from All Star consideration thanks to injury. He had knee tendinitis and faced about 3 weeks on the DL.

23 Dec: First-time All Star Jayartha Mhari (3-4, 3.21 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) would sadly be only a spectator for the big occasion. He’d done a hammy and would be out for a month.

29 Dec: Gary Young (.206/.289/.364, 9HR) suffered a high ankle sprain and would be missing from Brisbane’s lineup for at least 6 weeks. This was Young’s second stint on the DL this season and would likely result in him missing the target of 550PA for the vesting option in his contract to kick in.

Notable Trades/Signings

6 Dec: “Crazy madness!” Alan Sneddon told viewers of tonight’s show. What was he referring to? Whangarei’s trade with division rivals Wellington. The Sluggers had sent 25 y/o 1B Noah Budd (.285/.353/.465, 10HR in 2065; .261/.347/.421, 27HR career) to Wellington in exchange for 34 y/o LHP Jarrod Culaham (0-2, 3.45 ERA from 23 games; ABC player prior to this season) and a 21 y/o OF who would be good in a couple years. Why was the trade madness, in Sneddon’s opinion? “Wellington and Whangarei have exactly the same record, 33-29, in exactly the same division but the Sluggers have just gifted the Fury a batter who is about to hit the prime-time in return for an aging relief pitcher and a prospect who won’t do anything to help them now. I’m not sure I can remember a more foolish trade.”



12 Dec: Christchurch added some depth to their rotation, acquiring 26 y/o RHP Keng-chi Tu (3-2, 4.22 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 1.31 WHIP in 2065; 19-19, 4.57 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.38 WHIP career) from Sydney in return for 2 prospects. Chu, a groundball pitcher who threw a good fastball, changeup and splitter as well as a mediocre slider, would slot into the bottom half of the Cowboys’ rotation, which would appear to signify a permanent move - bar injuries - for Dan Pankhurst into the bullpen. “$17 million coming out of the pen in mid to long relief?” Sneddon asked. “Probably the right move, considering age is finally catching up with Pankhurst, but perhaps not one that will sit so well with owner Wesley Fyfe.”



18 Dec: Christchurch extended 28 y/o Jeremy Toohey (4-4, 3.53 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.21 WHIP in 2065; 18-18, 4.75 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.42 WHIP career) for 3 years, thus locking him up until free agency. Toohey threw a regulation 4-seamer plus a forkball and a changeup. He also threw a curve but had never developed it beyond mediocre. “I know it’s a tall ask at his age,” Sneddon said when discussing the news on his show, “but if he could just develop that curveball a bit more he’d be world-class.”



2065 All Stars

Once again, the final All Star teams looked quite different to the fan picks. In a concession to the voters, however, the Commissioner’s Office announced that the players most favoured by the fans would be presented with special caps signifying such before the game, even if they weren’t playing.

Two teams did not have an All Star selected from among their ranks this season. Perth, not surprisingly, and Whangarei, much more surprisingly. While the Sluggers sat last in the NZ, they were 4 games above .500 at the time the squads were announced and 2064 All Star Tim Firth (.291/.322/.471, 13HR) was shocked nobody from his team had made the cut. “Unbelievable,” he told waiting media when they pounced on him with the question after batting practice. “We’re tracking well and we’ve got several guys who deserve to be there, in my opinion. I guess we’ll have to use the snub as motivation for the second half of the season.”

Coastal-East-West All Stars



SP Victor Doubleday (CAI) - 7-4, 3.24 ERA, 100.0 IP, 1.21 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 2.6 WAR
SP Mei-shan Jiang (ADE) - 9-2, 1.84 ERA, 98.0 IP, 1.06 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 2.7 WAR
SP Blair Norris (CAI) - 4-7, 3.15 ERA, 105.2 IP, 1.19 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 2.3 WAR
SP John Ramírez (NEW) - 6-5, 3.71 ERA, 104.1 IP, 1.00 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 2.4 WAR
SP Nelson Thurgood (BRI) - 7-5, 3.23 ERA, 100.1 IP, 1.16 WHIP, 4.8 K/9, 1.9 WAR
SP Sebastian Woodger (BRI) - 6-4, 4.18 ERA, 92.2 IP, 1.22 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 2.2 WAR
SP John Zglinicki (BRI) - 8-4, 4.16 ERA, 110.1 IP, 1.29 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 2.7 WAR
RP Rich Pinney (NEW) - 3-0, 3.65 ERA, 44.1 IP, 1.06 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 0.8 WAR
RP Beau Wellby (BRI) - 1-2, 5 SV, 3.29 ERA, 27.1 IP, 1.24 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 0.6 WAR
CL Ke-yong Fang (NEW) - 4-1, 18 SV, 2.52 ERA, 35.2 IP, 1.09 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 1.0 WAR
CL Allen Jiang (BRI) - 0-3, 18 SV, 2.32 ERA, 31.0 IP, 1.23 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 0.9 WAR
CL Moeaktola Liao (ADE) - 6-3, 20 SV, 2.21 ERA, 36.2 IP, 0.93 WHIP, 13.7 K/9, 1.0 WAR
C Michael Baker (CAI) - .298/.365/.500, 248 AB, 12 HR, 1 SB, 128 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
C Norm Donaldson (ADE) - .272/.361/.572, 243 AB, 22 HR, 0 SB, 138 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
C Tadakuni Sasaki (BRI) - .316/.358/.545, 244 AB, 11 HR, 0 SB, 130 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
1B Ronald Aitken (CAI) - .278/.420/.494, 245 AB, 13 HR, 0 SB, 145 wRC+, 2.7 WAR
1B Norm Blume (KUN) - .347/.394/.667, 303 AB, 26 HR, 0 SB, 174 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
2B Domenic Cook (BRI) - .287/.355/.464, 261 AB, 13 HR, 3 SB, 117 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
2B Ricardo Ortíz (KUN) - .314/.364/.449, 296 AB, 4 HR, 13 SB, 116 wRC+, 1.2 WAR
2B Andre Wiltshire (CEN) - .317/.397/.513, 300 AB, 14 HR, 6 SB, 141 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
3B Ángel Rivera (DAR) - .311/.357/.479, 286 AB, 6 HR, 17 SB, 122 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
SS Carlos Acevedo (ADE) - .354/.380/.623, 308 AB, 22 HR, 7 SB, 163 wRC+, 3.9 WAR
SS Nicholas Bennett (NEW) - .324/.348/.511, 321 AB, 11 HR, 13 SB, 123 wRC+, 2.3 WAR
LF Martin Boston (DAR) - .312/.345/.406, 234 AB, 2 HR, 0 SB, 100 wRC+, 0.9 WAR
LF Claudio Lara (CEN) - .314/.417/.517, 261 AB, 12 HR, 6 SB, 152 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
RF Larry Booth (BRI) - .380/.470/.495, 279 AB, 2 HR, 24 SB, 158 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
RF Temaki Hokualohi (NEW) - .342/.384/.482, 278 AB, 6 HR, 3 SB, 131 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
RF Nathan Kapuna (CEN) - .282/.347/.544, 294 AB, 18 HR, 3 SB, 133 wRC+, 2.5 WAR

bSouthern-NZ All Stars



SP Martin Booth (AUC) - 10-3, 3.23 ERA, 100.1 IP, 1.38 WHIP, 4.0 K/9, 1.6 WAR
SP Barry Dean (CHR) - 9-3, 3.47 ERA, 116.2 IP, 1.21 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 2.4 WAR
SP Domenic Jones (AUC) - 7-2, 2.72 ERA, 106.0 IP, 1.11 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 3.0 WAR
SP Seb Larcombe (WEL) - 8-3, 3.21 ERA, 92.2 IP, 1.05 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 2.2 WAR
SP Jayaratha Mhari (SYD) - 3-4, 3.12 ERA, 92.1 IP, 1.25 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 2.4 WAR
SP Seto Sukarto (CAN) - 7-4, 3.68 ERA, 88.0 IP, 1.45 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 2.2 WAR
SP Cain Withers (CAN) - 10-1, 2.72 ERA, 92.2 IP, 1.18 WHIP, 4.2 K/9, 2.0 WAR
RP Aaron Fingleson (SYD) - 3-3, 2.77 ERA, 39.0 IP, 1.10 WHIP, 12.0 K/9, 1.0 WAR
RP Declan Gerlach (HOB) - 4-3, 3.17 ERA, 59.2 IP, 1.16 WHIP, 2.9 K/9, 0.9 WAR
CL Scott Carson (CHR) - 5-1, 19 SV, 1.82 ERA, 34.2 IP, 1.07 WHIP, 13.0 K/9, 0.9 WAR
CL Ronald Cornell (WEL) - 2-5, 18 SV, 2.61 ERA, 38.0 IP, 0.89 WHIP, 11.4 K/9, 0.9 WAR
CL Tadiyuki Okubo (MEL) - 3-4, 15 SV, 2.25 ERA, 36.0 IP, 1.17 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 0.7 WAR
C John Dalton (HOB) - .256/.354/.574, 242 AB, 18 HR, 0 SB, 139 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
C Jay Watts (CAN) - .286/.375/.490, 241 AB, 12 HR, 0 SB, 130 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
1B Mitch Goddard (CAN) - .321/.372/.570, 305 AB, 19 HR, 1 SB, 145 wRC+, 1.7 WAR
1B Glen Walsh (MEL) - .297/.358/.540, 300 AB, 16 HR, 1 SB, 127 wRC+, 1.5 WAR
1B Dustin Bacon (WEL) - .305/.387/.455, 266 AB, 8 HR, 0 SB, 123 wRC+, 1.4 WAR
2B Beau Hauer (CHR) - .346/.418/.632, 231 AB, 16 HR, 0 SB, 173 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
2B Chi-seong Lee (WEL) - .295/.356/.489, 268 AB, 11 HR, 4 SB, 126 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
2B Jesús Vega (HOB) - .304/.402/.463, 283 AB, 6 HR, 21 SB, 133 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
2B Quentin Welch (AUC) - .292/.374/.449, 267 AB, 9 HR, 0 SB, 117 wRC+, 0.4 WAR
3B Leo Walena (AUC) - .325/.385/.402, 234 AB, 1 HR, 0 SB, 111 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
LF Sadao Taniguchi (MEL) - .323/.368/.491, 322 AB, 6 HR, 32 SB, 124 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
CF David Romo (CHR) - .319/.354/.401, 257 AB, 1 HR, 27 SB, 101 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
CF Axel Zhou (AUC) - .371/.410/.581, 248 AB, 11 HR, 11 SB, 150 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
RF Cam Kline (AUC) - .297/.344/.474, 327 AB, 8 HR, 7 SB, 113 wRC+, 0.7 WAR
RF Tomas Zartuche (CHR) - .324/.362/.431, 299 AB, 2 HR, 17 SB, 113 wRC+, 0.5 WAR
RF Ralph Zglinicki (HOB) - .325/.369/.451, 255 AB, 6 HR, 15 SB, 118 wRC+, 1.7 WAR

2065 All Star Game

Despite being termed a ‘borderline selection’ by many of the experts, John Zglinicki was chosen to start for the Central-East-West All Stars. Barry Dean would start, for the second year running, for Southern-NZ, even though he’d thrown 126 pitches 2 days ago. Metropolis Ballpark was full to bursting.

The fans didn’t have to wait long for something to cheer about. Larry Booth smoked the second pitch of the game to the leftfield alley but Tomas Zartuche tracked it back and made a great leaping catch near the wall. 2 batters later Cam Kline rifled a throw from right in time for Angel Rivera to be tagged out diving into 3B. Kline then made a jumping catch to rob Norm Blume of extra bases thus ending an eventful top of the 1st.

Carlos Acevedo, hitting at 8, drove in the game’s first run in the top of the 2nd off Martin Booth. 1-0 Central-East-West.

Zartuche hit an RBI-single in the 3rd to tie things up before Beau Hauer’s second hit of the night drove in the go-ahead run. Leo Walena continued the rally, singling Zartuche home to put the Southern-NZ All Stars up 3-1.

In the 7th, with 1 aboard, Temaki Hokualohi smoked a Seto Sukarto fastball way back over right-centre. 2-run homer, score tied at 3. Things didn’t stay knotted up for long. Zartuche’s 2-out single in the bottom of the frame scored 2 and put Southern-NZ back in front.

Scott Carson fanned the first 2 in the top of the 9th but then served up a tater to Nicholas Bennett on an 0-2 pitch. Carson recovered to fan Wiltshire and that was the game, 5-4 Southern-NZ. The official box score still showed the teams as Team 1 and Team 2, with some beginning to wonder if doing so was a passive-aggressive reaction by the Commissioner’s Office to the forced scrapping of the previous format.

Zartuche, who went 3-4 with 1 run and 3RBI, was named All Star MVP. Last year’s MVP, Andre Wiltshire, went 3-5.



Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: 24 y/o Vinnie Hanscombe was the #1 overall pick in 2063, made his major-league debut in 2064, and was a regular in Melbourne’s top 24 in 2065, although he had spent close to 5 weeks on the DL already. He hit .358/.376/.575 across 25 games in December, his 38-106 including 11 doubles, 3 triples and 2 homeruns. He scored 19 runs, plated 21 runners, walked 3 times and stole 2 bases.

Hurler of the Month: All Star Scott Carson went 4-0, with 10 saves, from 14 games in December. He threw 17 innings while allowing just 8 hits and walking 4. His ERA was 1.06, his FIP 1.42, and his WHIP 0.71. His K/9 was 12.2, for 23 strikeouts in 17 innings. For the season Carson had a 23-game save streak going, including his save at the All Star Game. His 22 regular season saves had him tied for second among closers.

Slugger of the Month: Beau Hauer was adjudged the month’s best hitter. He hit .339/.387/.633, 37-109, with 22 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 8HR, 27RBI, and 9 walks. For the season he was hitting .337/.407/.598, with 16 homers.

Media Watch

Marcos Lopez: Had his best month of the season in December, hitting .250/.315/.425 across 89PA in 21 games. Of his 20 hits, 4 went out of the park, giving him 489 career homers. He now had 3327 career hits. His 579 career doubles put him fourth all-time, with only 2 more required to surpass Jacob Blanksby in third. He’d only hit 3 doubles so far this season.

Martin Boston: Boston returned from injury for the final 4 games of December (he also warmed the All Star bench), where he hit .300/.300/.400, adding 6 hits to his career tally. He needed 114 more to reach 3000.

Justin Auger: Auger finished the month 1 homer shy of 500. For his career he was hitting a homerun around every fifth time he recorded a hit, and every 20.79 at-bats.

Other Notes

Coastal Division: Adelaide (10-16) had a very poor December, only holding onto their division lead by virtue of the fact no other team in the Coastal had started the season well. Darwin (15-11) finished the month only 1 game back

East-west Division: Brisbane (16-10) fought their way to the head of the East-West, helped by the Roos (10-16) losing their bounce. Kununurra (11-15) also fell away. The Bandits had a 5-game lead heading into January.

NZ Division: Christchurch’s (20-6) sweeping of Auckland (14-12) in their 4-game series before the All Star break signified a shift in power in the NZ. The Cowboys overtook the Metros at the top of the division and maintained a 2-game lead for the rest of the month. Wellington (17-9) kept pace, just 4 games back, while Whangarei (11-15) slumped to fall to the bottom of the division, though they were still 3 games above .500 at month end.

Southern Division: Canberra (12-14) dropped their 5-game lead to finish the month tied with Hobart (17-9) at the top of the Southern.

Wildcard: This was a hot contest. Auckland maintained a 2-game buffer in top slot, while either Canberra or Hobart were in second 1 game back. Wellington was a game further behind, and Whangarei 5 games adrift. At 7 games in arrears with plenty of teams ahead of them Darwin were a much better chance of snaring their division crown.

Norm Blume (.343/.391/.666, 28HR) continued to dominate the hitting boards. He led the AUNZBL in SLG, OPS, HR, wOBA (.439), ISO (.322), XBH (51), and total bases (221).

Larry Booth (.377/.465/.495, 2HR) sat at the head of the BA, OBP, and runs (75) boards.

Carlos Acevedo (.345/.371/.616, 24HR) had 116 hits, 1 more than any other hitter, and a 3.9 WAR, a decimal point ahead of Blume.

Tadakuni Sasaki (.322/.359/.557, 70RBI) had batted home the most runners.

Ronald Aitken (.292/.438/.532, 16HR) led the league in walks, with 58.

Sadao Taniguchi (.329/.372/.497, 6HR) had stolen 36 bases so far, 8 more than anyone else.

Martin Booth (11-3, 3.15 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.42 WHIP) continued to lead the league in wins. Teammate Domenic Jones (8-2, 2.88 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.10 WHIP) had the best FIP, K/BB (6.00), and WAR (3.2).

Mei-shan Jiang (10-3, 2.25 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.12 WHIP) maintained the best ERA among qualified pitchers.

Gesang Purbacaraka (8-2, 2.48 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 1.02 WHIP) was unlucky to miss out on All Star selection. He had the league’s best WHIP, OAVG (.205), and H/9 (6.68).

Barry Dean (10-3, 3.46 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.21 WHIP) had 117 punch-outs in 132.2 innings pitches, both league-leading. Perth’s Jose Ramirez (5-5, 4.29 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 1.27 WHIP) had the top K/9 rate, fanning 9.83 hitters every 9 innings.

Isaac Graham and Moeaktola Liao were tied for the lead in saves, with 23 each.

ABC Wrap-up

The furore over the free agency eligibility rule change continued off the field with no solution in sight.

On the field, Alice Springs (47-36) opened up a 10-game lead over Brisbane (37-46), who only won 6 games during the month, and Townsville (also 37-46).

Sydney (51-31) finished the month 7 1/2 games clear of Canberra (44-39), and 8 games ahead of Hobart and Melbourne (43-39) in the Southern.

Perth (47-36) extended their lead over Adelaide (41-42) to 6 games in the Western.

Dunedin (47-36) continued to lead the Overseas, though Jakarta had narrowed the gap to 4 games by month’s end.

Rick Muirhead (.318/.424/.527, 11HR) had migrated to the ABC from the Roos in 2065 and won the ABC Golden Bat of the Month in December. The 30 y/o had only played one complete season in the AUNZBL, doing so in 2064, where he hit .225/.340/.320 with 7 homers.

Jakarta’s Elele Yuka (4-3, 4.85 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 1.41 WHIP) could be wild at times but perhaps that was his strength. He’d fanned 106 batters in 85.1 innings at a rate of 11.2 per 9 innings.

AUNZBL Standings, Jan 1
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Old 07-06-2018, 11:26 PM   #762
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2065/2066 Season - January

Notable Performances

1 Jan: A real pitchers’ duel in Wellington as the Fury and Cavalry fought it out for 11 innings before a winner was crowned. Canberra’s Brendon Penfold threw 8.1 innings for 5 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts and no runs, while Wellingtonian Jason Brewster’s 8.0 innings went for just 2 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 5 and also allowed no runs. Neither team scored in the 9th or 10th. Gary Woods led off the bottom of the 11th with a sharp single past 2B. 2 outs later, with Woods on 2B, Noah Budd hit a soft fly into CF. It found grass and Woods found home plate for a 1-0 Wellington win.



1 Jan: Offense was the name of the day over in Whangarei as Hobart put the Sluggers to the sword 17-2. Gordon Ladds was 3-5 with 2 homers for the Prospects, while John Dalton also homered in a 3-4 night. 27 y/o Gavin Odgers, who’d been a AAA staple for the last few seasons but had finally locked down a spot in the bigs, went 4-6 with 2 doubles and a moon shot.

1 Jan: Cairns got the better of Adelaide in a 13-inning contest, eventually winning 8-7. A Brandon Baker Grand Slam in the 2nd came as part of a 7-run Crocs’ charge. Their bats then went silent while Adelaide chipped away at the lead, the Venom tying proceedings in the top of the 9th via a 2-run James Bacosa bomb. Fast forward to the bottom of the 13th and Todd Riseley lofted the first pitch of the inning deep to left. It landed amongst the fans and Cairns were walk-off winners.



1 Jan: Another run-fest on the Central Coast saw Auckland demolish the Thunder 17-3. Every Metros’ player bar Axel Zhou (0-5) got 2 or more hits, the team hitting safely 20 times as well as walking 6 times. Declan Bagshaw collected a brace of homers, batting in a game-high 5 runners.

3 Jan: Brisbane dumped the Diggers 15-4, Domenic Cook’s 4-5 all extra-base hits. He slugged 3 doubles and a homerun, plating 7 runners.

3 Jan: Adelaide also went on an offensive tear, destroying the Crocs 17-6. The Venom scored all their runs in 2 innings, sending 10 hitters to the plate in the 2nd for 6 runs, and a mammoth 16 batters in the 6th for 11 runs. The middle of the 6th-inning carnage was punctuated by a Jack Pye Grand Slam. Only 10 of Adelaide's runs were counted as earned by the scorers.



3 Jan: Melbourne trailed Perth by 3 going into the top of the 9th but finished the frame leading by 5. A bevy of extra-base hits stunned the Heat, who managed to score a consolation run in the bottom of the inning to only lose by 4, the score 10-6.

4 Jan: Auckland put up another 15+ score, thrashing Kununurra 16-5. Leadoff hitter Rodney Trembath went 4-6 with a double, 2 homeruns, 3 runs and 5RBI. The Pioneers didn’t get on the board until the 8th inning.

4 Jan: Barry Dean got another start against his old club and threw a solid 8 innings for 5 hits and 2 earned runs. The hero of the night, however, was Perth’s Rhett Weichard who prior to this game was 0-5 with a 6.85 ERA. The scores were locked at 2 after 9 and Weichard remained on the mound for 2 more innings. Cesar Alvites hit a 2-out 2-run double in the top of the 12th and Weichard was replaced by Scott McAuley for the bottom of the inning, who retired the Cowboys in order to see Perth win 4-2. The win lifted Perth to a mighty 26-61 for the season. Weichard’s 10 strikeouts was the second-best ever in an AUNZBL extra-innings game.



4 Jan: Hobart put together a run of three 2-out singles in the bottom of the 10th to walk off 1-0 winners over Brisbane. The Bandits’ John Zglinicki threw 9.1 innings for 3 hits and 1 walk but could only watch as closer Allen Jiang gave up the loss. The winning run was scored by Ralph Zglinicki who’d subbed into the game in the 8th.



5 Jan: Cairns outlasted Darwin 7-5 in 11 innings but it was the Diggers who had the better of the plate, putting up 15 hits to 11. Angel Rivera led the way with a 5-6 outing, his hits including a double and a homerun. This was Rivera’s second 5-hit game in 2065. Martin Boston went 4-5 to go with a 3-5 game the previous night. He needed 5 more hits to make 2900.

7 Jan: Angel Rivera’s solo 6th-inning shot in Darwin’s 7-6 win over Cairns gave him a 4-game homerun streak.

10 Jan: This contest between Auckland and Sydney was the third game in the first 10 days of the month to need more than 9 innings before a run was scored. The Metros’ Domenic Jones hurled 8 innings of no-run ball, conceding 5 hits and 3 walks in the process while fanning 3. On the other side of the mound, Roberto Santos, in only his third big-league start, went 7.1 innings for 4 hits, 0 walks and 8 Ks. In the top of the 11th Auckland got 2 aboard with 2 out and Callum McCabe made them all count, bashing a 3-run homer over right-centre. 3-0 was the final score, Rory Karsumaatmaja (see Notable Trades/Signings below) getting the save against his old team for the second day in a row.



10 Jan: Brisbane scored 3 in the bottom of the 9th to tie it up against Canberra but it was the Cavalry who stormed home, rallying in 5 in the top of the 12th to run out 9-5 victors. Larry Booth went 4-4 for the Bandits, with 2 walks, to bump up his league-leading BA to .383.

11 Jan: Angel Rivera won PotW, hitting .577/.607/1.077, his 15 hits including 4 homers.

11 Jan: Justin Auger’s 6th-inning 3-run homer broke the tie between the Thunder and Pioneers and was enough for Central Coast to hold on and win 8-6. The first-pitch shot over rightfield was also the 500th round-tripper of 39 y/o Auger’s career. At 5’10” and 102 kilograms, Auger was no longer the trim youngster who’d made his big-league debut in 2049, bashing 12 homeruns from 31 hits. Now he was a veteran in his 17th big-league season and the sixth AUNZBL player to reach the 500 homerun mark.



11 Jan: Scott Carson’s save streak ended at 26 when he blew it against Adelaide. Coming in after Christchurch hustled home the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th, he immediately gave up a solo homerun to Carlos Acevedo (#27 on the season) to see the game tied back up. 2 strikeouts later Norm Donaldson launched his 31st homer of the season, putting him into the league lead and giving Adelaide a walk-off 3-2 victory.

12 Jan: Jack Binns made sure Sydney got the win over Auckland today, throwing 9 scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory. He allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 in his 7th win of the year. This was the third shutout of Binns’ career, and first since 2060.

13 Jan: Perth’s Pedro Espinoza dropped to 1-13 for the year, throwing just 3 innings for 5 earned runs in an 8-2 loss to Auckland. Espinoza’s only win of the season had come way back on the 9th of October. Since then he had lost 12 of 17 starts. His ERA for 2065 thus far was 7.64 and his FIP 6.71. The 24 y/o could be a good pitcher in the right environment, at least according to Alan Sneddon, who noted that the fact he’d walked (59) more hitters than he’d struck out (46) wasn’t helping his cause. Espinoza had been so bad that while he’d been in Perth’s rotation since the beginning of the season he’d been pulled early from games so often that he didn’t meet the minimum leaderboard requirements of 1 innings per team game. If he did qualify, his BB/9 of 6.2 would be the worst of any regular starting pitcher in the league.

13 Jan: Central Coast moved to 8-4 for January after today’s win, doing their best to rise from the gutter of last place in the East-West. Their offense ran riot against Whangarei, the final score 20-4, even though the Thunder only managed 12 hits. They did show off their plate discipline however, drawing 12 walks. Nick McConnell started off the game with a first-pitch solo homer and Central Coast’s last scoring act was a 2-run Claudio Lara rocket. Those were the Thunder’s only 2 homeruns of the game. Whangarei committed 3 errors, meaning just 14 of Central Coast’s runs were earned.



13 Jan: The Fury were rampant on the bases against Brisbane, clocking up 20 base hits in a 13-6 victory. Tye Albury went 4-6 with a double, triple and 2RBI. The game’s only homerun was slugged in the 6th by Gilberto Soberon, part of a 2-5 night for the corner outfielder.

14 Jan: Central Coast out-slugged the Sluggers, defeating them 13-11. Whangarei pitcher Nick Aston had a horror outing, giving up 10 hits and 8 walks in 1.1 innings before he was finally yanked. The Thunder led 11-1 after 2 but Whangarei wouldn’t give up, a pair of 1-out solo homers pulling them to within 2 in the bottom of the 9th. The next 2 hitters singled but Thunder closer Toby Vankrimpen recovered to record the final 2 outs and see his side to victory.

14 Jan: Newcastle tied up their game against Adelaide in the bottom of the 9th, then survived a 1-out bases loaded scare in the top of the 10th and a 2-out bases loaded scenario in the 11th. Nicholas Bennett led off the bottom of the 14th with a 431-foot blast over centre and put this game to bed after 4 1/2 hours . Final score: 6-5 Roos. Bennett went 4-6, while Carlos Acevedo was 4-7 for the Venom.



14 Jan: Alexander Whiffin had a particularly bad day at the plate for Sydney in their 11-4 loss to Kununurra. As the commentator said while chuckling at his own joke, "He just keeps on whiffin'!" Whiffin struck out all 5 times at the plate, equalling the AUNZBL regular season game record.

15 Jan: Claudio Lara’s 2nd-inning solo bomb in the Thunder’s eventual 12-6 loss to Whangarei gave the 2065 All Star a 4-game homerun streak.

16 Jan: Another day, another loss for the Thunder, who couldn’t seem to pick themselves off the bottom rung of the East-West. Today Whangarei got up 8-7. Lara, however, continued his homerun streak, once again launching a solo blast in the 2nd inning. The following night he would fall short of equalling the AUNZBL record of 6 games.

17 Jan: Christchurch led Hobart until the 7th when Jesus Vega, Manuel Alou and Bob Lindner combined with triple, homer, homer to tie the game up. That was all the scoring through 13, both teams unable to convert their chances. In the top of the 14th Hobart knocked the Cowboys well and truly out of their saddles, piling on 9 runs, 6 of them with 2 outs. Christchurch 3B Matthew Utting could only shake his head after the game, saying, “The punches just kept coming. It was like being in one of those nightmares where you can only move in slow motion, except our whole team had that same dream.” The final score was 12-3 in Hobart’s favour.



18 Jan: 27 y/o rookie Gavin Odgers whacked .481/.533/1.000 to win PotW. For the month he was hitting .397/.449/.746. 4 of the 6 homers he’d hit so far in January came over the last 7 days.

18 Jan: Pedro Espinoza’s losing streak extended to 13 games after Kununurra belted him for 7 earned runs in 4.0 innings. Jayden Koka did most of the damage with a pair of 3-run dingers. The Pioneers went on to win 10-4.

18 Jan: Whangarei led Brisbane 7-3 after 5 innings but the Bandits clawed their way back bit by bit, tying the game via a Tadakuni Sasaki bleacher feature in the bottom of the 9th. In the bottom of the 11th Anastasio Candelaria gave Brisbane an 8-7 walk-off victory with a deep homerun to right.

18 Jan: Melbourne racked up a 15-6 victory over Canberra, doing most of their damage in the 7th. They scored 9 runs in the inning, all via the longball. Vern Bull crushed a Grand Slam, Luis Cuesta a first pitch 2-run blast, and Glen Walsh finished proceedings with a mammoth 3-run effort.

19 Jan: In a low-scoring affair, Central Coast walked off 3-2 winners over the Blue Sox thanks to Gu Luo’s 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th. It was a huge fly, calculated at 485 feet over centrefield. Thor Ballpark’s centrefield wall stood 429 feet away from home-plate at its furthest point. Luo’s blast, his 14th of the season, landed in a corporate party-zone situated behind the centrefield embankment and lightning rod. “Yeah, that bad boy flew,” Luo said in the clubhouse afterward. “Don’t even think I’ve hit one that big in batting practice.”



20 Jan: Angel Rivera continued his excellent season, safely hitting in his 20th consecutive game. He went 1-4 in Darwin’s 2-1 loss to Newcastle.

20 Jan: Brisbane upended Whangarei 11-6. In the bottom of the 3rd, with 2 out, Tashiaki Yano, Nigel Anderton, and Domenic Cook combined for back-to-back-to-back homers, Cook’s finishing effort a 433-foot fly over straightaway centre. Those were the only 3 long-balls the Bandits hit in the game.



20 Jan: A long 2-run Neil Bellett blast broke the deadlock between Canberra and Melbourne in the top of the 14th and the Cavalry held on to win 7-5. Cavalry skipper Marty Horton, in his third year at the helm, was full of praise for his team, who pushed their way ahead in the Southern by 1 game. “The sign of a good team is a team who doesn’t just knock other teams out but stays the distance and wins the points decisions. We’ve got a really good team here.” Canberra were 4-7 in extra-inning games and 8-14 in 1-run games. Maybe they were still learning that part of their skipper's boxing/baseball metaphor.



22 Jan: Roman Woods’ 1-out single in the bottom of the 11th scored the winner for Sydney, helping them overcome Perth 3-2.

23 Jan: When Carlos Acevedo launched his 32nd homerun of the season in the top of the 8th for Adelaide against Kununurra, he tied Norm Blume for the league lead as well as capped off a 5-run inning, putting the Venom up by 1. The Pioneers had the last laugh, however. Jayden Koka led off the bottom of the 9th with a single and an out later Ramon Martinez crunched his second jack of the night down the leftfield line. 7-6 Kununurra.

24 Jan: Victor Doubleday threw his second shutout of the season, fanning 8 in a 3-hit, 2-walk performance against Whangarei. The Crocs won 4-0. The effort put Doubleday at the top of the FIP (3.23) and WAR (4.6) boards. He was 9-8 for the season, with a 3.03 ERA. Cairns didn’t get on the board until the 8th. All 7 of their hits were singles.

24 Jan: For the second time in 3 games Sydney walked off winners against Perth. This time the score was 5-4 and the inning the 11th. There were no homerun heroics on this occasion, just an Axel Nankervis sac-fly to score Javier Rodriguez. Rodriguez had got to 3B because of a balk the previous at-bat.

25 Jan: 2064 second runner-up in the RotY stakes added another minor award to his list. Jayden Koka took out PotW with a .500/.519/1.077 effort. He hit 3 doubles, 4 homeruns and 6 singles while scoring 8 runs, plating 10 runners and stealing 1 base.

25 Jan: Sydney wrapped up a 3-1 series win over Perth with another dramatic finish. Perth manufactured the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th but once more weren’t able to hold on to the lead. Fernando Contreras walked to begin the bottom of the frame and an out later Gary Ward, who’d subbed into the game as a pinch-runner in the 7th but hadn’t swung the bat before now, punched an 0-2 changeup deep to right and over the fence. 5-4 Sydney!

26 Jan: ‘Candy,’ as Angel Rivera was known around the clubhouse, went 2-4 in Darwin’s 6-1 loss to Kununurra. His hit streak had now reached 25 games. He’d recorded at least 2 hits in each of his last 5 games.

26 Jan: Roos’ and AUNZBL fan favourite Guillermo Julio got all the accolades after this game, despite Newcastle losing 5-1 to Canberra. The outfielder went 5-5 with a double and a homerun. This was the sixth time the 29 y/o had racked up 5 hits in a game in the majors and ninth time in his pro career. “When I’m in the zone I seem to be in the zone,” he said afterward. “I can’t explain it, it just happens every so often.” Earlier this season Julio had stolen his 400th base, the seventh player in AUNZBL history to do so.

26 Jan: 3 consecutive singles in the top of the 9th denied Brian Bryant a shutout, Kununurra winning 6-1 instead. Bryant, who allowed 7 hits, walked none and struck out 6, was philosophical after the game. “Hey, this is the first time I’ve gone the whole nine in the majors, so that’s something to remember, I guess.”

27 Jan: Darwin walked in 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to lock up their clash with the Pioneers. There was no further scoring in regulation innings and nothing until the top of the 14th - though Blume was robbed of a homerun by the top of the CF wall in the 11th. The Pioneers offense woke up in the 14th, 12 batters coming to the plate to score 6 runs. Darwin surrendered in the bottom of the inning on 9 pitches to lose 13-7. Rivera went 1-7, his hit a homer, to keep his streak alive.



28 Jan: All good things must come to an end. For Angel Rivera, today was the day his hit streak was halted at 26 games. He went 0-3 in Darwin’s 9-8 ten-inning win over Kununurra. He did draw 2 walks and score a run, so things weren’t all bad.

28 Jan: Christchurch took a 5-2 lead over Wellington after 3 but the Fury clawed their way back to tie things up in the 8th. In the 11th 23 y/o rookie Setia Soedjatmoko, who was doing a rip-roaring job as a backup infielder, cracked a solo homerun over left to push the Fury into the lead for the first time in the game. In the bottom of the inning Beau Hauer hit a long double off the right-centre wall. Lance Fookes walked and Wes Corless reached when Wellington 2B Luigi Auger couldn’t field the ball cleanly. With the bases loaded and the infield playing shallow, Gustavo Sosa drove a single into the hole between 3B and short, Hauer scoring the winning run. 7-6 Cowboys, the win keeping the accelerating Fury 2 games behind in the division.

28 Jan: Brisbane and Cairns also fought for 10 innings, the Crocs coming off the victors on this occasion by the score of 6-5. Cairns scored 2 in the bottom of the 9th to level the scores and eased home in the 11th, Ewan Stenis sac-flying the winning run home.

29 Jan: James Bacosa reached 20 consecutive games with a hit for the first time in his career, going 2-5 in Adelaide’s 11-5 loss to Sydney.

29 Jan: Christchurch evened up their 4-game series with Wellington in another extra-innings encounter. Eduardo Maldonado slugged a 2-out 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie things up, and then Beau Hauer led off the bottom of the 10th with a game-winning moon shot deep into the right-centre bleachers. This was the first walk-off homerun of Hauer's career. The final score was 5-4 Christchurch.

30 Jan: Pedro Espinosa had one of his strongest outings of the season, going 8 innings against Adelaide for 3 earned runs off the back of 3 hits, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. Unfortunately, Perth’s offense didn’t give him much support, only able to conjure up 2 runs. Espinosa fell to 1-15 for the season, his losing streak now 14 games.

30 Jan: A low-scoring encounter between Hobart and Kununurra only exploded into life in the 11th when Hobart’s Jesus Vega launched an 0-2 loaded-bases splitter way back over centrefield for a Grand Slam. All up, the Prospects notched 5 runs in the frame and closed it out to win 7-2.



31 Jan: Sebastian Woodger joined the 2065 shutout club with a 5-hit, 3-walk effort against Melbourne. He struck out 8, Brisbane smoking the Aces 6-0.

31 Jan: The 7th inning was the money-maker for the Pioneers as they touched home-plate safely 11 times with 15 hitters going to the plate. There was plenty of running involved because they didn’t homer once in the inning, or in the match. Hobart got a couple runs back but fell well short, losing 13-6.

31 Jan: Adelaide handed Perth their eighth loss in a row, hammering the Heat 15-8. Carlos Acevedo launched 2 dingers, the second a Slammer, in a 2-3, 6RBI, 3-walk night.

Notable Injuries

1 Jan: All Star Cam Kline (.296/.346/.476, 9HR) would miss most of January thanks to a bruised wrist.

1 Jan: Brisbane’s Yeijiro Nishio (.329/.364/.401, 0HR) was set for another decent stint on the DL after tearing a quad. 6 weeks, was the best estimate of the Bandits’ medical staff.

8 Jan: Sam Richards (.274/.316/.455, 11HR) joined Brisbane’s casualty ward. His inflamed elbow would keep him for 5-6 weeks.

9 Jan: Whangarei ace Baskoro Subagja (9-7, 3.65 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.23 WHIP) was headed to the DL for 3-4 weeks with a strained abdominal muscle.

11 Jan: The Sluggers lost another player to injury. Hector Moran (.278/.332/.413, 6HR) had a torn quad and would need about a month for it to mend.

11 Jan: Temaki Hokualohi’s breakout season (.339/.381/.479, 24 doubles, 7HR) was on hold. The Newcastle 1B/RF had fractured his thumb and would be out for 3-4 weeks.

19 Jan: More injury misery for Greg Ahern (3-9, 6.44 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 1.52 WHIP). He’d been struggling in his first full season back from a stretched elbow ligament and it was again his elbow causing him trouble. He’d torn the flexor tendon this time and wouldn’t be back this season. “Hopefully I’ll be right by spring,” Ahern said. “Yeah, the injury sucks but I’ve been through this process before and I know what to expect.” Ahern would be a free agent this offseason and Alan Sneddon was predicting a move to the ABC.

22 Jan: Declan Bagshaw (.257/.321/.460, 19HR) was diagnosed with an oblique strain. Auckland placed him on the DL with the expectation he’d be out around 5 weeks.

26 Jan: Canberra SP Wendell Chatfield (9-7, 4.62 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.30 WHIP) wouldn’t be back this regular season after suffering a hamstring strain.

28 Jan: Hobart, 1 game back in the Southern and 2 games adrift in the wildcard, were struck a blow, learning today that CF Gordon Ladds (.335/.420/.662, 22HR) was off to the DL for the third time this season, and for the second significant stretch. He had a torn meniscus in his knee and would be touch and go to return before the playoffs.

Notable Trades/Signings

2 Jan: Melbourne and Brisbane engaged in some wheeling and dealing, with the Aces acquiring 30 y/o C Richard Humphrey (.338/.365/.500, 3HR from 85PA in 2065; .277/.342/.468, 87HR career) from the Bandits in exchange for 33 y/o OF Rory Delaney (.255/.291/.385, 6HR from 247PA in 2065; .299/.335/.410, 47HR career) and a 22 y/o AAA reliever. Sneddon’s take? “Pretty decent deal for both sides. The Bandits shed some salary and also move on a guy who wants, and is good enough to be, an everyday player while adding some decent outfield depth, while the Aces add a good catcher to their roster. Vern Bull isn’t seen as an everyday player anymore and Bayu Layar, who has been optioned to AAA, while great defensively, hasn’t been giving them the pop they want at the plate.”



2 Jan: That move wasn’t the only one Brisbane made this day. They also deepened their rotation by adding 33 y/o RHP Wes Blenkhorn (7-4, 3.93 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 1.39 WHIP in 2065; 65-59, 134 sv, 4.19 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.45 WHIP career) to the mix. Blenkhorn, who’d been on the Blue Sox roster since 2054, had been used in late-innings relief for the majority of his career. Partway through last season he was moved into the Blue Sox rotation and had remained there, despite his changeup being much weaker than his fastball and curveball. In return for his services, Brisbane sent 35 y/o 3B Roman Woods (.225/.305/.459, 15HR in 2065; .241/.307/.442, 107HR career) and a 17 y/o OF prospect who was already playing double-A down to Sydney.



9 Jan: Auckland, 2 games back from the Cowboys in the NZ, sent 5 prospects to Sydney in exchange for 28 y/o RHP Rory Karsumaatmaja (6-8, 2 sv, 4.36 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.38 WHIP in 2065; 34-51, 73 sv, 4.17 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 1.35 WHIP career) and cash. Karsumaatmaja had been used solely out of the bullpen by the Blue Sox this season but as a setup man rather than a closer. Metros’ GM Xuan-ling Chin told media that Karsumaatmaja would be Auckland’s closer. ‘Super,’ as Karsumaatmaja was nicknamed, had the notable accomplishment of pitching a no-hitter in his first major-league start. He’d only started 27 further games in the bigs, though he spent last season between the rotation and closer role in Sydney. “As a former pitcher myself,” Chin said, “I know how unsettling it can be having your role within the team changed from week to week. We plan to keep ‘Super’ as settled as possible and we’re sure that will bring the best out in him.”



17 Jan: Auckland, now back on level pegging with Christchurch, made another move to strengthen their charge down the home stretch. They sent 32 y/o RHP Owen Donovan (1-4, 14 sv, 4.43 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.23 WHIP), their sometime closer this season, across to the Thunder in return for 32 y/o RF Keiran Cooper (.299/.323/.488, 5HR from 133PA in 2065; .303/.338/.440, 84HR career) and cash.

Sneddon’s take? “Auckland are showcasing the same strategy that worked for them last year: acquire veterans to steady their Championship run. Cooper will be off contract this season but brings plenty of experience, even if a lot of it is off the bench. He won 4 rings with Adelaide, though the last 3 were as a backup outfielder, and he’s had limited opportunities with Central Coast. I’ve never really understood what’s happened to Cooper over the last 5-6 seasons. The guy’s a good hitter, with a career BA over .300, he’ll get plenty of extra-base hits and while he’s got a big swing-zone he doesn’t strike out too much. But for some reason he can’t nail down a starting gig anywhere. Does he like taking poops in his manager’s cornflakes or something? I hope Auckland give him a good run down the stretch here because I think he’ll give them good value.”



26 Jan: Kununurra acquired 29 y/o RHP Gesang Purbacaraka (9-5, 3.57 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.10 WHIP in 2065; 30-31, 4.45 ERA, 4.68 FIP, 1.32 WHIP career) from Wellington in exchange for a 20 y/o OF prospect. Sneddon could only scratch his head over this trade. “Not sure what Wellington are thinking to be honest. Sure, Purbacaraka has probably over performed so far this season but he’s a serviceable bottom of the rotation guy. The Fury are just 3 games out of the division lead and 2 games clear in the wildcard so I would’ve thought they would want to strengthen the team as much as possible. And this kid they’ve traded for, Canadian find, Michel da Silva. All the scouting reports I’ve seen indicate he’s going to be filler material, a four-A guy, not a superstar. But I guess time will tell, as it always does. Meanwhile, in the here and now Kununurra have added some desperately needed depth to their rotation as well as a guy who won’t be breaking the arbitration bank.”



Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: 28 y/o Gavin Odgers was a bit of a late bloomer, though he’d been a March call-up each of the last 3 seasons. This year, however, he’d nailed down a spot in Hobart’s lineup after getting called up to the bigs towards the end of October. He hit .362/.398/.621 in January, his 42-116 including 6 doubles and 8 dingers. He scored 21 runs, drove in 18 runners and walked 7 times. He also struck out just 10 times in 123PA.

Hurler of the Month: 26 y/o Venom SP Jay Ryan’s 2065 stat-line didn’t make for great reading: 8-8, 5.47 ERA, 4.48 FIP, 1.56 WHIP, 3.6 K/9. However, he had a whale of a month in January, going 5-1, with a 2.41 ERA, 4.45 FIP, and 1.12 WHIP. He only fanned 15 in 41.0 innings but Ryan wasn’t a strikeout guy. He was a contact guy who relied on his excellent movement to keep hitters honest.

Slugger of the Month: Angel Rivera lived on the base paths in January. He hit .437/.482/.754, 55-126, with 28 runs, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers, 29RBI, 12 walks and 9 stolen bases. For the season he was hitting .356/.400/.595, with 30 doubles, 8 triples, and 20 homeruns. His BA was fourth-best in the league, and he was tied for third in doubles and tied for fourth in triples. His 5.7 WAR saw him placed second in that category. It was hard to comprehend that Rivera was only 25 years old. He’d made his debut in 2058 as an 18 y/o and had been a big-league fixture ever since.

Media Watch

Marcos Lopez: Lopez injured himself on the 31st, with no word out before the day ended on the seriousness of the injury, which occurred as he legged out a double. He played in 20 games during the month, hitting .243/.303/.329, with 1 homerun. He needed 10 more homers to get to 500 and another 156 hits to get to 3500. The former was beginning to look as unlikely as the latter.

Martin Boston: Had a poor month, by his standards, hitting .281/.305/.333. He still collected 38 hits, pushing him to 2924 for his career. He needed another 76 to join the 3000-club.

Justin Auger: Auger reached 500 homers in January but he didn’t have a great month with the bat, hitting just .243/.331/.398, with 4 homers among 25 hits. He needed 15 more four-baggers to claim fifth spot on the all-time leaderboard.

Last Year’s Top Players Watch

2064’s Top Rookies



2064 Rookie of the Year, Tim Firth: The lady’s man of the league had slumped a bit in his sophomore year, hitting .271/.300/.442, 106-391, with 45 runs, 14 doubles, 1 triple, 17 homers, 56RBI, and a paltry 12 walks from 414PA. He had a 1.6 WAR but only a 93 OPS+ and a 91 wRC+.

Felino Saturno: A victim of a Cairns’ roster packed with too many sluggers and not enough others, plus having suffered a back injury in October that kept him out for just over 2 weeks, Saturno was projecting to step up to the plate less than 400 times in 2065. He was hitting .230/.319/.469, his 257PA including 52-226, 32 runs, 9 doubles, 15HR, 33RBI, and 25BB. His WAR was -0.8, primarily because he’d inexplicably played 392.1 innings at 2B when he was most definitely a 1B/DH and no more. His OPS+ sat at 105, and his wRC+ at 100.

Jayden Koka: An adept 3B (+7.5ZR), Koka was doing okay offensively, hitting .271/.301/.426, his 125-462 including 19 doubles, 1 triple and 17HR. He had gone to the plate 485 times, scored 68 runs, plated 66 runners, walked 19 times, and stolen 14 bases. His WAR of 1.9 was offset by an OPS+ of 90 and a wRC+ of 88.

2064’s Top Pitchers



Brodie Backhouse Award Winner and HotY runner-up, Aaron Fingleson: Reportedly unhappy in Sydney, Fingleson went to the All Star Game despite not being the Blue Sox’s closer. He was 4-4, with 1 save, from 50 games, his ERA 2.80, his FIP 3.65, and his WHIP 1.08. In 54.2 innings he’d fanned 70, though had allowed 8 homers at a rate of 1.3 per 9 innings. His ERA+ was 162, his FIP- 80, and his WAR 0.7.

2064 Hurler of the Year, Barry Dean: Dean led the league in strikeouts (151) and innings pitched (179.1), and sat third for wins with 13. His 13-5 from 24 starts came with a 3.36 ERA, 3.58 FIP, and 1.18 WHIP. He had a 4.3 WAR, a 135 ERA+, and an 80 FIP-. A few pundits said Dean wasn’t having an especially great year, pointing to his strikeout and HR/9 totals. While he projected to break 200 strikeouts for the ninth season in a row, he was looking at his lowest total since 2059 but at a worse K/9 rate. His HR/9 was also high, sitting at 0.9. Last season he’d finished with a HR/9 of 1.0, his highest ever, but that had been mostly attributed to a loss of desire while in Perth, where his HR/9 in 7 starts had been 1.6. Down season or not, Dean was still trucking along as he always seemed to, and was a chance of notching up 20 wins for the first time since 2061 and fourth time overall.

Domenic Jones: The Auckland ace was having a typically excellent season, even if he wasn’t leading the league in any categories. He was 11-4 from 23 starts, with a 2.89 ERA, 3.65 FIP, and 1.06 WHIP. His FIP- was 79, his ERA+ 157, and his WAR 4.0.

2064’s Top Hitters



2064, Jorge Diaz Award Winner, Beau Hauer: A pair of minor injuries had sidelined him for a couple weeks in October but he’d had a pretty good season overall, even if January was his coolest month BA-wise. For the season he was .318/.386/.574, 121-380, with 68 runs, 15 doubles, 5 triples, 24 homers, 88RBI, 44BB, and 433 overall PA. A WAR of 4.1 was supplemented by an OPS+ of 150 and a wRC+ of 147.

Ronald Aitken: League leader in walks, with 79, Aitken was hitting .282/.430/.493, with 100 hits from 355 at-bats. He had scored 62 runs, hit 22 doubles, 1 triple and 17 homers, and driven in 56 runners, having been to the plate 450 times. He had a WAR of 3.6, an OPS+ of 144, and a wRC+ of 146. This would be the first season since his rookie year that he wouldn’t play in every single regular season game.

Andre Wiltshire: Wiltshire and his sexy swing were trucking along nicely for the Thunder. He was hitting .317/.396/.522, 140-441, with 82 runs, 23 doubles, 2 triples, 21 jacks, 59RBI, 58BB and 10SB from 503PA. WAR of 3.9, OPS+ of 140, and wRC+ of 142.

Other Notes

Coastal Division: Adelaide (16-13) extended their lead to 5 games, Darwin (12-17) and Cairns (16-13) tied for second. Perth (11-18) started off the month nicely but faded badly to finish, heading into February on an 8-game skid. They needed to win 15 of their remaining 50 games to avoid finishing with the worst-ever AUNZBL season record. 13 wins or less would see them own the record outright.

East-West Division: Brisbane (18-11) solidified their hold on the East-West, finishing the month 7 games clear of Kununurra (17-12), who’d hauled themselves up to .500. Central Coast (19-10) had also been strong, a further game back, while Newcastle (14-15) slipped to the bottom rung of the division ladder, 9 games behind.

NZ Division: Christchurch (15-14) battled through the month, maintaining their 2-game advantage over Auckland (15-14). Wellington (16-13) kept themselves in the hunt, finishing January 3 games outside top spot, while Whangarei (12-17) finally dropped off the pace to be 2 games below .500 and 11 games outside the lead.

Southern Division: Canberra (15-14) shrugged off Hobart (12-17) to lead the Southern by 3 games heading into Killer February.

Wildcard: Auckland and Wellington owned the wildcard slots, the Metros with a 4-game buffer, the Fury with 3 games in the bank. Hobart were the closest chasers, with Kununurra 7 games behind and Central Coast and Whangarei 8.

#

The batting leaderboards were no longer dominated by the black and red stripes of Norm Blume’s Kununurra uniform. In fact, Blume (.323/.375/.613, 34HR) finished the month leading in only one category: extra-base hits, with 63.

Carlos Acevedo (.361/.390/.643, 35HR) continued his astonishing season, heading into February as the league leader in HR, SLG, RBI (91), hits (166), total bases (296), and WAR (6.3).

Larry Booth (.379/.476/.506, 3HR) was top of the table in BA, OBP, and runs (91).

Neil Bellett (.325/.441/.609, 23HR) had the best OPS and wOBA (.441).

Sadao Taniguchi (.325/.368/.488, 9HR) had stolen 45 bases, 10 more than anybody else, and hit 12 triples, 2 more than anybody else.

Martin Booth (14-4, 3.46 ERA, 4.42 FIP, 1.47 WHIP) and Mei-shan Jiang (14-4, 2.53 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.11 WHIP) shared the league lead in wins. Jiang also had the best ERA among qualified pitchers.

Victor Doubleday (9-9, 3.16 ERA, 3.30 FIP, 1.16 WHIP) had the best FIP and WAR (4.6).

Wellington’s Seb Larcombe (12-4, 2.84 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 0.98 WHIP) was allowing the least H/9 (6.34) while striking out the most hitters per 9 innings (9.37). Opponents were only hitting .196 against him, and his WHIP of 0.98 was easily the best in the league.

Three closers had 29 saves: Scott Carson, Ronald Cornell, and Moeaktola Liao.

ABC Wrap-up

Alice Springs (65-46) increased their lead in the Northern to 12 1/2 games over Brisbane (52-58).

Sydney (69-41) streaked out to a 13-game lead over Canberra (56-54) in the Southern, while Adelaide (58-53) pulled a game back off Perth (63-48) to be just 5 games back in the Western.

Dunedin (66-45) doubled their lead over Jakarta (58-53) in the Overseas.

Brett Wicks (.380/.432/.510, 7HR) had a 6.0 WAR, an ABC best. He also led the league in BA and hits.

Stefan Naismith (7-1, 30 saves) was the best closer in the ABC, winning Golden Arm of the Month with 11 saves and 2 wins from 14 relief appearances in January.

AUNZBL Standings, Feb 1
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Old 07-06-2018, 11:52 PM   #763
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Holy moly, Whangarei! Well, if it weren't for bad luck, they'd have no luck at all, I guess.
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Old 07-07-2018, 02:34 AM   #764
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Originally Posted by reds1 View Post
Holy moly, Whangarei! Well, if it weren't for bad luck, they'd have no luck at all, I guess.
Fading in the second half of the season seems to be becoming a Whangarei tradition. Their front-office decision-making doesn't generally help either. The last time the Sluggers made the postseason was also the last time they won more than 79 games, way back in 2051 (94-68; division title). Since then they've consistently finished seasons with mid-70s in the wins column. 2065 looks like it'll be another repeat of the pattern.
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Old 07-14-2018, 03:35 AM   #765
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2065/2066 Season - February

2065/2066 Season - February

Notable Performances

1 Feb: Guillermo Julio started the month off on the right note, winning PotW with a .500/.517/.857 stat-line, his 14-28 including just 4 extra-base hits: 1 double, 3 homeruns.

1 Feb: James Bacosa was 0-4 with a walk in Adelaide’s 5-3 win over Perth, his hit streak ending at 22 games. The Heat, meanwhile, now had a 9-game losing streak.

1 Feb: Melbourne and Brisbane fought for 16 innings before a winner was determined. When it came in the bottom of the 16th it came without any hitting heroics. The Bandits loaded the bases via walks but the Aces got the next 2 outs off a shallow fly-out to left and a 5-2 fielder’s choice. Then fatigue showed its hand, SS Vinnie Hanscombe overrunning a routine groundball from Pete Mulholland. Tashiaki Yano scampered home to score and Brisbane celebrated a 7-6 victory. Yano was 2-3 with 5 walks, the latter setting a new Brisbane extra-innings game record. His 2 hits were both solo homeruns and the 5 runs he scored tied the AUNZBL regular season extra-innings game record. On the other side of the ledger, Sebastian Horton went 5-7 with a homerun and 2 ribbies.



1 Feb: Christchurch also won their game against Whangarei by the score of 7-6 in extra innings. Their game took only 12 frames, however. Wes Corless tripled down the 1B line with 1 out in the top of the inning. Gustavo Sosa went for the squeeze bunt and missed, but Corless had taken off with the pitch, a changeup, which landed in the dirt. Catcher Tim Firth blocked it but was slow to come up with the ball. Even so, it took some special contortions for Corless to dive around the tag and get home safely, as well as plenty of reviews after Whangarei skipper Harry Fallon predictably appealed the decision. The hit was Corless’s first of the night.



2 Feb: Perth manager Benjamin Colcott had the most depressing job in baseball. The Heat added another subheading to the awful chapter in their baseball history that was 2065 with their tenth straight loss, the second time they’d fallen to such depths this season. Adelaide delivered the blow, eking out a 2-1 victory. For the season Perth were now 34-80.

2 Feb: Melbourne and Brisbane went to extra-innings again, the Aces this time getting the win 3-2 thanks to a solo Sadao Taniguchi dinger in the top of the 12th. Marty Downes went 0-6 with 5 strikeouts for the Aces.

5 Feb: Melbourne won a high-scoring encounter with Cairns 16-9. Cairns ran out to an early 7-run lead before Melbourne rattled up 8 runs in the 5th. The Aces scored 6 more in the 8th to ice this one. 7 of their hitters had 2-hit nights but no Ace went deep. For the losers Michael Baker was 4-4 with a homerun.

5 Feb: Leading Central Coast 4-3 heading into the top of the 9th, Adelaide added 4 runs to give themselves plenty of insurance, 3 coming via Carlos Acevedo’s 37th homer of the season. Yin-ti Zhuo scored in the bottom of the 9th before Gu Luo’s 2-run dinger reduced the deficit to 2. Moeaktola Liao came the mound and had one of his worst outings of the season, giving up 3 straight 2 out hits for 2 runs. In the top of the 10th Adelaide manufactured the go-ahead run via a squeeze bunt - they seemed to be in vogue this season - and an out later put another run on the board. Hayden Nohea boosted a 2-out solo homer in the bottom of the frame but that was all the thunder Central Coast could muster this time around, Adelaide winning a feisty encounter 10-9.

5 Feb: Perth lost their 12th straight, Pedro Espinosa extending his losing streak to 15 games. He threw 4.1 innings for 6 runs off 7 hits and 4 walks, Darwin eventually winning 7-2.

7 Feb: Carlos Acevedo crunched his 38th tater of the season in the 4th inning of Adelaide’s 10-7 win over Central Coast. That shot was worth 2 runs which, together with the RBI-single he’d clobbered in the 3rd, gave him 100RBI for the season. He was the first player to that mark in 2065. The win was Adelaide’s eighth on the trot.

8 Feb: Richard Moore was having a pretty quiet season by the standards he’d set in previous campaigns but last week he was back to his destructive self, hitting .478/.586/1.130, 5 of his 11 hits clearing the fences. For all his 3 Hoodies and 4 Super Sluggers, this was only his fourth PotW award.

8 Feb: Nicholas Bennett was front and centre of Newcastle’s 18-5 drubbing of Brisbane. The 3-time All Star went 5-6 with a homerun, 2 runs and 3RBI. It wasn’t until the top of the 9th that things got away from the Bandits. The Roos sent 12 hitters to the plate, capping off a 10-run inning with a Temaki Hokualohi Grand Slam. Every Roo got a hit, 6 players picking up 2 or more.



8 Feb: Perth fell to 30 games behind in the Coastal, Hobart slapping them around 9-0. This was the Heat’s 15th loss in a row and they could only manage 3 singles and 2 walks in 9 innings. For Hobart, Bob Lindner went 4-5 with 2 doubles, 1 homerun, 1 run and 5 ribbies.

8 Feb: Christchurch squeezed past Cairns 5-4 in 12 innings, Maurice Clemens lifting them to victory with his 16th dinger of the year. Scott Carson picked up his ninth victory of the season to go with 31 saves.

9 Feb: Adelaide’s owner Xavier Youngberry Jr. passed away after a battle with lung cancer. He was replaced by 54 y/o Len Youngberry who had a reputation for being financially controlling. It was likely Adelaide would need to cut back on their payroll (ranked sixth currently on the unofficial OotPB TV scale) in the coming seasons. Apparently Len Youngberry had looked after setting the club budget for this season as his father had been too ill to take care of it.

9 Feb: Hobart tied the game in the 5th and scored the go-ahead run in the 8th to defeat Perth 5-4. 16 losses in a row now for the Heat.

10 Feb: The streak was over! Perth rallied late, scoring 4 in the bottom of the 7th to defeat Hobart 6-3. Espinosa was the starting pitcher but couldn’t break his own losing streak as he was pulled after 6. Catcher Angus Wang was the hero of the night, his bases-clearing double in the 7th giving Perth the lead. For the night he was 2-3, with 2 walks, 1 run, and 4RBI.

11 Feb: The league was rocked by another owner death. Fury owner Jeremy Wilcox died of a “completely unexpected” heart attack, according to a family spokesperson. His daughter, 49 y/o Mandy Wilcox, would take over the team, though the official owners were the Wilcox Family Trust. Mandy, an ardent baseball fan and enterprising Earth-based business leader, said she wasn’t planning on interfering too much with the Fury front office. “They’ve got their heads screwed on. As long as they don’t go breaking the bank everything should be sweet as.”

11 Feb: Ricardo Ortiz did all he could to steer Kununurra to victory but it wasn’t quite enough, the Fury getting the better of the Pioneers 5-4. Ortiz had a 5-5 night, with 2RBI and 2 stolen bases. Fury pitcher Seb Larcombe, who got the win and moved to 13-4 on the season, said, “This win was for Mr. Wilcox. None of us expected his passing but we’ll do our best to honour his legacy.”

11 Feb: “We’ll just get to the airport and fly down to Newcastle and focus on that,” Cairns’ skipper Raul Guerra told media after Christchurch mauled his charges 17-1, in so doing sweeping the series. “There’s no point dwelling on what we might’ve done differently here. The best we can do is make sure we bounce back and dish out some punishment of our own to the Roos.” Cairns took an early lead in the bottom of the 1st, Michael Baker hitting his 17th homerun, and the 20th Barry Dean had given up this season. They stayed ahead until the 6th before Christchurch busted out with 8 runs. Maurice Clemens led the inning off with a double and then provided the last scoring act with a 2-run jack. Christchurch struck again in the 9th, scoring 7, 2 via a Wes Corless blast and 3 from a 410-foot line-drive from Luis Rios. Apart from the homer, Dean was in fine fettle, fanning 12 in 8.1 innings while walking none and allowing just 7 hits. He moved to 14-6 for the season and regained his place at the head of the season strikeout board (166).

11 Feb: Sydney beat division rivals Canberra 4-3 in 12 innings. Terence Garland led off the bottom of the inning with a double and advanced to 3B on Richard Dempsey’s single. Alexander Whiffin flied out to centre and Garland almost got thrown out retreating to 3B. Then Fernando Contreras hit a solid grounder towards short. The throw went home but Garland had too great a jump and was called safe.

12 Feb: Jayden Koka reached the 20-game hit streak milestone today, going 2-5 in Kununurra’s 7-1 win over Whangarei.

12 Feb: Brisbane blew it against Auckland, giving up 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to lose 5-4. The Bandits used 5 pitchers in the inning but none of them could stem the flow. Larry Booth went 2-5 for the Bandits, the run he scored in the 3rd his 100th of the season. He was also on track for 200 hits and 100 walks. He was the first player to 100 runs in 2065.

12 Feb: It took almost 6 hours for Wellington to overcome Sydney 6-5 and the most exciting inning of the night was the last one, the 18th. There had been no scoring since the bottom of the 6th, when Wellington tied it up with back-to-back-to-back singles. From that point on neither side had looked like adding to their tallies, any chances with runners in scoring position not coming until there were 2 outs on the board.

Axel Nankervis led off the top of the 18th with a sharp single past 2B. An out later Rodney Ellison was intentionally walked. A further out later Roman Woods drove a double over the head of the leftfielder, scoring both runners.

Josh Hurlson picked up the first 2 outs in the bottom of the frame without too much trouble. Then Yoshihito Morimoto drew just his 13th walk of the season. Hurlson was replaced by Javier Flores who fell behind Noah Budd 3-1. The 3-1 pitch was a cutter down the middle and Budd sent it over right-centre and beyond the fence. This one was all tied up again. Dustin Bacon walked, then made 2B on a passed ball. With the count 2-2 Gilberto Soberon popped up into vacant space between 3B, short and leftfield, all three fielders converging on the spot. Bacon wasn’t a quick runner and had for some reason hesitated before taking off, perhaps forgetting there was only 1 out left. LF Javier Rodriguez sensed a chance to get him at 3B but his throw was awful, sailing over the head of a scrambling pitcher trying to cover and heading towards the dugout. Late-inning replacement catcher Wayne Lee was hustling to back up his pitcher but slipped when he tried to change direction to recover the throw. The end result? Bacon got to his feet and trundled home without opposition. 6-5 Wellington in 18 innings.



13 Feb: Angel Rivera slugged a 2-run homer in the top of the 11th to give Darwin the lead over Central Coast. The Diggers added 2 more runs and went on to win 7-3. That blast gave Rivera a 10-game RBI streak, equal longest this season.

13 Feb: Since breaking their losing streak Perth had lost their next 2. Today’s heartbreaker made it a third loss. Rich Downes had tied their game against Canberra in the top of the 9th with a 445-foot smash over centrefield. In the top of the 10th the Heat put runners on 2B and 3B with only 1 out but couldn’t convert. Mitch Goddard singled with 1 away in the bottom of the inning, and Baryai Venugopalan followed suit. Andrew Benbow ground out and then backup catcher Yuan-zhang Lao made the most of a rare start, pulling a 1-0 changeup into the leftfield seats for a walk-off 3-run homer. 5-2 Canberra, the win extending their lead in the Southern to 3 games.

14 Feb: Norm Blume’s 2-run homer in the 1st inning of Kununurra’s 4-3 loss to Whangarei was his 40th of the year. He was the first player to reach that mark this season.

15 Feb: Somehow, despite appearing in only 4 games and starting just 1 over the past 7 days, Auckland backup catcher and general villain (if you were a Bandits’ fan, at least) Reginald Puckeridge took home PotW. He’d got on base in each of his 6 plate appearances, recording 4 hits and 2 walks. Of his hits, all were for extra-bases, 1 a double and the other 3 homeruns. He scored 4 runs and drove in 8 runners. Brisbane fans immediately cried conspiracy, saying Larry Booth (.444/.483/.481, 12-27) or Tashiaki Yano (.414/.485/.586, 12-29) were much more deserving candidates.

15 Feb: Perth were on another losing streak, today dropping their fifth in a row. They had just 1 win so far this month, to go with 13 losses. Canberra thrashed them 14-4, everyone in the lineup getting at least 2 hits. The losing pitcher was Pedro Espinosa, who got tagged for 7 hits and 6 earned runs in 3.0 innings. His losing streak was now at 16 games.

15 Feb: Cairns led Newcastle 1-0 until the bottom of the 9th when Newcastle loaded the bases with 0 outs and walked in the tying run. They were unable to get the winner that inning, however, but got there in the end, Hektor Knittle crunching a 2-out, 2-run walk-off jack in the bottom of the 12th.

17 Feb: Ricardo Ortiz was 1-3 with a run scored in Kununurra’s 10-5 loss to Brisbane. That run meant he’d now scored in 10 straight games, equalling the season high.

17 Feb: Christchurch extended their lead in the NZ to 4 games, doing so with their tenth win in a row. Barry Dean was on the mound to make sure of it, restricting Central Coast to just 2 hits and 2 walks for 1 run in 8 innings. He struck out 10 batters for this 15th win of the season. Christchurch weren’t able to muster a lot of offense, winning by the slimmest of margins, 2-1. The Cowboys’ winning ways would be halted the following day.

17 Feb: Cairns lost their second extra-innings game in a row (16th Feb was an off-day). In this game versus Auckland the Crocs had fought their way back to level proceedings after 8. In the 12th Cam Kline socked a solo homer to put Auckland in front but a 2-out, 2-on Felino Saturno double in the bottom of the frame tied things back up. In the same play Sebastian Chapple was thrown out at home-plate trying to score the winning run. In the top of the 13th Caspar Purcell drew a 4-pitch leadoff walk and then stole 2B. Reginald Puckeridge’s single to left was deep enough for Purcell to sprint home and put the Metros ahead once again. Autathya Tapti stayed on to pitch the bottom of the inning after having blown the save in the 12th. No dramas this time, Cairns surrendering 1-2-3 on 10 pitches. 5-4 Metros.



18 Feb: Jay Ryan, January HotM, had the wood over Canberra today, allowing only 4 hits and 4 walks while fanning 5 in a 6-0 Adelaide shutout win.

18 Feb: Jayden Koka’s hit streak was halted at 24 games, the baby-faced 3B going 0-4 in Kununurra’s 5-2 loss to Brisbane.

18 Feb: Roman Woods went 3-5 in Sydney’s 10-8 defeat of Whangarei. In the 2nd he crunched a Grand Slam, giving him a 4-game homerun streak. The 35 y/o was having his best season since 2059, when he slugged 30 homers while wearing a Diggers’ uniform.

18 Feb: Dean Ambrose was on track for a shutout, his Roos leading Melbourne 7-zip heading into the bottom of the 9th. He retired the first 2 easily enough, even if the RF took the catch for the second out in the shadow of the outfield wall. Then he gave up 2 singles. With the count 1-0 Luis Cuesta tripled into the RF corner and both runners scored. Sadao Taniguchi ground out next pitch to end the game, Newcastle winning 7-2, but Ambrose was left to rue what might’ve been.

18 Feb: A pair of errors gave Darwin a 4-3 walk-off 10-inning win over Hobart. Firstly, Hector Banda reached base when the 1B somehow underhanded the ball over the pitcher’s head as he covered first. Banda made 2B on the error. Next pitch he took off for 3B and the throw was awful, bouncing in front of the 3B and caroming off his glove into left. Banda got to his feet and strolled home without a throw.

18 Feb: Perth broke their losing streak yesterday and added a rare back-to-back win today, defeating Wellington 5-3 in 11 innings. 18 y/o Dave Pruitt, this year’s 14th overall prospect, was the hero, smashing a 427-foot walk-off dinger. Pruitt had only begun his pro career this season after being signed by Perth out of the Upper Americas prior to the 2064 season. He’d played 85 games of A-ball and then 3 games of double-A before getting called up to the big-time. Early, perhaps, but Pruitt wasn’t complaining. This homerun was his first in the majors.

19 Feb: Christchurch got back in the winner’s circle by virtue of a 5-3 walk-off win over Central Coast. The winning blow came in the bottom of the 11th, when Maurice Clemens clubbed his second homer of the night.

19 Feb: Sadao Taniguchi stole his 50th base of the season in Melbourne’s 7-5 loss to Newcastle. He had 7 more stolen bases than next-best, Larry Booth.

20 Feb: Norm Blume launched homerun number 41 for the year in Kununurra’s 8-2 loss to Brisbane.

20 Feb: It was a late-inning cave-in as Darwin overtook and defeated Hobart 8-7, 7 of the Diggers' runs coming in the final 3 innings. Chuk-yan Lung provided the icing on the cake with a walk-off 3-run shot, his 22nd homerun of the season.

21 Feb: Clint Harney officially ended Perth’s season with a walk-off solo dinger in the bottom of the 10th, giving Whangarei a 6-5 win. 25 y/o Harney was 3-4 on the night, with a pair of solo blasts, his performance earning him the #1 OotPB TV Player Performance. The next morning he was on a bus back to AAA. Perth’s record was now 38-93 and they were well on track to post the worst ever season in AUNZBL history.

21 Feb: Despite a rally in the 9th, Kununurra held on to defeat Cairns 7-6. Blume slugged his 42nd four-bagger of the season in the 5th.

22 Feb: Nigel Anderton had a phenomenal week, hitting .682/.692/1.364. He was 15-22, with 7 doubles, 1 triple and 2 homeruns. He scored 5 runs, drove in 13 runners, and drew 3 walks. “Yeah,” he said, “I reckon this is what you would call a ‘purple patch.’”

23 Feb: Carlos Acevedo became the second player to 40 homers this season when he totted a 2-run tater in the top of the 8th in Adelaide’s 5-2 win over Wellington. In other news, Malcolm Pickhills hit his 27th dinger of the season and lifted his BA to .200 with a 2-4 night.

23 Feb: Christchurch rattled off 23 base hits in their 12-3 spanking of Newcastle, and did so without clearing the fences once. They had 7 extra-base hits, 5 doubles and 2 triples, leadoff hitter and injury replacement Sukmo ‘Jar-Jar’ Djajadiningrat with the most hits of any one player, his 4-6 including a triple and netting him 2 runs. Every other Cowboys’ starting position player netted at least 2 hits, with 4 (including Jar-Jar) getting 3 or more. Jar-Jar was proving to be a super-athlete in CF, his ZR after 65 innings across 7 games already +1.0.

23 Feb: 20 hits for either Darwin or Canberra in their encounter? No, 20 innings instead. Darwin scored 2 in the top of the 1st to take the early lead. Canberra gained the advantage in the bottom of the 4th, scoring 3 in large part due to hit pitches and crucial errors. A Kent Okolita RBI-single in the 5th tied things up and then no more runs were scored for 15, yes, 15 innings. The Cavalry juiced the bags in the bottom of the 9th but couldn’t score the winner. In the top of the 11th Eddie Blackford was thrown out at home after tagging up on a medium-depth Stephane Lecomte fly to left. After that it was mostly three up, three down, with rare 2-out scoring opportunities. In the bottom of the 18th Canberra managed to put runners on 1B and 2B with 1 out but Carlos Diaz retired the next 2 batters on 5 pitches. In the bottom of the 20th Neil Bellett hit a 1-out single over the top of the shortstop’s head. Baryai Venugopalan walked on 11 pitches and Andrew Benbow on 7. With the bases loaded Todd Riseley worked the count to 3-2 and then watched a fastball miss outside for a walk-off walk. 4-3 Canberra, the epic taking 6 hours and 8 minutes. Venugopalan was the best of the hitters, with 4-7 including 3 walks.



23 Feb: A wild pitch enabled Cairns to score the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th in their clash with Kununurra, and 2 pitches later Ewan Stenis socked his second long-ball of the night to give the Crocs some insurance. They held on to win 9-7.

24 Feb: Carlos Acevedo’s 41st homerun of the season in the top of the 9th proved to be the winner for Adelaide against Wellington, the Venom narrowly defeating the Fury 6-5. Acevedo moved to within 1 of Blume on the homerun board, the next closest hitter Norm Donaldson with 33.

24 Feb: Hobart trailed Central Coast by 3 heading into the top of the 9th but tied the game with a frenetic rally comprised of singles, walks and a wild pitch. In the bottom of the frame Justin Auger, who’d already gone 3-3 with 2 solo homeruns, was walked on 4 pitches. An out later Yin-ti Zhuo hit his 31st double of the year off the CF wall and Auger lugged his way home. 7-6 Central Coast.

25 Feb: Brisbane spanked Perth 10-2 to record their 10th win in succession. Domenic Cook, 2-5 on the night, hit the only homerun of the game in the 7th, his 30th of the year. For the Heat the loss put them at a miserable 4-19 for the month. The hapless Pedro Espinosa was the starting pitcher, taken for 5 earned runs off 6 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings. He was 1-18 for the year, his losing streak now at 17 decisions. John Zglinicki went the whole game for Brisbane for only his third complete game of the season and 52nd of his career. He was number 4 all-time on the complete game list and needed just 1 more to move into third-equal with Keiran Tennant.

26 Feb: Marcos Lopez was the hero for Melbourne against Kununurra tonight, coming on to pinch-hit in the bottom of the 9th with 1 on and the score tied at 11. He lofted the first pitch he saw over right-centre and into the bleachers for a walk-off homerun, his second walk-off dinger of the season and eighth of his storied career. Lopez, who turned 42 three days earlier, was not having a happy month, that hit just his second from 18 plate appearances. The homerun was the 491st of his career.

27 Feb: Perth 3B Bethara Pane’s homer in the 7th broke a 3-3 tie with Brisbane and for once the Heat bullpen didn’t implode, Perth not allowing a hit in the final 2 innings to win 4-3. Brisbane’s winning streak was halted at 11 and Perth kept their hopes of getting to 49 wins for the season alive. They needed a further 10 to avoid that ignominy of holding the worst AUNZBL record ever.

27 Feb: Kununurra put Melbourne to the sword 11-3, Norm Blume launching homerun 43 in the top of the 7th.

27 Feb: Down 6-3 with just the 9th to play, Canberra needed something special to stop Hobart from inching a game closer in the Southern. And something special is what they provided, hitting 3 doubles, 2 singles and drawing 2 walks to score 7 runs. Hobart hit 2 singles of their own in the bottom of the inning but weren’t able to bring either runner across home-plate, the final score 10-6 in the Cavalry’s favour. Julian Damerall, in his first big-league game, had the honour of being intentionally walked in the top of the 9th, provoking great exclamations from the commentators.

28 Feb: Carlos Acevedo delivered his 42nd homerun of the season in Adelaide’s 6-5 win over Whangarei. The Venom only managed 5 hits to Whangarei’s 12 but pulled off the victory in the 11th when Malcolm Pickhills crunched his tenth jack of the month to walk Adelaide off.

Notable Injuries

1 Feb: Hobart acquired RHP Tai-sun Liu (5-8, 4.86 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 1.45 WHIP) from Perth on the 28th of January. Just 4 innings into his first start for the Prospects Liu came from the field clutching his elbow. Today the diagnosis was in: Liu’s season was over due to acute elbow soreness.

2 Feb: Perth’s 11-inning hero from the beginning of January, Rhett Weichard (1-9, 6.17 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 1.55 WHIP), was done for 2065 thanks to an inflamed shoulder.

2 Feb: The Cowboys would have to do without mid-season acquisition Keng-chi Tu (6-7, 4.28 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 1.39 WHIP). He also had shoulder inflammation and would play no further part in proceedings this regular season or in the playoffs.

5 Feb: Brisbane closer Allen Jiang (0-4, 26 sv, 3.06 ERA) had himself a torn elbow ligament. Best estimates were a return in November of next season. Jiang had a player option in his favour for next season and he’d have to be a fool not to activate it.

5 Feb: Speedy young Cowboys’ CF David Romo (.311/.344/.398, 2HR) would miss the next 3-4 weeks with a strained posterior cruciate ligament.

7 Feb: Another injury blow for a Cowboys’ team fighting off both Auckland and Wellington in the NZ: Beau Hauer (.319/.386/.572, 24HR) would miss around a month with knee tendinitis.

10 Feb: Blue Sox catcher Hulama Alkina (.285/.333/.465, 10HR) was going to miss 4-5 weeks with a fractured hand.

12 Feb: Mario Correa (.302/.338/.480, 7HR from 216PA) was having a bad injury year. He would miss at least another month thanks to a sprained ankle.

14 Feb: Dependable OF Terence Stuart (.284/.361/.365, 3HR) would play no further part in Brisbane’s season, thanks to a ruptured tendon in his foot.

21 Feb: The Cavalry were a very good chance to play postseason ball for the first time since 2059 but if they did so it would be without Mitch Goddard (.323/.366/.566, 32HR), who had put up a career-defining season to this point. He’d torn the meniscus in his knee and would definitely not be back in time for the playoffs.

22 Feb: Andre Bond (.300/.368/.418, 5HR from 365PA) had missed nearly 6 weeks earlier in the season with a fractured wrist. Now he would miss the rest of Whangarei’s campaign thanks to a fractured ankle. “I think these injuries are a metaphor for our team’s dreams this year,” he told journalists, in a far cheerier mood than he should’ve been.

25 Feb: League leader in steals with 52, Sadao Taniguchi (.315/.353/.473, 12HR) somewhat ironically injured himself stealing a base on the 22nd. He was today diagnosed with a strained hamstring and would miss the remainder of Melbourne’s season.

26 Feb: Canberra’s first-choice SS Jorge Perez (.247/.328/.394, 15HR) would be unavailable for the rest of the regular and probably the whole postseason with a strained hammy.

28 Feb: Marty Downes (.288/.340/.466, 11HR from 394PA), playing through a sore back, collided headfirst with the centrefield wall in the top of the 1st against Kununurra on the 25th while making a catch. He had to be helped from the field afterwards, and was today diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. The Aces were confident Downes would be recovered by the time the 2066 season began.

Notable Trades/Signings

3 Feb: Melbourne extended 29 y/o Pedro Mercado (.256/.343/.416, 8HR from 297PA in 2065; .272/.352/.439, 84HR career) for 3 years. Mercado, who’d become a regular big-leaguer in 2061, would’ve hit the free agent market at the end of next season.



Month Awards



Rookie of the Month: Hector Moran took out his second RotM award for the season, hitting .338/.386/.584 in 21 games, his 83PA yielding 10 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 14RBI, 6BB, and 2 stolen bases. He had 26 hits from 77 at-bats.

Hurler of the Month: Rod Bacon had an astounding month, not allowing a single earned run in 14.2 innings across 13 appearances. His FIP for February was 2.23 and his WHIP 0.75. He recorded 1 win and 10 saves and gave up just 5 hits and 6 walks while striking out 16. He had 35 saves on the season, third-equal.

Slugger of the Month: Nigel Anderton injured himself on the 26th and would be out for the first few days of March but he did more than enough in the 24 games he played in February to win SotM. He hit .400/.460/.850, his 40-100 including 11 doubles, 2 triples, and 10 homers. He also scored 22 runs, plated 31 runners, and walked 10 times. This was 33 y/o Anderton’s first SotM award. His 31 dingers for the season tied him for fifth in the league.

Media Watch

Martin Boston: Boston finished the month needing just 21 hits to overtake Kelvin Ackland as the sixth-best of all-time. He hit .339/.348/.438 during the month, collecting 38 hits from 112 at-bats. He needed 38 more to reach 3000 and had 24 more games if he was to get there in 2065. Boston already sat atop the all-time singles board, his 2363 exactly 100 more than Ismael Aguirre hit during his career. He also surpassed 500 career doubles during the month, heading into March with 502, tied for 13th all-time.

Justin Auger: Auger had his best month of the season, hitting .337/.412/.554 from 114PA. He added 10 doubles to his career tally, also finishing the month at 502, and belted 4 homers, which gave him 507 for his career. 11 more to overtake Jacob Blanksby and enter the top 5 all-time.

Other Notes

Coastal Division: Adelaide (16-10) lost ground in the Coastal despite their strong month. Darwin (17-9) were making a sneaky wildcard bid and were also just 4 games behind the Venom in the division stakes. Perth (5-21) outdid themselves, posting their worst month of the season, their winning percentage an awful 19%.

East-West Division: Brisbane (20-6) killed off any hopes Kununurra (14-12) had of catching them up, leading the division by 13 games heading into March.

NZ Division: Christchurch (18-8) opened up some space between themselves and division rivals Auckland (14-12), heading into the home stretch with a 6-game lead. Wellington (10-16) struggled, and in so doing made the wildcard race something to watch.

Southern Division: Canberra (15-11) doubled their lead over Hobart (12-14), finishing February 6 games ahead.

Wildcard: Auckland had a 6-game buffer in the first wildcard slot, while Wellington managed to wrestle the second slot back off Hobart in the last few days of the month. The Prospects trailed the Fury by just 1 game, while Darwin and Kununurra lurked in the background, 3 games off the pace.

#

Norm Blume (.322/.373/.614, 43HR) had managed to retake some leaderboard top spots by the end of February. He was league-leader in homers, OPS, RBI (112), ISO (.292), and XBH (77).

Carlos Acevedo (.338/.364/.615, 42HR) continued to top the AUNZBL in SLG, total bases (351), and WAR (6.8).

Larry Booth (.375/.465/.506, 4HR) had the best BA, OBP, and wOBA (.418), had hit the most triples (14), and scored the most runs (113). He was second in hits with 193.

Nicholas Bennett (.344/.373/.545, 24HR) was closest to 200 hits, with 196.

Ronald Aitken (.290/.434/.507, 20HR) led the league in walks, with 96.

Was Barry Dean (17-6, 3.30 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 1.15 WHIP) going to win his fifth overall Hottie and third in a row? He’d forced his way into the league lead for wins by month’s end, had held onto the lead in strikeouts (189) and innings pitched (215.2), and had also snuck into the WAR lead (5.4). His FIP was third-best, his ERA sixth-best, and his WHIP fourth. It was looking, though, like this might be the first year since his rookie campaign in 2057 that he would finish with more hits given up than batters fanned.

Mei-shan Jiang (14-7, 2.81 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.16 WHIP) continued to lead the league in ERA.

Victor Doubleday (12-11, 3.30 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.15 WHIP) had the best FIP and was so far the only pitcher to throw 2 shutouts this season.

Perth had very little to cheer about this season but Jose Ramirez (9-9, 4.42 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 1.39 WHIP) gave the fans some reason to smile. His 9.33 K/9 was the best among qualified starters.

Moeaktola Liao led all closers in saves, with 38. He also had 8 wins to go with 5 losses.

ABC Wrap-up

The row between the Players Union and the ABC continued in the background with the occasional snarky comment from both sides making the media. Other, older rumours were also beginning to circulate again, like the one where the AUNZBL lured several teams across to its shores...

Alice Springs (79-58) now led the Northern by 15 games.

Sydney (84-52) had just about closed out the Southern, with Canberra (69-68) and Melbourne (68-68), trailing far off in their wake.

Perth (76-60) pulled 9 1/2 games clear of Adelaide (67-70) in the Western while Dunedin (81-56) continued to increase the space between them and Jakarta (70-67) in the Overseas.

Ted Blume (.310/.440/.611, 41HR) was just too good for the ABC. He had 13 more homeruns than any other hitter, and also led the league in OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA (.437), RBI (107), walks (117), ISO (.300), XBH (69), and TB (309).

Bronson Dean (14-10, 3.40 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 1.05 WHIP) had already busted through the 200K barrier, finishing February with 202 for the season, 28 more than the next-best starter. He also had the best WHIP, K/BB (5.94), and WAR (5.7).

Alan Sneddon remarked during the month (though he wasn't the first to do so): “Is it just a coincidence that the current best hitter and best pitcher in the AUNZBL and ABC share the same last name, or is there some kind of cloning conspiracy going on?”

AUNZBL Standings, Mar 1
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Old 08-03-2018, 02:59 AM   #766
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2065/2066 Season - March

Notable Performances

1 Mar: Justin Auger scooped PotW, hitting .444/.516/.963, with 5 doubles and 3 homeruns.

2 Mar: Alejandro Valentin had the wood over Hobart, leading Wellington to a 9-0 victory against their closest wildcard rival. Valentin gave up just 4 hits and 1 walk while fanning 5. Fury back-up catcher Javier Alvarez went 4-4, while 22 y/o Allan Pearson, touted as a future star and already a big presence within the Fury clubhouse, was 3-5 with 5RBI, 4 coming thanks to a Grand Slam in the 4th.

2 Mar: Cairns spanked Perth 12-4, rookie Sebastian Chapple leading the way with 4-5. The loss was Perth’s 100th of the season.

3 Mar: Perth defeated Cairns 4-1, and Pedro Espinosa couldn’t contain his delight when the final out was made. He stood on the railing and bellowed to the heavens, thumping his chest with his fists. He’d just had his first win in 25 starts, and had broken his 17-game losing streak. Espinosa threw 7 innings for 4 hits, 4 walks and 1 earned, punching out 5.



4 Mar: Teddy Wigley danced today, twirling a 5-hit, 1-walk shutout for Adelaide against Brisbane. He fanned 3 and induced 14 groundball outs in the 7-0 victory.

4 Mar: After a run of 4 good-to-excellent starts Barry Dean got beaten up by Kununurra, conceding 11 hits in 8 innings. Most of the scoreboard damage came early, the Pioneers scoring 4 in the first 2 innings. They went on to win 5-4. Dean gave up 2 homers, the first to Norm Blume, who sent one down the LF line in the bottom of the 1st for his 44th round-tripper of the season.

4 Mar: Nicholas Bennett became the first player to 200 hits in 2065 with his 1st-inning single in Newcastle’s 7-4 loss to Auckland. He added another single in the 7th to be 2-4 for the night.

6 Mar: Christchurch outscored Sydney 9-7 to break a 2-game losing streak, Matthew Utting going 3-5 with just his 11th homerun of the season to take out PotG. For Sydney, Alexander Whiffin went 2-4, scoring 2 runs and taking his scoring streak to 10 games, equal to the season record.

6 Mar: Wellington and Canberra dueled for 14 innings, the 8th-13th scoreless, before the game was decided. Tye Albury launched a solo homerun in the top of the 14th to push the Fury ahead but the Cavalry trotted their way to loaded bases in the bottom of the inning thanks to 2 walks and an error by the pitcher. Julian Damerell then cracked a double over the head of the CF to see the tying and winning runs score. 7-6 Canberra.



7 Mar: Innocuous-looking Dylan Durrington restricted the Bandits to just 4 hits and 2 walks across 9 innings to lead Darwin to a 4-0 win. He struck out 3 hitters, this the third shutout of his career.

7 Mar: Norm Blume’s 2-run homer in the top of the 7th put Kununurra ahead of Newcastle. The Pioneers kept the lead and went on to win 5-2. Blume now had 45 dingers for the season.

7 Mar: Adelaide crushed the Crocs 9-4, helped in large part by 2 Carlos Acevedo homeruns worth 4 ribbies. Acevedo moved to within 1 of Blume in the season HR race, with 44.

8 Mar: Richard Moore took home his second PotW award for the season, hitting .423/.464/1.000, with 3 doubles and 4 homeruns in his 11 hits.

8 Mar: Acevedo hit homerun number 45 in the 4th to lift Adelaide to level with the Crocs. That hit was also his 200th of the season. In the bottom of the 9th he singled to load the bases before Moore hit a sac-fly to left to bring home the winning run. 3-2 Adelaide.

8 Mar: Perth won their second in a row, lifting in the 9th to score 4 and break the deadlock with Melbourne. The final score was 7-3. The win was the 43rd of Perth’s season. They needed 6 more wins from their remaining 17 games to avoid the worst ever season record. For the month so far they were 4-3.

8 Mar: The only scoring inning in this game between Whangarei and Hobart was the 4th when the Sluggers rallied in 4 runs. Baskoro Subagja restricted the Prospects to 2 hits and 4 walks. He walked the first hitter of the bottom of the 9th and struck out the next before coming from the mound. Reliever Ashley Tillett hit the next batter, giving the Prospects some unlikely hope. Jarrod Culaham came to the mound and got 2 ground-outs to finish proceedings.

9 Mar: Cairns fought their way past Adelaide 5-4, surprisingly doing so without hitting any homeruns. For the Venom, Acevedo went deep for the third game running, bashing his 46th roundtripper of the year in the 4th. In so doing he overtook Blume at the top of the homerun ladder.

9 Mar: Despite giving up 2 runs to Sydney in the 6th, Barry Dean threw the whole game for Christchurch, ensuring a 7-2 win. The win was the 18th of the season for Dean. He also struck out 9 to give him 203 punch-outs for the season. He was the first pitcher past that mark in 2065.

9 Mar: Perth made it 3 in a row, holding on to defeat Melbourne 4-3. That was win 44 for the year. Just 5 more required to not be the worst team ever.

10 Mar: Tomas Zartuche hadn’t quite reached the stellar heights in Christchurch that he’d reached in Adelaide. Last season he hit less than .300 for the first time since his rookie year. This season he was tracking better than that but would once again fall well short of 200 base hits. Unless every night until the end of the season was like tonight. He went 5-6, with 2 doubles, as the Cowboys brought the Heat back to reality with a 16-5 drubbing. This was Zartuche’s third 5-hit game in the majors. Beau Hauer, in his third game back from injury, went 3-5, while Kelvin Pickhills cracked a triple and a homer in his 3-5.

10 Mar: Josh Ling went 4-4 in Sydney’s 8-6 loss to Newcastle. All his hits were doubles, which tied the AUNZBL regular season game record.

10 Mar: Roderick Beresford was somewhat inexplicably denied a shutout in Darwin’s 3-0 victory over Cairns. He was in tremendous form, allowing just 2 walks, both to Ernan Pullenza, through the first 5. He gave up a single to Brandon Baker in the 6th but picked him off at first shortly thereafter. He still looked comfortable in the bottom of the 9th, getting a regulation fly-out to retire the leadoff hitter before striking out his third victim of the night. Then, despite having thrown just 91 pitches, he was replaced by Rod Bacon, who struck out the final hitter of the game on 6 pitches. “Yeah,” Beresford said in the locker rooms, “I’ll have to chat to Gav* about that one. Didn’t make sense to me at all.”

*Gavin Brigatti, Diggers manager



10 Mar: The Aces were defeated 6-2 by Adelaide, all the runs in the game coming in the 7th inning or later. The loss was Melbourne’s 87th of the season and also mathematically eliminated them from finals contention.

11 Mar: Brisbane clinched the East-West pennant by defeating Hobart 5-0. Matt Mulholland was the biggest hero of the night, conceding just 2 measly singles in a 6-strikeout shutout. He was perfect until the 6th and finished the 9th with 2 Ks. “Pretty memorable, yeah,” Mulholland, Brisbane’s fourth-starter, said. “This season I feel like my rhythm’s been off more than on so it was nice tonight to see everything come together so nicely.”

11 Mar: Mulholland’s effort wasn’t the best pitching performance of the day. Umashankar Meenakshi, another pitcher who’d struggled in 2065, mesmerized the team he’d won 3 Championships with, Adelaide, in a sublime no-hit performance. The towering lefty walked the first of 4 hitters in the bottom of the 1st but looked mostly untroubled, fanning the side in the 3rd and rarely seeing the ball leave the infield. He threw 146 pitches. Meenakshi’s no-hitter came almost a year to the day after the last AUNZBL no-hitter, Kent Ju’s effort on the 12th of March last season. Melbourne won the game 2-0, both their runs coming via solo dingers.



11 Mar: Callum McCabe dished out the punishment for Auckland against Kununurra, going 5-6 with 4 runs and a homer in a 9-2 victory. The win was Auckland’s 8th in a row, pulling them to within 3 of Christchurch in the NZ. The Metros also had a 9-game buffer in the wildcard, so unless they fell off a cliff they would have the chance to defend their 2065 crown.

11 Mar: A 2-out Rich Downes single in the 7th pushed Perth in front of Christchurch and they held on to win 4-3. They moved to 45-103 and needed just 4 wins from their remaining 14 games to avoid the title of worst ever. They’d probably end up second-worst ever, though, as they’d have to win 9 of those remaining 14 games to be better than the 2051 Heat and the 2022 Prospects.

11 Mar: Ronald Aitken gave Cairns some walk-off magic when he slugged his 22nd homerun of the year in the bottom of the 11th versus Darwin. The final score was 3-2 Crocs. Ernan Pullenza had tied the game up for Cairns in the 7th with a 2-run blast, his 25th of this campaign.

12 Mar: Darwin took 13 innings to register victory over Cairns. Angel Rivera’s 2-out triple scored the go-ahead run and David Anderton singled him home to provide insurance. Cairns’ got a leadoff walk in the bottom of the frame but could do no better, the final score 4-2 Diggers.

12 Mar: Melbourne and Adelaide also played 13 inning after the Venom overcame a 5-run deficit across the 7th-9th to tie the game up. Both teams threatened to take the lead in the 10th and 11th before Richard Humphrey socked a 2-run homer in the top of the 13th to cap off a 4-6 night. 8-6 Aces.

13 Mar: Auckland jumped ahead of the Pioneers in the 8th and iced the cake in the 9th via a 3-run homerun from March call-up Carlos Herrera. The Metros won 6-1 for their 10th win in a row. GM Xuan-ling Chin had travelled to Kununurra to watch this one and said after the game, “We’re really coming into form at the right time, aren’t we?”

13 Mar: The Cowboys racked up 21 base hits in their 12-1 defeat of Perth, DH Eduardo Maldonado going 5-5 with 1 run, 1 double, and 4 ribbies. The 25 y/o rookie had made 416PA so far this season and was doing a decent job in whatever role he was given. ‘Jar-Jar’ Djajadiningrat went 4-6, and 4 other players got 2 hits. The win was significant for a far greater reason, too. It ensured the Cowboys a playoff spot, though whether that would be as a division winner or a wildcard winner was yet to be determined. The Metros lurked 3 games back in the division.

15 Mar: Callum McCabe took out the penultimate PotW award, hitting .500/.522/1.091, with 4 homers.

15 Mar: The Heat offense won the day, Perth overcoming Newcastle 9-7, future star Paddy Faulkner leading the way with a 2-4 night, including a 3-run homer. Win number 46 for Perth. 3 wins from 11 required.

15 Mar: Kununurra unleashed a 15-run torrent on Central Coast, their 1-3 hitters, rookie Joe Moles, Jayden Koka, and Norm Blume, each getting 3 hits. The Thunder fell to 68-83 and were now officially out of contention for the postseason.

15 Mar: Larry Booth became just the fourth player in history (or fifth if you counted Christos Hutchinson twice) to hit 16+ triples in a season, legging out number 16 on a medium-depth fly that fell just in front of a sprawling centerfielder before bouncing past him and rolling to the wall in Brisbane’s 7-4 loss to Canberra.

16 Mar: Both Whangarei and Sydney were eliminated from playoff hope today, the Sluggers going down 7-5 to Wellington and Sydney succumbing 6-1 to Auckland. The Metros had now won 12 on the trot.

16 Mar: Perth rallied late to beat Newcastle 6-4, scoring twice in the 8th and twice again in the 9th to secure the victory. Win 47.

17 Mar: Auckland stamped their postseason passes with their 13th straight victory, thumping Sydney 9-0 for the second time in 3 games. Song Liang threw 7.1 innings for 3 hits and 1 walk, fanning 12.

17 Mar: Cairns lost 3-1 to Hobart, their playoff hopes officially dashed in the process.

17 Mar: Perth got to 48, beating Newcastle for the third straight day, the score 6-4 once again. Just one more for the Heat to get the worst team ever tag off their back. The win also put the Roos mathematically out of contention for a wildcard spot.

18 Mar: All good things must end. Auckland were upset 7-5 by Sydney, their winning streak finally coming to an end at 13 games. Sydney 3B Roman Woods went deep for the 31st time in 2065, setting a new personal best. Even with 31 homeruns his OPS+ was only 90.

18 Mar: Central Coast thrashed Kununurra 12-4, putting up 22 base hits in the process. 4 players posted 3 hits but Yin-ti Zhuo was the only one to get 4, going 4-6 with 3RBI.

18 Mar: “Well, that’s a monkey off our backs,” Perth SS Karl Kapua said in the sheds after Perth’s 6-3 win over Newcastle, which finished off a series’ sweep. The win was their 49th of the season, meaning they wouldn’t go down in history as being as bad as the 2024 Christchurch Cowboys, who won just 48 games in a year where their best homerun hitter had just 15 to his name, and nobody drove in more than 70 runners.

19 Mar: Canberra shut out Cairns 4-0 to clinch the Southern Division for the first time since 2058. This would be their first postseason appearance since 2059.

19 Mar: Leo Jackson’s pinch-hit double in the bottom of the 9th scored 2 runners and gave Sydney a walk-off 4-3 victory over Kununurra. The loss dropped Kununurra to 8 games back in the fight for the remaining wildcard, a bridge too far. “You can book your holidays now, lads,” the hometown Sydney commentator crowed as the Kununurra players left the field, despite his team having been eliminated 3 days prior.

20 Mar: Melbourne scored 4 in the bottom of the 8th to take a 6-4 lead over Hobart thanks to back-to-back-to-back homers. Richard Humphrey got things started, biffing a 2-run dinger over centre. Vinnie Hanscome followed with a solo shot over right-centre before Glen Walsh capped off the trifecta by putting the ball into the left-centre bleachers. The game wasn’t over yet, however. In the top of the 9th Hobart scored once while loading the bases before John Dalton brought ‘em all home with a line-drive Grand Slam over rightfield. Isaac Graham dutifully recorded his 43rd save of the season and Hobart went home 9-6 winners as well as remaining in Wellington’s slipstream in the wildcard, just 1 game back.



20 Mar: Darwin walked off 4-3 winners against Christchurch in the 11th, fringe first-grader Cooper Turton the hero with an RBI line-drive single between 1B and 2B. Dean took a no-decision. With just one more start likely before the end of the regular season, Dean would fall short of 20 wins. He currently had 18 against his name.

21 Mar: Adelaide had struggled in March, falling to 8-11 after today’s 9-7 loss to the Roos. Meanwhile Darwin were coming home with a wet sail, their 6-2 defeat of Christchurch giving them a 12-7 record for the month so far. The win also moved them to level pegging with Adelaide at the top of the Coastal Division. Carlos Acevedo did break a 9-game HR drought, though, slugging #47 in the Venom’s loss.

21 Mar: Whangarei dispatched Central Coast 10-5 on the back of 16 hits. Aaron Fletcher had the dubious distinction of being pulled after 6.2 innings when on a no-hitter. He had walked 4 and got his marching orders when a Justin Auger sac-fly scored Jesus Fuentes, who’d walked and moved into scoring position on a bad throw by the catcher. Auger got another at-bat in the bottom of the 9th and took advantage, slugging the 25th Grand Slam of his major-league career.



22 Mar: The season’s last PotW award went to... 27 y/o Slugger 1B Marco Auty, who hit .435/.552/1.217, 8 of his 10 hits going for extra-bases - 5 homers, 3 doubles.

22 Mar: Hobart rookie Bhanu Milind led the way against Melbourne, conceding just 4 hits and 3 walks across a spotless 9 innings for his first career shutout. He struck out 3, the Hobart offense giving him plenty of run support, lifting 5 homers on the way to a 13-zilch score-line.

22 Mar: Jayden Koka broke his previous hit streak at 22 games on the 18th of February. The baby-faced Kununurra 3B had gone 2-4 the next night and 0-4 the night after. Since then he hadn’t gone hitless once, bringing up his second 20-game hit streak of the season today against Sydney. “Well,” he said to reporters, “I don’t reckon that’s happened too often before.” He was right, it hadn’t. Sydney won the encounter by the score of 9-5.

22 Mar: Brisbane came off the winner in a low-scoring tussle with Wellington, loading the bases in the bottom of the 13th before Matt Cusack drew a walk-off walk for a 2-1 Bandits victory. That was the first scoring act since the 3rd inning.



23 Mar: Heading into the final series of the season, the Coastal Division was still up for grabs, with the loser in that battle between Adelaide and Darwin to miss the playoffs entirely. Adelaide had inched 1-game ahead after yesterday’s results. While both Auckland and Christchurch were assured a postseason berth, they were still fighting for the division pennant, the Metros a solitary game behind Christchurch. Hobart held a 1-game lead over Wellington in the race for the remaining wildcard.

Adelaide travelled to Auckland for their final regular season series of 2065, facing an uphill battle in so doing. Darwin, on the other hand, travelled to Newcastle, who sat equal-last in the East-West. Christchurch headed across to Hobart, the Prospects hoping their middle-of-the-road offense and pitching could get the job done. Wellington, meanwhile, hosted Cairns, the Crocs about to miss the postseason for the first time since 2060, though anything could happen if their long line-up of sluggers got pitches to hit. The Fury, who had the best pitching in the league, were the least likely of any team to fall down in that area, though.

23 Mar: Auckland and Adelaide’s opening clash was a testy affair, the Metros jumping out to an early lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. In the top of the 8th, however, a frustrated Richard Moore threw down his bat and charged the mound when hit on an 0-2 count by Tommy Birss. The benches cleared, much shoving and gesticulating ensued and Moore and Birss were summarily ejected. Both were suspended for 8 games, the commentators remarking, “If Adelaide do make the playoffs, Moore’s pretty much rubbed himself out for the opening series.” Auckland went on to win 11-4. Acevedo launched homerun number 48 in the 8th inning; he was the batter before Moore got plunked.

23 Mar: Darwin eased to a 7-2 victory over Newcastle, Dylan Durrington throwing a complete game for his 17th win of the year. Darwin and Adelaide now sat level atop the Coastal.

23 Mar: Neither Christchurch nor Hobart could get their bats going, the Prospects doing enough to win 2-1. Auckland and Christchurch were also now on equal pegging at the head of the NZ.

23 Mar: Cairns’ bats showed up, battering Wellington into submission with an 11-8 victory. The loss saw the Fury fall to 2 games back in the wildcard.

23 Mar: Kununurra ended a 7-game skid with a 17-6 pummelling of poor Perth, who hadn’t won a game since getting past 48. While the Pioneers dined out on the Heat pitching, they only managed 5 extra-base hits, with 2 doubles and 3 homeruns.

24 Mar: Auckland won their 6th straight, holding off Adelaide 3-2 in a pitchers’ game. Acevedo went deep for the second night in a row, opening the scoring in the 1st with a fly over left that just evaded the outstretched glove of the leftfielder. He moved to 49 homeruns for the season. He almost had number 50 in the 8th but was thwarted by hitting the ball to the longest part of the yard, the ball hitting the base of the CF wall, Acevedo coasting into 2B with an RBI-double.

24 Mar: Darwin could thank former Venomeer Chuk-yan Lung for their 5-2 win over Newcastle, the DH going yard in the 8th with a 3-run shot, his 25th four-bagger of the year, to put the Diggers in front. Adelaide’s loss and Darwin’s win meant the Diggers moved to the head of the Coastal Division for the first time this season.

24 Mar: Christchurch came from behind to beat Hobart, Matthew Utting’s clutch 2-out double in the 8th worth 2 ribbies. Teddy Glatz and Scott Carson retired the next 6 hitters in order for a 4-3 Cowboys’ win. Auckland and Christchurch remained tied atop the NZ.

24 Mar: Wellington restricted Cairns to just 2 runs, both homers, to win 5-2 and cut their deficit in the wildcard in half, from 2 to 1.

24 Mar: Perth left it late but thrilled the few hardy away fans who’d come to Pioneers’ Ballpark to watch them play Kununurra. Down 4-1 heading into the top of the 9th, Perth’s Seinosuke Nakashima led off proceedings with a walk. The next 2 hitters struck out before Paddy Faulkner extended proceedings with another walk. Jake Gallo blooped a single into shallow left-centre and Nakashima scored. Willem McKinna got an 0-1 slider that didn’t slide and launched it 438-feet over centrefield for a 3-run, lead-taking homerun. In the bottom of the inning Philip Akhurst fouled off 6 two-strike pitches before weaving a single through the left side. His fight wouldn’t pay off, however, Elijah Lutz grounding into a 4-6-3 double-play to end the game. The Heat had reached 50 wins for the season!

24 Mar: Playoff bound Canberra were still scrapping to the last game of the season, beating Melbourne 6-5 in 12 innings, Andrew Benbow hitting the walk-off single to cap off a 3-6, double and homerun night.

25 Mar: Jayden Koka’s second 20+ game hit streak of the season ended at 21 games after he went 0-4 in Kununurra’s 7-5 defeat of Perth. Cleanup hitter Ramon Martinez went deep for the 4th game in a row to lift his season homerun tally to 37. Domenic Guerin walked the Pioneers off in style, sending a fly down the leftfield line and off the foul pole for a 2-run dinger.



25 Mar: Adelaide got one back over Auckland, winning 5-2 despite committing 3 errors. Norm Donaldson led the way with a 2-4, 3RBI effort which included his 36th homerun of the year.

25 Mar: Darwin beat Newcastle 5-2 for the second day running, 25 y/o Nathan Gurney lifting the Diggers into the lead with a 3-run homer in the top of the 9th in his first major-league game since the 3rd of March. The win saw Darwin maintain their newly-acquired 1-game lead over Adelaide.

25 Mar: Christchurch and Hobart exchanged early blows, the teams tied at 2 after 1. The Cowboys added 2 more in the 2nd and another in the 4th while Hobart could manage just a solitary further run, in the 7th. The 5-3 win saw the Cowboys move a game in front of Auckland with 1 game left to play. Barry Dean gave up homeruns 26 and 27 in the win, the most he’d ever surrendered during a season (beating the 26 he’d allowed last year). He was good enough to get the W, though, his 19th of the year, and 159th of his 9-year career.

25 Mar: Wellington moved into a tie for the second wildcard slot with a 4-3 win over Cairns. They outhit the Crocs 11-4 but struggled to make the most of their scoring opportunities.

25 Mar: Brisbane trailed Whangarei from the 4th until the 9th before Matt Cusack, called up in March after spending the whole season in AAA, homered for the second night in a row. His shot was worth 2 runs and was Brisbane’s first scoring act of the game. They got through the bottom of the inning in order to win 2-1.

26 Mar: Auckland and Adelaide battled in appropriate fashion, the contest spanning 13 innings before Callum McCabe singled home Leo Walena for a walk-off 3-2 victory. The Venom had needed a victory and Darwin to lose to stay alive but instead would miss the playoffs for the second season in a row, a hard pill to swallow after leading the division all campaign up until the final days. Acevedo got the scoring started in the top of the 1st with a 2-out solo shot, his 50th of the year. “Bittersweet,” he said of the feat, struggling to control his emotions, “well, gut-wrenching, actually. To be run down at the finish line like this, it’s... it’s impossible to smile, no matter what I personally have done.”



26 Mar: Darwin romped to a 10-1 win over Newcastle, claiming their seventh division title and first since 2057 in style. Angel Rivera won PotG, going 4-5 with a double, homerun, 3 runs and 3RBI. “Incredible,” he said after the game. “We didn’t start the season so well but we’ve been building nicely, just focusing on playing good baseball and the rest has fallen together.” Darwin went 33-17 through February and March.

26 Mar: The tight series between Hobart and Christchurch concluded with another 1-run game, this one not finishing until 11pm. Hobart hustled home the equalizer in the bottom of the 9th, neither side getting a runner into scoring position until the bottom of the 11th. Al Rees was left stranded at 3B, however, and Christchurch made the most of the extra opportunity, Maurice Clemens leading off the 12th with a double and scoring 2 outs later when Eduardo Maldonado’s groundball beat a diving 1B and rolled into the corner for an RBI-double. Hobart managed a pair of 2-out walks in the bottom of the inning but Jesus Vega’s groundball to 2B ended the game. 4-3 Cowboys, the win giving them the division crown for the fourth year out of the last 5. Auckland, despite getting in on a wildcard, would get a first round bye along with Christchurch.

26 Mar: If Wellington beat Cairns the second wildcard was theirs. But the Crocs were in a carefree mood, determined to have fun before heading off on their end of season holidays. Ronald Aitken achieved liftoff in the 1st, and hit a pair of doubles to go with his homer in a 3-5 night. Ewan Stenis and Mario Correa both went deep as part of a 5-run 6th, and Wellington had no answers, managing just 2 runs. The final score was 8-2 Crocs and the Fury were headed to a game 163 with Hobart to work out the final postseason participant.

27 Mar: Bhanu Milind, whose last start had been a 4-hit shutout, would take the mound for Hobart. He was, in an unusual move by the Fury, up against their #5 starter, Bob Cline, who’d started just 18 games and was prone to being either wild or flat if he didn’t have his best stuff. The Fury opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st, Noah Budd skying a 2-run shot into the RF bleachers. Hobart retook the lead in emphatic fashion in the 3rd, Bob Lindner hitting a line-drive Grand Slam, his third slammer of the season (all had come against NZ-based teams, incidentally). A 3-run Gilberto Soberon blast in the 4th saw Wellington retake the lead but Jesus Beltran tied things back up in the top of the 5th with a monster 434-foot liner to centre. Ivan Bostock pinch-hit a triple to right to begin the bottom of the 7th and raced home a batter later when Antony Hammond sac-flied to centre. Ronald Cornell, who’d notched up 10 losses this season as a closer, came out for the 9th. He struck out Gavin Odgers, got former Fury player Carlos Aguilar to ground out back to him and watched the CF track down Jesus Vega’s well-hit fly and catch it just before the warning track. 6-5 Wellington and their steady improvement over the last few seasons would be rewarded with a postseason berth. They’d last appeared in the playoffs in 2060 and had last won the whole thing in 2036.

Notable Injuries

4 Mar: Ralph Zglinicki (.307/.358/.413, 9HR) would miss the rest of the regular season with a sprained ankle. If Hobart made the postseason he’d likely miss at least the first round.

11 Mar: A big blow for Canberra, who had a magic number of 9 and a lead of 7 in the Southern. Neil Bellett (.308/.425/.559, 28HR) was joining Mitch Goddard on the DL. Bellett had sprained his knee and would not make it back in time for the playoffs.

19 Mar: Julian Damerell (.292/.370/.444, 1HR from 81PA) had made a big splash in the latter stages of this season for Canberra but the 21 y/o wasn’t likely to experience the postseason this year thanks to a twisted ankle.

20 Mar: Quentin Welch (.292/.378/.451, 19HR) would miss the last week of the season and potentially the first round of the playoffs after taking a pitch to the arm. The result was a bruised elbow.

22 Mar: Nigel Anderton (.298/.357/.542, 32HR) had been described this season as the ‘glue holding the Brisbane order together.’ They would have to do without his stickiness for at least the first round of the playoffs after he strained his Achilles tendon.

23 Mar: Wellington, currently engaged in a real dogfight with Hobart for the remaining wildcard slot, lost Yoshihito Morimoto (.319/.351/.363, 0HR) for the rest of the season, regular and post, with a strained abdominal muscle.

23 Mar: Dustin Bacon (.283/.370/.426, 17HR) wouldn’t be available to help Wellington for the remaining 3 games of the season thanks to an oblique strain.

Media Watch

Marcos Lopez: 42 y/o Lopez played off the bench in March, starting in 4 games and appearing in 10 for a total of 24PA. They were a good 24PA, however, his stat-line .417/.417/.583. He added no homers to his career tally, though, and thus finished the season 9 short of 500. His 3356 hits saw him sitting comfortably in second place all-time, nearly 400 ahead of the next-best active player, Martin Boston. Would Lopez return for another tilt in 2066? His desire to get to 500 homeruns was strong but his OPS+ in 2065 was a measly 66 and his WAR -1.3. Alan Sneddon made this observation, echoed by most fans and pundits: “Lopez had a good 2064 but it’s pretty obvious 2065 was a season too long. Let’s hope he doesn’t make it 2 seasons too long.”

Martin Boston: Now 37 years-old, Boston finished 2065 just 26 hits shy of 3000. He played a reduced role in March, starting only 14 games and appearing in 21. He didn’t do well with the fewer chances he had, hitting only .200/.262/.283 with a meagre 12 hits from 60 at-bats. Still, he had postseason ball to look forward to. This would be his 10th postseason campaign.

Justin Auger: Auger didn’t have any playoff ball to look forward to but still could be pleased with his truncated year. He hit .290/.382/.469, with 108 hits and 14 homers. He finished the season with 510 career jacks, 7 behind Jacob Blanksby who was fifth all-time.

Other Notes

Perth finished the season with a 50-112 record. They’d go down in history as the second-worst team ever to lace up boots.

Larry Booth (.362/.455/.487, 4HR) won the batting crown. He also led the league in OBP, triples (16), runs (131), and tied with the injured Sadao Taniguchi (.315/.353/.473, 12HR) in stolen bases, with 52. Booth achieved the rare hits-runs-walks triple, with 209 hits, 131 runs, and exactly 100 walks. It was unlikely Booth would be considered for the Jorge Diaz Award however, due to his terrible defence: he’d put up an awful -20.5 ZR in RF this year, easily the worst of a fairly dismal defensive career. Sneddon couldn’t understand why Booth was so bad: “He hardly makes an error and has an absolute cannon for an arm. He just seems to often take strange routes to the ball. That's a coaching issue, in my opinion.”

Carlos Acevedo (.333/.361/.614, 50HR) would surely be the Hoodie frontrunner. He became the sixth player in AUNZBL history to reach the 50 homerun mark in a season. He also topped all-comers in SLG, RBI (129), ISO (.281), extra-base hits (83), total bases (404), and WAR (7.8). His BA was fourth-best, his OPS second, his wOBA (.408) third, his 219 hits tied for second, and his 110 runs fourth.

Nicholas Bennett (.344/.372/.550, 29HR) recorded the most hits of any player, with 225.

Apart from Bennett, Booth, and Acevedo, the other players to amass 200 hits were:

Angel Rivera (.342/.386/.573, 28HR, 219 hits)
Norm Blume (.312/.364/.576, 45HR, 204 hits)
Ricardo Ortiz (.330/.377/.435, 7HR, 204 hits)

Acevedo and Blume were the only players to hit more than 40 homeruns.

Rivera was also tied with Wes Corless (.280/.320/.443, 11HR) for most doubles, with 46.

Neil Bellett (.308/.425/.559, 28HR) had the best OPS and wOBA (.420).

Ronald Aitken (.279/.417/.490, 23HR) drew the most walks, with 107, despite only starting 141 games. No player other than Booth got 100 walks and 100 runs.

Martin Booth (19-6, 3.62 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 1.48 WHIP) and Barry Dean (19-8, 3.58 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.18 WHIP) finished the season tied for the league lead in wins. Dean also topped the league in strikeouts (222) and innings pitched (249.0). His FIP was his worst since his rookie year.

2 other players broke the 200 strikeout mark:

John Ramirez (11-15, 4.24 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 210 strikeouts)
Victor Doubleday (14-12, 3.83 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 202 strikeouts)

Ramirez also finished with the best K/9, with 9.09. He was the only qualified starter punching out more than a batter an inning through the whole season.

Domenic Jones (16-6, 2.78 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.06 WHIP) was the early favourite to displace Dean as Hurler of the Year. He finished with the best ERA, FIP, WHIP, K/BB (4.97), and WAR (6.2).

Jeremy Toohey (9-6, 3.36 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 1.36 WHIP) conceded the least hits per 9 innings (7.16) and had the best OAVG (.221). His control was the thing that let him down, however. He gave up 103 walks, third-most.

Poor Pedro Espinosa (2-20, 7.03 ERA, 5.75 FIP, 1.79 WHIP) would’ve been unlikely to stay in the rotation all season at another club. But Perth didn’t have many other options so kept him there, and he got tagged with 20 losses, 3 more than any other pitcher.

Isaac Graham finished with the most saves, closing out 44 games successfully.

ABC Wrap-up

As the ABC season ramped up towards its playoffs, so did speculation over whether the AUNZBL was about to invade. The AUNZBL Commissioner was asked several times over the course of the month whether the league had any ‘poaching plans.’ The Commissioner’s answer was always an enigmatic smile and nothing more.

The four ABC postseason contestants would be the Alice Springs Opals, the Sydney Highlife, the Perth Sharks, and the Dunedin Outlaws. The Overseas Division was the closest in the ABC, the Outlaws winning by ‘just’ 9 games. It was likely that this lack of in-game tension contributed to the increased discussion about the ABC’s future.

Ted Blume (.315/.448/.617, 49HR) was going to win the Golden Bat for the second year in a row, without a doubt. He finished up leading the league in OBP, SLG, OPS, HR, RBI (126), runs (115), wOBA (.439), ISO (.302), XBH (81), total bases (368), walks (a staggering 143), and WAR (7.8). “He’s just too good for this league,” one commentator said during the month, “and I, for one, hope he gets to play in the AUNZBL sooner rather than later.”

There were other ABC-developed hitters that were obviously too good for the league, too. 25 y/o Brett Wicks (.358/.414/.475, 9HR) was one such. He topped the BA ladder and his 230 hits were 24 more than anybody else.

Bronson Dean (17-12, 3.39 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 1.07 WHIP) was also favoured to take home his second Golden Arm in a row. He had the best FIP, WHIP, and WAR (6.2) among qualified pitchers and had also struck out 239 hitters, by far the most in the league.

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Old 09-14-2018, 08:22 PM   #767
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2065 Division Finals

2065 Division Finals

Game 1 - Wellington Fury vs Canberra Cavalry

Wildcard winners Wellington, who boasted the league’s best pitching but one of its worst offenses, would take on Canberra, who had the third-best rotation in the comp, and had scored the sixth-most runs.

The Fury immediately showcased some offense, leading off the game with 2 singles before wasting the lead runner in a failed 1-out double-steal attempt. Tye Albury laced the very next pitch over the head of the centrefielder for an RBI-triple. Luigi Auger then doubled past a diving rightfielder to make it 2-0.

Auger pulled off a fine double-play in the bottom of the 2nd, the second-baseman lunging to catch a linedrive from Kyle Murphy and throwing to 1B in time to see Baryai Venugopalan tagged out. 2 pitches later Xavier Culaham launched a solo homer over left to cut Canberra’s deficit in half.

Wellington loaded the bases in the 5th with 1 away and Auger picked up his 3rd hit of the night, a single to shallow left, to bring 1 runner home. That was all they could manage, Seto Sukarto striking out the next 2 and bellowing with delight on his way to the dugout.

Culaham had Alejandro Valentin’s number, pegging the Fury pitcher for another homerun in the bottom of the 5th. The hit was only the third of the game for the Cavalry.

Sukarto (6.0IP, 8H, 3ER, 3BB, 7K) came out after 6, having thrown 94 pitches in comparison to Valentin’s 61.

In the bottom of the 8th the game was interrupted by a streaker who got laid out by a clothesline from the 1B ump. The break might’ve put the Wellington fielders off their game as Warren Chapple then blooped a single into left, the leftfielder and shortstop both thinking the other had the ball. That gave Canberra runners at 1B and 2B with 1 out left in the inning but Andrew Benbow got frozen up by a cutter on the bottom half of the plate to go down on strikes and end the threat.

Valentin (8.0IP, 6H, 2ER, 0BB, 4K) was replaced by closer Ronald Cornell for the 9th. Cornell had saved 39 games during the regular season but had also blown 6 opportunities. He clipped Jay Watts with the count 2-2, putting the tying run on base. Venugopalan struck out and Kyle Murphy flared out to right. Two-homer hero Culaham came to the plate but could only strike out chasing a fastball in the dirt.

Final score: 3-2 Wellington, the Fury outhitting their counterparts 10-6.



Game 1 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Unexpected postseason participants Darwin were hoping to keep their run going against Brisbane, who’d only missed out on a first-round rest by 1 game.

Kent Okolita singled home leadoff hitter Hector Banda in the top of the 1st to give the Diggers first blood. Zachariah Pond hit 163 km/h on the radar gun in the bottom of the 1st, retiring the side in order.

Eddie Blackford extended the Diggers’ lead in the 2nd with a solo boomer over left. Sam Richards’ deep double over the head of the CF in the bottom of the 3rd scored Gary Young and got Brisbane on the board. 2-1 Diggers.

A Stephane Lecomte single followed by an Arturo Medina double in the 5th gave Darwin a big opportunity with no outs. Yeijiro Nishio at SS helped his pitcher out big-time, diving to take a great catch off Banda’s liner up the middle before tagging Medina before he could get back to the bag. He then made his second super catch of the inning, diving to rob Boston of an RBI-single to centre.

A bad throw by John Zglinicki in the 6th when trying to start an inning-ending 1-6-3 double-play gave Darwin a 1-out loaded bases opportunity but Eddie Blackford could only hit a hard grounder to 3B for a round-the-horn doubler. Zglinicki (6.0IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K) indicated to the trainers that he was hurt after the pitch and disappeared into the sheds. No word was forthcoming on his injury.

Tashiaki Yano doubled home Nishio in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. 2 outs later a 160 km/h wild pitch saw Yano score the go-ahead run. 3-2 Brisbane.

Pond (6.0IP, 5H, 3ER, 2BB, 4K) left after 6, his outing mixed.

The Bandits juiced the bases in the 8th with 1 away and an out later veteran Gary Young came through with a 2-RBI single to left. Martin Silva appeared in the 9th to close things out, a 3-run buffer much less anxiety-inducing than a 1-run gap. Chuk-yan Lung popped out to 3B. Blackford flied out to shallow centre. Lecomte grounded out to his opposite, Nishio and Brisbane had rallied from behind to win 5-2.

The Bandits turned 4 double-plays.



Game 2 - Wellington Fury vs Canberra Cavalry

Luigi Auger crunched a 2-out 2RBI double over the head of the rightfielder in the top of the 1st to give Wellington the early advantage. Seb Larcombe, in his first big league postseason appearance, had a case of the jitters in the bottom of the inning, walking the first 2 hitters. An out later Venugopalan singled up the middle and the bases were full. Kyle Murphy could only nub one back towards the pitcher who got the force out at home. Larcombe then walked Xavier Culaham on 5 pitches to undo his good work against the previous hitter. Damian Rees struck out to end the inning. 2-1 Wellingotn after an action-packed first frame.

Wellington had a chance to add to their lead in the 4th when they got runners to 2B and 3B with 1 out but were unable to do so. They didn’t miss out in the 5th, though, Allan Pearson duking a 2-run dinger to double the Fury’s advantage.

Canberra’s Cain Withers (5.0IP, 5H, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) was sent to the showers after 5, his night not a happy one. Larcombe (5.0IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 5K), who’d recovered well after that first inning, also sat down after 5.

In the 7th, an error at 2B by the Fury followed by an infield single, both with nobody out, gave Canberra a prime opportunity to charge into their deficit. An excellent running catch by LF Gin-Fan Zhang with 1 away robbed Warren Chapple of RBI and extra-bases and effectively snuffed out the threat, the next hitter grounding out tamely to 1B.

Zhang led off the top of the 9th with a triple. Lee was intentionally walked to get to the weak-hitting Julio Gonzalez, who’d played 124 games at AAA before earning a very late March call-up due to injury. Gonzalez wasn’t hitting weak this at-bat, though. He made sweet contact with a 1-0 fastball and sent it yard, 446-feet yard, adding 3 more runs to the Fury’s buffer. Gonzalez showcased his defense in the bottom of the inning, retiring the first 2 hitters with bullets to first before Todd Riseley struck out to end the game.

Final score: 7-1 Wellington and they’d won twice in Cavalry Stadium, setting up the opportunity to sweep at home.



Game 2 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

An error by Larry Booth in right in the top of the 1st saw Lecomte coast into 2B with 1 out, giving the Diggers an opportunity to put some early hurt on. An out later Okolita lofted a single into shallow right and Lecomte came home without a throw. 1-0 Diggers.

Booth partially atoned for his error with a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning and stole 2B on a swinging strikeout from Nishio. Yano walked and an out later Cook brought the boys home with a 3-run bomb down the leftfield foul line. 3-1 Brisbane after 1 inning.

Another error, this time by Sebastian Woodger attempting a pickoff at 1B, saw Eddie Blackford into scoring position with nobody out in the top of the 2nd. Woodger recovered to get through the rest of the inning unscathed.

Booth stole his second base of the night in the bottom of the 3rd after walking to open the inning. Later that inning Yano sent a fly to almost the same spot Cook had, though his was only worth 2 runs. Hector Banda walked to begin the 5th, stole 2B before Lecomte flied out to centre, and then stole 3B on the first pitch of Rivera’s at-bat. Woodger knuckled down to strike out Rivera and induce a regulation fly from Okolita, who was 2-2 to this point. 5-1 Brisbane the score remained.

Blackford’s single in the 6th ended Woodger’s night. Chuk-yan Lung then doubled over the head of the CF to put runners at 2B and 3B with 1 out. Medina followed by spanking a curveball to the centrefield wall. It caromed off at an odd angle and Medina dived safely into 3B with a 2-RBI triple. Sasaki then committed Brisbane’s third error of the night, his throw to 1B to retire Fook Chin sailing into the stands. Medina scored and there was just 1 run in it. Banda singled to left and the speedy Chin scored from 2B to tie things up. 5-5 after 5-and-a-half, Woodger’s night 5.1IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 4K.

Darwin put a runner on 3B with 1 out in the 7th but Rhett Morgenstern recovered to strike out the next 2.

Dylan Durrington (6.0IP, 4H, 5ER, 2BB, 4K) didn’t have a terrible night but gave up homeruns in important situations. Southpaw reliever Yong-zhan Chin cranked his fastball up to 164 km/h in the bottom of the 7th while striking out the final batter of the frame.

Darwin continued to make all the running in the 8th, a 2-out rally sparked by Martin Boston’s pinch-hit single loading the bases. Okolita got a good stroke on a fastball only for CF Sam Richards to track it back and make the catch at the wall, thus ending the inning and keeping the score tied up.

Blackford collected his third hit of the night in the top of the 9th, singling up the middle with 1 away. He then got picked off. Rod Bacon came into the game for the bottom of the 9th and promptly gave up a leadoff single to Cook. Matt Cusack lined a double into the LF corner and Brisbane were 1 base away from a walk-off win. Young struck out for the third time in the game. Richards was intentionally walked to set up the double-play. Brendon Marris, hitless so far this series, lined one up the middle. Lecomte, playing 2B this game, lunged to his right, made the catch and then flipped to 2B in time to turn the double-play! We were headed into bonus time.

Nishio singled with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th and stole 2B an out later. Sasaki sent a line-drive into shallow right. It found grass and Nishio came around 3B to score the walk-off run. Final score: 6-5 Brisbane, in a win they didn’t deserve. But, as Sneddon said on his show the next day, “That’s what the good teams do.”

Sasaki was awarded a triple for his walk-off hit. Bacon looked pedestrian in picking up the loss.



Off Day

Bad news for the Bandits. Zglinicki had ruptured a tendon in his finger and would need most of the offseason to recover.

Game 3 - Wellington Fury vs Canberra Cavalry

Canberra’s Kyle Murphy led off the game with a double, his first hit of the series and Benbow followed up with another double. 1-0 Cavalry. An out later Venugopalan’s ground-out to 2B scored Benbow and Canberra doubled their lead.

Rees boosted a 2-run homer in the top of the 2nd to give Canberra more early distance. Wellington got runners to 2B and 3B with 2 outs in the bottom of the inning but left them stranded.

Chapple went yard to begin the 4th and Culaham followed that up with a shot over left-centre. 6-0 Canberra and Jason Brewster’s unhappy night (3.0IP, 6H, 6ER, 1BB, 1K) was done.

Culaham came up again in the 5th with 2 on and 2 away and smacked a 2-0 fastball into the leftfield bleachers for his second multi-homer game of the series. 9-0 Cavalry. This was turning into a rout.

Wellington got on the board in the bottom of the inning via a sac-fly. Auger bashed a 2-run homerun in the bottom of the 6th to edge Wellington closer. Brendan Penfold (6.0IP, 7H, 3ER, 1BB, 6K) finished the inning but didn’t come out for the 7th.

Jason Yegammai notched his first hit of the series in the top of the 8th, a 2-RBI single up the middle. He was then called out for interference to end the inning when Murphy’s groundball hit him.

Gilberto Guitierrez struck out the side in the bottom of the 9th to complete his third inning, thus earning himself a postseason save. Final score: 11-3 Canberra in a real trampling. Every Cavalryman bar Jay Watts got a hit.



Game 3 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

Darwin got a runner to 3B in the 2nd with 2 out but couldn’t convert the opportunity to points. They collected a pair of singles in the 3rd but both runners were left stranded.

No score after 4, Darwin’s Allan Tipping having allowed just 2 hits and a walk, while Nelson Thurgood had scattered 4 hits and given up 1 free pass. Bethune and Richards got on-base to begin the 5th. 2 outs later Booth doubled to left and Bethune scored the game’s opening run. 1-0 Brisbane.

Nishio robbed Medina of a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning with a great diving catch. Banda and Boston followed up with 2 singles but Rivera and Okolita could only fly out to end the inning.

In the 6th, Sasaki drilled a first-pitch curveball onto the upper deck in rightfield. 2-0 Bandits. A 2-out Nishio double in the 7th scored another run for Brisbane.

Thurgood (6.2IP, 9H, 0ER, 2BB, 3K) sat down in the 7th after throwing 112 pitches. Cook led off the 8th with a single and then Sasaki went yard for the second time in the game, sending a tracer down the rightfield line and putting the Bandits 5 in front.

Anderton and Blackford started the bottom of the 8th off with back-to-back doubles, Darwin’s tenth and eleventh hits of the night. A walk later Lecomte singled to left and another run scored. Medina walked and the bases were loaded with no outs, the go-ahead run now at the plate. Banda singled to the edge of the outfield grass behind 2B and the deficit was down to 2 runs. Brisbane got the next 2 outs before Okolita singled past 1B. 2 runs scored and the game was tied up. Anderton legged out an infield single with a mis-hit towards 3B, after which Blackford doubled over the head of Richards. 2 runs scored and suddenly Darwin were in front. 7-5 Diggers!

Rod Bacon came out and got Booth to ground out weakly to 2B, though it took good speed and agility by Rivera to make the play. Nishio singled past 3B. Yano struck out swinging at a 160 km/h fastball. Cook extended the game with a single to left but Sasaki couldn’t push the hero button for the third time, grounding out to 2B.

Final score: 7-5 Diggers, as they left it late to stay alive. 7 Diggers got 2 or more hits.



Game 4 - Wellington Fury vs Canberra Cavalry

An error in the top of the 2nd saw Venugopalan end up at 2B before an out had been recorded. Chapple punched a single between 1B and 2B but Venugopalan held up at 3B. Culaham continued his hot series, doubling into the LF corner and driving the opening run home. Chapple scored on a sac-fly. 2-0 Cavalry as they fought to take this to a decider.

Culaham drilled his second double of the night in the 4th, this one off the base of the CF wall but was left stranded.

After 6 the score was still 2-0, Canberra with 4 hits and Wellington 3.

Another error by the usually dependable Lee at SS in the 7th saw Canberra get a runner aboard with 1 away. Next up, Damian Rees ground out to Lee, who took an extra second to throw to 2B, denying his team a chance at a double play.

“What’s up with Lee today?” one commentator asked. “He just looks vacant.”

“Hard night, probably,” his cohort replied. “Or maybe someone slipped him a little something to keep the series interesting.”

That remark was followed by stunned silence before the commentator in question said, “Just a joke, of course, just a joke!”

The Cavalry didn’t score in the inning and neither did the Fury. 2-0 after 7.

Alejandro Valentin (7.0IP, 4H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 2K) took a seat for the 8th. He’d been solid without being overpowering. Lee made the final out of the inning with a nice throw to 1B to beat the runner. Seto Sukarto (7.0IP, 3H, 0ER, 0BB, 5K) also retired after 7, having gotten better as the night went on.

Wendell Koka strutted to the mound to throw the bottom of the 9th. Soberon led off with a slow grounder that somehow wriggled its way onto the RF grass. Noah Budd ground out to 1B and Venugopalan’s throw to 2B was a touch too slow to complete the double play. Pearson ground out to 2B and Soberon advanced to 3B. Albury hit a double over the head of the rightfielder and Wellington were finally on the board. Auger hit a regulation groundball to SS Rees who couldn’t get a handle. Tying run now at 3B. Graha Pamungkas hit a sharp grounder towards the right-side hole. Venugopalan lunged to his right, knocked the ball down, retrieved it and underhanded it to Koka in time for the out.

Final score: 2-1 Cavalry, to set up Game 5 back in Canberra.



Game 4 - Darwin Diggers vs Brisbane Bandits

With Zglinicki injured, Matt Mulholland would get the start.

Brisbane had an early chance, getting 2 on in the 1st with 1 out but couldn’t capitalize. Rivera slugged a 2-out double for Darwin in the bottom of the inning but couldn’t progress to home-plate.

Yano lofted a mid-zone fastball into the leftfield bleachers in the 3rd for a score-opening solo homer. 1-0 Brisbane, the Bandits putting up 5 hits and a walk across the first 3 in comparison to Darwin’s 1, though Booth did show what he was potentially capable of as a rightfielder in robbing Medina of extra bases with a full-extension, running catch.

Booth made 3B after a bad throw on a steal attempt in the 4th but with only 1 out up their sleeve the Bandits couldn’t bring him home.

An infield single followed by aggressive baserunning saw Rivera at 3B with just 1 out in the bottom of the 4th. Mulholland struck out Anderton, then walked Blackford to juice the bags. Lung couldn’t connect with a two-strike fastball and Mulholland was out of the jam.

Zachariah Pond (5.0IP, 5H, 1ER, 3BB, 5K) got through 5 innings of work.

Okolita threw out 2 attempted base-stealers in the top of the 7th, hollering at his teammates after the second one. Anderton responded with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the frame but Mulholland struck out the next hitter and started a 1-6-3 double-play to end the inning.

Mulholland stayed in for the 8th, having thrown 103 pitches for 3 hits, 4 walks, and 5 punch-outs. He got through Darwin in order, with the commentators wondering whether his manager would send him out to chase the shutout or not. The smart money was on not.

The smart money was right this time, Martin Silva coming to the mound to try to close this one, and the series, out. Boston fought his way to a walk, the ball 4 call one that probably could’ve gone either way. Rivera tapped one back to the pitcher, who went to 2B for the fielder’s choice. Okolita hit a hard groundball up the middle. Nishio lunged across to field it, from his knees flipped the ball to 2B and Cook relayed it to 1B in time for a series-winning double-play!

Final score: 1-0 Bandits, Mulholland the star of the night with a 3-hit, 8-inning performance.



In fact, Mulholland was named Series MVP, having garnered 2 wins across 9 innings of work without conceding a run.

Game 5 - Wellington Fury vs Canberra Cavalry

Do or die. The Cavalry had won both their away games to force a decider at home and the Fury had squandered their momentum, outscored 13-4 over those last 2 games.

Dustin Bacon returned from injury to play his first game of the series for Wellington. He would hit third, giving Noah Budd, who’d gone 1-15 so far in the series, a bit more protection.

Soberon led off with a single to short right but was picked off stealing an out later. Bacon’s first at-bat was a swinging bunt and he was easily thrown out at 1B to end the frame. Murphy laid into the third pitch of the bottom of the 1st, a hanging curve, and sent it way over right-centre and into the seats for a solo homerun. 1-0 Canberra after 1.

Todd Riseley dispatched a cut-fastball into the leftfield bleachers for a 2-out solo dinger in the 2nd. 2-0 Cavalry.

The Fury loaded the bases with 2 away in the 3rd but a rusty Bacon struck out swinging on the eighth pitch of his at-bat to retire the side. Seb Larcombe walked 3 in the bottom of the inning but got away unscathed.

Cain Withers had struck out 6 after 5 without allowing a run. Budd opened Wellington’s account in the 6th with a long fly to right-centre and Withers (5.1IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 7K), who’d thrown 88 pitches in his second start of the series, came from the mound. 2-1 Canberra.

Larcombe (5.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 4K), who’d chucked 87 pitches, didn’t come out at all for the 6th. His replacement, LHP Wesley Irwin, pitching for the first time in the series, got himself into a loaded-bases jam with 2 out and then could only watch helplessly as Damian Rees crushed a low fastball 440 feet over centre for a Grand Slam! 6-1 Cavalry and the series was theirs to lose.

The score didn’t change before the top of the 9th, Zachary Quinn, who’d thrown two-thirds of the 8th, staying on the hill. Bacon’s line-drive found the CF’s glove. Albury hit a sharp grounder wide of 1B but Venugopalan showed surprising range for the second time in 2 games to dive, knock the ball down and throw Albury out. Auger couldn’t even get his bat off his shoulder, froze up by a looping curveball. Series win Canberra, recovering from an 0-2 start to win in emphatic style!

Final score: 6-1 Cavalry. Wellington could only manage 3 homers in the series, while Canberra cleared the fence 9 times.



Xavier Culaham (.389/.450/1.167, 4HR) was awarded Series’ MVP. “We’re raring to rip into Christchurch,” he said. “They’ve had a bit of a rest but we’re battle-hardened and full of belief.” Not to mention the fact the Cavalry had beaten the Cowboys 6-2 across their regular season encounters.
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Old 10-24-2018, 06:33 PM   #768
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To anybody who might be following the AUNZBL: it's still ongoing but other projects have cut into my OOTP time, which is why I'm barely posting at the moment. That may or may not change but I will still continue to post updates when I have some to post

Looking at the first page of this thread, it appears I've been at this dynasty for over 4 years! Doesn't seem like it, which can only be a good thing

Happy baseballing y'all!
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Old 11-08-2018, 04:57 AM   #769
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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.

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2065 Championship Series - Auckland Metros vs Canberra Cavalry

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
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Mwuahahahahahaha! The dynasty lives! *cough, cough* Ahem...

2065 Season Leaderboards

Carlos Acevedo had to be the favourite to win the Jorge Diaz Award. A .333 BA, a 50 homerun season, 7.8WAR? Angel Rivera also had a case after playing a big hand in helping Darwin upset Acevedo's Venom for the Coastal Division pennant. He put up 7.5WAR, very little of which would've come from his defense, including a league-leading 46 doubles (tied) and 83XBH (also tied). And then there was Larry Booth, who led the league in BA and put up a hits-runs-walks triple double (225-131-100), his 131 walks good enough for 4th-highest all-time. Not that he was much chop in the field, with a -20.5 ZR and .878 efficiency at right field.

Of course, Barry Dean was in the conversation for HotY, but Championship-winner Domenic Jones had most of the pre-Awards' buzz.



2065 Career Leaderboards

Marcos Lopez added 77 hits to his career tally in 2065, pushing him even further clear in 2nd place all-time. 8 of those hits were homeruns, meaning he needed another 9 to become the 7th player to 500. Would he try to find an AUNZBL team for 2066 in an attempt to reach that milestone?

Martin Boston looked set to join the 3000-hit club in 2066. Justin Auger did surpass 500 homers during the season, while John Foreman climbed to 8th on the leaderboard.

The pitching boards had no movement.

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A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report
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Old 08-28-2019, 06:01 PM   #772
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RARE IZZ SIGHTING

Forgot about dear old Aguirre's utter domination at the top of the charts. Could be another generation or two before we see someone that comes close, cos I don't think Lopez is gonna be that guy
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Old 08-28-2019, 06:35 PM   #773
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RARE IZZ SIGHTING


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Forgot about dear old Aguirre's utter domination at the top of the charts. Could be another generation or two before we see someone that comes close, cos I don't think Lopez is gonna be that guy
Yep, nobody's gonna overtake him for a good long while. Martin Boston's 37 y/o and signed for 2 more seasons, so might have a chance of overtaking Lopez at #2 on the hits list if he stays healthy and doesn't regress. Can't see anybody who might come close on the power side, though.

On the pitching boards, I'm hoping Barry Dean stays healthy and doesn't fall off a cliff, because I'd like to see him set a big lead on the wins board. He has 159 so far across 9 seasons. He turned 30 this season, so hopefully can churn out a few more good years before his arm drops off.
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Old 10-06-2019, 04:21 AM   #774
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Hiatus... maybe?

So... maybe the dynasty doesn't live after all. Or maybe it's on hiatus, or something. Don't get me wrong, I love the AUNZBL to pieces but I've found it really tough to get back into the depth of reporting that I've built the dynasty up to. If that makes sense. And also, I've kinda got another project taking up all my OOTP brain-space...

Anyhoo, the AUNZBL is going on the backburner (again) for now.

Thank you very, very much to those of you who've read along with me over the last 5+ years! Heh - I didn't even make it halfway to 2119, did I?

But! As I mentioned, I've got another project bubbling. In fact, I've started it up already: The National Penterham Four-Bases Association.

Feel free to check it out. It has maps! Well, one map. Don't want to oversell it
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Old 10-26-2019, 03:25 PM   #775
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So... maybe the dynasty doesn't live after all. Or maybe it's on hiatus, or something. Don't get me wrong, I love the AUNZBL to pieces but I've found it really tough to get back into the depth of reporting that I've built the dynasty up to. If that makes sense. And also, I've kinda got another project taking up all my OOTP brain-space...

Anyhoo, the AUNZBL is going on the backburner (again) for now.

Thank you very, very much to those of you who've read along with me over the last 5+ years! Heh - I didn't even make it halfway to 2119, did I?

But! As I mentioned, I've got another project bubbling. In fact, I've started it up already: The National Penterham Four-Bases Association.

Feel free to check it out. It has maps! Well, one map. Don't want to oversell it
You did a wonderful job with AUNZBL dynasty.
It will be missed.

But I totally understand your feelings.
My "labor of love" dynasty has become just a "labor"... my Islandian Pro Alliance is just to much work... not sure how much longer I will do it.

It is realy hard to let a long-running dynasty ride off into the sunset... we really love them.

Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-26-2019 at 03:26 PM.
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Old 10-26-2019, 04:26 PM   #776
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Thanks for the kind words, EC
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Old 10-30-2019, 09:25 PM   #777
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All good things must come to an end, just one of those universal truths. But at the same time, never say never, or for that matter forever. As Mr. Church has already said it will be sorely missed - the AUNZBL is one of those dynasties that makes me want to write (now if only I could stick to something like you did...)

I will have a look at the new league for sure! I'm sure it will be fantastic.
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Old 10-30-2019, 10:33 PM   #778
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All good things must come to an end, just one of those universal truths. But at the same time, never say never, or for that matter forever. As Mr. Church has already said it will be sorely missed - the AUNZBL is one of those dynasties that makes me want to write (now if only I could stick to something like you did...)

I will have a look at the new league for sure! I'm sure it will be fantastic.
Thanks for the kind words, Archerlirion

Quote:
the AUNZBL is one of those dynasties that makes me want to write
And this, really, is the highest praise there is, in my opinion! Thanks again!
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Old 11-02-2019, 12:48 PM   #779
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One of the all time greatest dynasty threads!
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Old 11-02-2019, 02:38 PM   #780
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One of the all time greatest dynasty threads!
Wow! Thank you!
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