2011-12 ABL Season Thread

[brewcrew82]

Hello folks, well the time is near...the ABL season is starting on the third of November. I will use this thread to post news, game recaps etc here.

I should be able to do recaps for all the games this year as I have no holidays planned during the season.

Anyway, here is the schedule: http://web.theabl.com.au/documents/2...hedule_(3).pdf

[brewcrew82]

I have not seen all the team rosters thus far but I can tell you that Jamie McOwen, last years Helm's Award (MVP), is moving from Adelaide to Perth.

Rinku Singh has gone from Canberra to Adelaide and that the Adelaide Bite have signed former Met and Dodger Chin-Lung Hu.

[jeter2]

Can you post Singh pitching performance I'm curious about this guy is he still with the pirates organization? Thanks

[brewcrew82]

Will do. From the very little I saw of him last year, he (and most of the Canberra pitching staff) had trouble throwing strikes.

I'll be seeing more of him this year.

[brewcrew82]

The opening game of the season, a rematch of last years final, was washed out tonight in Perth.
The game between the Adelaide Bite and the Perth Heat will be a part of a double header tomorrow.

[Tadasimha]

The opening game of the season, a rematch of last years final, was washed out tonight in Perth.
The game between the Adelaide Bite and the Perth Heat will be a part of a double header tomorrow.

The website says they're making the game up on Saturday?

For those who want to watch some more baseball, the Heat broadcast their home games on their website. A 7:20 pm start in Perth is a 7:20 AM start the same day in the Eastern Time zone. Heres the link:
http://web.theabl.com.au/team5/page.....jsp&sid=t4068

[brewcrew82]

Of course. The website is correct.

[brewcrew82]

November 4th

After the previous nights washout in Perth, the opening game of the ABL season became the Canberra Cavalry hosting the Brisbane Bandits.
The Cavalry got off to a fast start scoring 3 runs in the first inning on catchers Travis Scotts bases loaded double.
Canberra then added two runs in the fourth on shortstop Masahi Nohara's two run shot and a single run in the fifth on John Tolisano's homerun, to run out 6-0 winners.
Canberra starter Mike McGuire gave up one hit in five innings and got the win, while Simon Morriss took the loss for the visitors.

In Sydney, the Blue Sox hosted the Melbourne Aces and won 3-2.
The Sox took a 2-0 lead after scoring a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. Tyler Collins scored the opening run on a wild pitch in the fifth. Then in the sixth, DH Alex Johnson doubled home Boss Moanaroa to take a 2-0 lead.
The Aces then tied the game in the seventh when DH Hayden Dingle doubled home Paul Weichard and Justin Huber.
The scores remained the locked until the home half of the ninth when with the bases loaded and none out Tyler Collins hit a sac fly to centre field that scored pinch runner Shannon Pender (who replaced Boss Moanaroa, who lead off the inning with a walk).
Chris Oxspring got the win after entering the game in the seventh inning. Danial McGrath got the loss.

In the final game on the night, the Grand Final rematch finally got under way with the Heat beat the Adelaide Bite in Perth by a score of 6-1.
A defensive lapse by Perth second baseman Aaron Bonomi gifted Adelaide the opening run of the game. But Perth came back, scoring a run in fourth and again in the seventh to take a 2-1 lead. In the eighth the Heat broke the game wide open with a four run frame highlighted by a two run double by Aaron Bonomi.
Perth reliever Cameron Lamb got the win, pitching the seventh and eighth frames, while Adelaide starter Dushan Ruzic took the loss, giving up 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 6 walks in seven innings.

[brewcrew82]

November 5th

Todays slate of games features double headers from all three series.

The first series to be covered will be the Bandits and the Cavalry (sounds like a bad western plot but I digress). In the opening game, the two sides played out three innings of scoreless ball until in the fourth when Brad Dutton scored on first baseman David Sutherland's two out single.
Canberra capitalised on some poor defense in the fifth to tie the game, two errors and a passed ball allowed third baseman Kellen Kmiecik to score.
Two runs in the sixth and four in the seventh for the Bandits made it a 7-2 game (canberra scored in the botton of the sixth). Canberra came back with two in the ninth to give some respectability to the scoreline but still wound up losing 7-4.
Alex Maestri got the win, giving up one run on two hits in five innings, while Nathan Crawford pitching in relief got the loss for the Cavalry. John Veith got the save.
Both teams now stand at 1-1 on the season.

In the second game most of the runs were scored early with the Bandits getting on the board in the second after an error by second baseman John Tolisano that plated two runners. Canberra came back in the bottom half of the inning and took the lead on the strength of a two out, bases loaded, three RBI double by Ty Morrison. The inning ended with Morrison trying to stretch it to a triple.
The Bandits retook the lead in the third after a one out double by Joshua Roberts, after a strikeout, he was brought home on a double by David Sutherland who was then tripled home by centrefielder Keiji Nakahara. This gave the Bandits a 4-3 lead after two and a half.
The score would stay that way until the home half of the sixth when first baseman Brian Burgami lead off the inning with a homerun to tie it at 4. The Cavalry had a chance to take the lead after John Tolisano followed Burgami with a double but was thrown out at home after a single by the next hitter, catcher, Travis Scott.
The score stayed at 4 all until the ninth.
Leading off the bottom half of the ninth inning John Tolisano broke the tie with a walkoff homerun off of Chris Mowday to give the Cavalry a 5-4 win and a split of the days doubleheader.
Steven Kent, who pitched the final two innings for the Canberran's, got the win while Mowday took the loss.

Moving north from Canberra we will now cover the Ace's visiting Blacktown to take on the Sydney Blue Sox.
In the opening game it didn't take too long for the scoring to begin. The Aces scored a run on centrefielder Paul Weichard's double that plated Scott Wearne to take a 1-0 lead. The lead however would not last long. After Boss Moanaroa doubled home a run to tie the score and with runners on second and third, the next hitter, DG, Alex Johnson launched a 3 run shot to put the home team up 4-1 after one frame.
Melbourne pegged one back in the fourth when Justin Huber scored on a throwing error by Sox shortstop Michael Lysaught to make it 4-2 but as in the fist inning the Sox came back in the bottom half of the inning and got the run back (and then some), scoring two in the frame. Making it 6-2.
Not out of it though, Melbourne came right back in the fifth with three runs, capped off by rightfirlder John Edwards' two run single to make it 6-5.
The game was then tied in the sixth after a sac fly Scott Wearne plated second baseman Tom Dicker.
The score remained 6 all through the seventh until the bottom half of the eighth when with two outs Josh Dean doubles, Pat Maat follows with an RBI double and Michael Lysaught caps it off with an RBI triple to give the Sydneysiders an 8-6 lead going into the ninth.
In the ninth the Sox turned to Korean legend Dae-Sung Koo to close it. He retired all three Aces in order, striking out two.
Reliever Matthew Williams got the win, while Aces starter Andrew Mann got the loss. The aforementioned Koo got the save.

In the Nightcap of the series, the offense continued with the Aces running out 13-9 winners.
Most of the damage came late in the contest with the Aces posting a seven run eighth after scoring 3 in both the fifth and seventh innings.
The Sox came back with three in the ninth but it was nowhere near enough.
In a game where the majority of the runs came late it stands to reason that the pitchers of record were both relievers. Blake Cunningham got the win and Josh Wells got the loss.

In the final series of the night, taking place in Perth, weather has once again put a halt to the Heat and the Bite. The first game was cancelled in the second inning with the Bite leading 3-0 and the second game was cancelled until Sunday where they will attempt another double header.

[brewcrew82]

November 6th

Finishing up the first weekend of the ABL season with a slate of four games.

Firstly I will start with the finale of the Sydney/Melbourne series that took place in Sydney.
It seems that it's not just out west where the games are being affected by bad weather. In this one thee Blue Sox defeated the Aces 2-0 in a game that was called after the fifth due to weather.
Chris Oxspring got his second win in three days in relief as he and starter Vaughan Harris combined to allow only one Melbourne hit in the five innings.
On the offensive side of things, both Sydney runs came in the fourth inning. The first run came when Trent Schmutter scored on Tyler Collins sac fly to left. That was then followed by shortstop Michael Lysaught singling home Alex Johnson.
The win takes Sydney to 3-1 at this point of the season and it's yet another slow start this season for the Aces.

Meanwhile in Canberra the Bandits manages to salvage a split of their series against the Cavalry winning the decider 9-6 in what was a shaky defensive performance for the home team, who committed four errors in this contest.
The Cavalry got out to an early 2-0 lead in the second after RBI singles by Masashi Nohara and Kyle Perkins. Brisbane came right back in the top of the third with three runs, helped along by two wild pitches and a throwing error by Canberra starter Daiki Kiyohara.
Canberra retook the lead straight back again in their half of the third with RBI's to Nohara and DH Yuhei Kai.
Both teams traded runs in the fourth with Canberra now leading 5-4.
Both teams scored again in the fifth, with Brisbane scoring two to take the lead on Josh Roberts two run homerun. Canberra replying with one to tie the game up yet again.
In the sixth, it was Roberts again who came up big. This time with a two RBI triple to give the Bandits a lead they would not relinquish.
An insurance run in the eighth made the score 9-6 and that it remained. John Veitch came out of the pen to record the win for the Bandits while brian Grening was the loser. Chris Mowday got the save.

Finally, two seven inning games were played in Perth to finish off the round.
In the first game, after a tight first four innings in which Adelaide held a 4-3 lead the Heat ran away with a 7-4 win scoring runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
The fifth inning was where they took the lead for good after a solo shot by thirdbaseman Alex Berg and a two run shot by first baseman Aaron Baker.
Geoff Brown got the win, Chris Lawson the loss, and Benn Grice the save.

In the final game the Bite tried to avoid an opening round sweep but came up short in their comeback.
Trailing 2-1 in the seventh inning Adelaide second baseman Tom Brice tied the game at two with a solo shot but that would not be enough as in the botton half of the seventh Mitchell Graham singled home pinch runner Elliott Hargreaves with one out to give the Heat a walkoff 3-2 win and a series sweep over their fellow Grand Finalists from last season.
Both Mitchell Graham and Alex Berg homered for the home side, accounting for all their runs up until that point.
Benn Grice got the win and Wayne Ough took the loss.
Perth start the season 3-0 as they hope to make it back-to-back ABL titles.

The fourth scheduled game of the series will be played in Adeladie when the Heat visit there later in the season.

Coming up in the next round Adelaide host Canberra, Brisbane host Sydney, and Melbourne head west to play Perth.

[jeter2]

Dae soo Kim is still playing! I thought he retired.

[brewcrew82]

He won the ABL reliever of the year award last season. He's still got it.

[brewcrew82]

November 10th

Two games tonight to start the second week of this 2011-12 ABL season.

First off we'll head to Adelaide where Canberra starter Mike McGuire struck out 14 Bite hitters in his 6 1/3 innings tonight.
Though he was unable to get the win, the Cavalry run out 10-2 winners over the Bite in front of a crowd of 876.
The Cavalry started the scoring in the fifth when shortstop Masahi Nohara drove in catcher Travis Scott. Canberra added another in the seventh on Brian Burgami's solo shot to centre.
McGuire allowed a single to lead off the seventh and after striking out Calvin Anderson for the first out, was replaced by Alex Rogers who gave up a walk to put two on, a wild pitch to move both runners into scoring position then gave up a game tying, two run RBI to Tom Brice. Rogers was then replaced by Brian Grening who retired the next two Adelaide hitters.
In the eighth two Adelaide errors opened the floodgates to seven Canberra runs, punctuated by Nohara's bases loaded, three run double, his third hit of the game.
After eight innings the Cavalry lead 9-2. They would add another in the ninth after pinch hitter Alex Ferrera singled home Yuhei Kai.
Brian Grening stayed in the rest of the game, allowing no runs in 2 2/3 innings while striking out three and getting the win.
Adelaide starter Dushan Ruzic took the loss though pitched well for most of the contest.

The other game tonight comes from Brisbane, where the Bandits are hosting the Sydney Blue Sox.
The Sox got off to a fast start with two runs on RBI singles by Boss Moanaroa and Pat Maat. The Bandits came right back in the bottom half of the inning and cut the lead in half when David Sutherland singled home Matthew Roxburgh.
The score stayed 2-1 until the third inning when Sydney put two more runs on the board when shortstop Michael Lysaught doubled home Alex Johnson and Pat Maat to make it 4-1.
The score was extended to 6-1 in the sixth after DH Alex Johnson doubled home Shannon Pender and Trent Schmutter.
Despite being down by five runs in the eighth Brisbane showed some fight. Outfielder Keiji Nakahara tripled home Brad Dutton and the next hitter, Joel Naughton, drove Nakahara home with a two run homerun to right. After the next hitter doubled the Sox brought on Dae-Sung Koo on to end the threat. He eventually got the third out and went on to retire the home side in the ninth to secure a 6-4 victory for Sydney.
Starter Craig Anderson got the win, giving up one run on seven hits in seven innings pitched. Brisbane starter Simon Morriss got the loss and the aforementioned Koo got the save (his second).

Both series continue tomorrow, as well as the beginning of the Melbourne/Perth series.

[jeter2]

How are the attendance in Australia? Are the games packed?

[brewcrew82]

Attendances tend to average out around the 1,000 mark (1,016 per game this season so far). I don't see the average rising too much above the 1,000 level as the season goes on.

Both Adelaide and Perth drew well last year aren't drawing to that level yet this season but the year is still young.

[Tadasimha]

I have a friend who is originally from Australia and who visited there the past month or so. She said that there was very little awareness of the league in both Perth and Melbourne - her family did not know that games were being played. Admittedly, her family may just not be interested in baseball (or sports in general). I'd asked her to bring me back an Aces hat and she said that her son didn't even know who the team was.

What kind of news coverage is the league getting?

[brewcrew82]

During the Major League season there were commercials during the games for the ABL (but at no other times). They have the occasional highlight package on Fox Sports News and most of the newspapers will have an article wrap up of the games (there is no mention of the rest of the leagues action).
There is little to no promotion of the league to promote the game to the general public.

Oh and to buy merchandise you either need to go to a game or get it mail order.

[brewcrew82]

November 11th

In the first game covered tonight we'll head to Melbourne where the Perth Heat visit the home town Aces.
After holding Perth scoreless in the top of the first inning Melbourne got out of the gate fast with three hole hitter Brad Harman hitting a three run shot to left field to put them up 3-0.
The score stayed the same until the fourth inning when Heat third baseman Alex Burg hit a solo shot to put the visitors on the board. Perth continued the comeback in the sixth inning where Aaron Baker hit a two run home run to tie it and then the next hitter, Allen de san Miguel put the Heat in front 4-3.
It was a lead the Heat would not relinquish, adding runs in both the eighth (via a home run by Mitch Graham) and ninth (RBI by de san Miguel) innings to finish 6-3 victors.
Perth starter Daniel Schmidt got the win, giving up only the three runs in 5 1/3 innings. Melbourne starter Shane Lindsay took the loss and en Grice got the save for the defending champs.

Meanwhile in Adelaide, the Bite jumped out to an early 8-0 lead over the Canberra Cavalry capped off by import Calvin Andersons mammoth grand slam to left field in the fourth inning. Not to be outdone, the Cavalry clawed their way back into the game. A three run home run to centre fielder Kenny Wilson got them on the board in the fifth and two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings but the Cavalry 8-7 with only two innings to play.
In the eighth inning Canberra had one out and runners on first and third when Carlos Diaz grounded into a 6-3 double play to end the Cavalry's big scoring threat.
The bottom half of the eighth saw the Bite add two more insurance runs. A Ben Wigmore RBI double (Wigmore recently entered the game after starting first baseman Calvin Anderson left the game after taking a foul pop up to the face) and a Tom Brice RBI ground out made the score 10-7.
Reliever Ryan Beckman then came in in the top of the ninth and retired the Cavalry in order to record his first save of the year.
Bite starter Darren Fidge got the win whilst Cavalry starter Hayden Beard was the loser.
This was the Bites first win of the season and coupled with Melbournes result ensures they're no longer bottom of the table.

Finally in Brisbane, the Bandits jumped all over the Blue Sox pitching early and often to register a 10-0 in a game stopped via the mercy rule after the seventh inning.
Brisbane scored four in the first, one in the second, four, once again in the fourth and the final run in the fifth.
Second baseman Brad Dutton was the offensive standout for the Bandit's going 3-4 with 2 RBI. Outfielders Matt Roxburgh and Keiji Nakahara both chipped in with two hits each, both also had a home run and two RBI.
Starter Alex Maestri (2-0) got the win for the Bandits while for the Sydneysiders Wayne Lundgren took the loss.

All three series continue over the weekend.

[brewcrew82]

November 12th

First game to be covered again is from the Perth/Melbourne series from the Melbourne Showgrounds.
For the second game in a row the Aces got on the board first in the opening frame. This time jumping out to a 2-0 lead after left fielder Paul Weichard's solo shot and Josh Davies RBI single that scored Justin Huber.
That lead would soon evaporate after a Matt Kennelly solo home run in the second and Aaron Baker's two run double in the third made it 3-2 to the Heat.
A Justin Huber homer tied it at 3 for the home team in the third. But from there Perth motored on scoring three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a commanding 9-3 lead.
From here Melbourne mounted a comeback starting with a one run in the fifth on Scott Wearne's RBI single to make it 9-4.
The comeback continued in the seventh when, after an Elliot Biddle single, Paul Weichard hit his second blast of the game, this time a two run shot to make it 9-6...The rally continued when Justin Huber scored on Hayden Dingle's pinch hit single and Scott Wearne scored on a groundout by Tom Dicker left the Ace's down 9-8 with two on and two out in the seventh. Melbourne could not score any more in the seventh and while they had a runner in scoring position in the ninth, they were not able to score then either and ended up 9-8 losers to the Heat.
Starter Trevor Caughey got the win for Perth while Yusei Kikuchi got the loss for the Aces.
Reliever Matt Erickson went 2 1/3 innings and got the save.

Onto Adelaide where the Bite looked to continue their winning ways against Canberra. The game was scoreless until the home half of the second when shortstop Chin-lung Hu tripled to score both Scott Gladstone and Josh Cakebread to put the Bite out to a 2-0 lead.
Canberra would get one back in the fourth after catcher Travis Scott drove home Todd Glaesmann with a double to make it 2-1.
Both teams pichers would then keep opposition bats silent for the next couple of innings. Until in the seventh inning when a Tom Brice groundout scored Scott Gladstone to reestablish the 2 run cusion for the Bite.
At the start of the ninth inning with the Bite up 3-1, Adelaide starter Paul Mildren was taken out of the game and replaced by Wayne Ough. Ough promptly game up a solo home run to Kenny Wilson, the first batter he faced, to make it 3-2, but settled getting the last three outs and give the Bite a 3-2 victory and their second straight.
Adelaide starter Paul Mildren went 8 innings giving up a run on five hits and got the win, whilst for Canberra ,Tristan Crawford went five innings, giving up two earned runs took the loss. Ough got the save.

Finally back to Brisbane where the Bandits hosted the Blue Sox.
Both starters (Yohei Yanagawa for Brisbane and Aiden Francis for Sydney) kept the game scoreless into the sixth inning when in the bottom half of the sixth Wade Dutton scored on left fielder Matt Roxburgh's RBI single to make it 1-0 to the Bandits.
First baseman David Sutherland would double the home sides lead in the seventh inning with a solo shot to centrefield.
That would be all the offense needed as the Bandits won 2-0.
Brisbane pitchers Yanagawa (6 IP), Chris Lamb (0.2 IP), Justin Erasmus (1.1 IP) and closer Chris Mowday (1 IP) combined to surrender only one Blue Sox hit (a Trent D'Antonio single in the fourth).
Yanagawa got the win, Francis the loss and Mowday picked up his second save.
Brisbane now take a 2-1 lead in the series.
The finale is tomorrow.

[brewcrew82]

November 13th

Four games played today, the first game we'll go to is in Adelade where the Bite look to take 3 of 4 from the Canberra Cavalry.
Adelaide got on the board early with a two run second inning but that lead evaporated quickly as the Cavalry tied it up in the top half of the third on Brian Burgamy's two RBI double.
With the game tied at two in the fourth inning the Cavalry got to Adelaide starter Jandy Sena, touching him up for five earned runs in the inning, highlighted by outfielder Kenny Wilson's two run double.
Sena would leave the game after the fourth inning with what was reported as being an injury having given up 7 earned on 10 hits.
Down 7-2 in the bottom half of the fourth Adelaide showed there was still some life left. After a sacrifice fly by Jeremy Cresswell scored third baseman Josh Cakebread, Denny Almonte made the score 7-5 with a two run homerun that scored Chin-lung Hu.
They were unable to score again for the remainder of the game as the visitors scored a run in both the fifth and the ninth to earn a 9-5 win and a split of the series.
Reliever Steve Kent (2-0) got the win while Sena took the loss. Game one winner Mike McGuire got the save, his first for the year.

Meanwhile in Brisbane, the Blue Sox offense continued to sputter against the Bandits.
A second inning David Sutherland home run for the Bandits was all the scoring up until the ninth inning. With only one hit on the board up until that point in the game and facing Brisbane closer Chris Mowday, the Sox managed to tie the game on outfielder Tyler Collins solo shot to right field.
Now with the game tied at 1-1, the Sox brought in Chris Oxspring to force the game into extra innings and salvage a split of the series but this proved unsuccessful. With runners on first and second and two out Bandits third baseman Wade Dutton singled home Brad Dutton for the win and and a commanding 3-1 series win over Sydney.
Bandits starter Steven Chambers went 6 and a third giving up one hit and a walk while striking out five. For the Blue Sox, starter Vaughan Harris went seven innings, giving up one earned on four hits while striking out 8.
Mowday (1-1) got the win and Oxspring (2-1) took the loss.

Finally to Melbourne where the aces hosted the Heat for a double header.
In the first game of the double header Perth got on the board early with three runs in the first inning and behind a complete game by starter Jacob Clem got the win 6-1.
Clem gave up one earned run on six hits, walking none and striking out three Melbourne hitters.
Heat third baseman Alex Burg continued his torrid start to the season with his fourth home run of the season, a two run shot in the third. He is now hitting .375 with 4 home runs and 7 driven in in this, the sixth game of the season.
Melbourne starter Jason Hirsh took the loss, giving up 5 earned in only three innings of work.
Also of note, Perth leadoff man Jamie McOwen stole four bases in the game, twice as many as he had all of last season for the Adelaide Bite.

In the second game the Aces still couldn't get their offense happening, being shut out for the first 8 innings of the game by starter Warwick Saupold, who went 7 innings and Cameron Lamb, who worked a scoreless eighth.
The Heat once again got on the board in the first inning as lead off man Jamie McOwen stole home as a part of a double steal to give the Heat the 1-0 lead after 1.
They doubled the lead in the fifth as Tim Kennelly hit a sac fly to left that scored second baseman Mychal Givens.
They would double that lead yet again with two runs in the eighth and add another run in the ninth to give them a 5-0 lead with only half an inning to play.
The Melbourne offense would show some signs of life in the ninth scoring three runs but with two out and the winning run at the plate DH Justin Huber popped up to end the game and continue the terrible start to the season by Melbourne.
Saupold got the win, Melbourne starter Nic Ungs got the loss.

The Aces have now lost 5 straight and are 1-8 while the Heat are still unbeaten at 7-0.

The next weeks schedule of games will feature Perth visiting Sydney and Brisbane heading south to Melbourne.
Both Adelaide and Canberra are idle.

[brewcrew82]

November 17th

The opening game of the Perth Heat vs Sydney Blue Sox series has been washed out and will be rescheduled as a part of a double header on Sunday.

The other game scheduled tonight was between the Brisbane Bandits and the Melbourne Aces in Melbourne.
It was a tight game with runs proving hard to come by in the early part of the contest. A nil all tie was broken in the bottom half of the fourth as the Aces went up 1-0 on a lead off homerun by Elliot Biddle.
That lead held until the seventh inning when first baseman David Sutherland tied the game with a double that scored Brad Dutton who had doubled to lead off the inning.
The Bandits would then add single runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings to give the visitors a 3-1 lead with only three outs required.
The Aces would once again find some life in the ninth inning as with two on and two out pinch hitter Mitchell Ayres singled to right field to score both Brad Harman and Josh Hendricks to tie the game at 3-all.
Pitcher Cameron Forbes came in in the tenth for the Aces and though he allowed two baserunners did not let in a run and kept the game tied when leading off the inning for the Aces rightfielder Josh Edwards hit a walk off homer over the left field fence to give the Aces a much needed 4-3 win and snapping their 5 game losing streak.
Forbes got the win, Brisbane reliever Simon Morriss (0-3) was the loser.

The series continues tomorrow.

[brewcrew82]

Sorry folks, I got a couple of games behind...it's been busy here at my end. I'll catch up tonight's games in the morning tomorrow and then I'll be up to date.
Also, at the end of each week I will post the standings as well for those who are interested.

As usual, any requests, criticisms or anything feel free to post them either in this thread or by PM. I am willing to change the content based on what people are interested in. Speaking of which, Rinku Singh has yet to appear for the Bite.

[brewcrew82]

How are the attendance in Australia? Are the games packed?

The Thursday night game in Melbourne drew a reported crowd of 382...That's BAD!

[brewcrew82]

November 18th

In tonights action both the Bandits/Aces and the Heat/Blue Sox series continue.

Firstly I will head to Melbourne for the Aces/Bandits matchup.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, Melbourne powered back with a two run homerun by Elliott Biddle, his second in two nights, to take a 2-1 lead after the first frame.
Not to be outdone the Bandits re-took the lead again in the second inning after RBI singles by Taisei Makihara and Matthew Roxburgh. The score would remain 3-2 until the home half of the fourth when DH Hayden Dingle homered to tie the game at 3-3.
While both teams had chances to take the lead the score remained 3 all going into the ninth where in the Brisbane half of the inning, with two out and a runner on first Josh Roberts hit a fly ball to Rightfielder John Edwards who misplayed the ball which allowed Matthew Roxburgh to score all the way from first. This was the Aces fifth error of the game.
Now leading 4-3 Brisbane brought in reliever Andrew Marck who recorded a 1-2-3 inning to preserve the win and earn his first save of the year.
Brisbane reliever Trent Baker got the win, while Blake Cunningham (1-1) took the loss for the Bandits.
This four game series is now tied at one game apiece.

The other game played tonight was in Sydney where the undefeated Heat continued their perfect start to the season with a comfortable 6-2 win over the Sydney Blue Sox.
Behind starter Daniel Schmidt the visitors scored a run in third and fifth innings and then three in the seventh to take a 5-0 lead with two innings to play. In the eighth Schmidt gave up a solo homerun to Boss Moanaroa, the only run he would allow in his eight innings of work. He allowed 9 hits, while walking none and striking out six Blue Sox hitters.
The Heat would get that run back in the ninth when Mitchell Graham scored on a wild pitch by pitcher Josh Wells.
The Sox would make it 6-2 in the ninth but there was to be no late comeback as Perth continue to look the class of the competition again in the early part of the season.
The offensive standout for the Heat was left fielder Brenden Webb who collected two hits and drove in three runs.
Schmidt (2-0) was the winner, Sox starter Craig Anderson gave up five earned 6 1/3 and took the loss.
The series continues Saturday with a double header.

[brewcrew82]

November 19th

Tonight's games were slated to be a double header between Perth and Sydney as well as Brisbane and Melbourne continuing their series but due to some poor weather in Melbourne their game against the Bandits will be cancelled and made up as part of a double header tomorrow.

We head to Sydney where the Heat look to continue their unbeaten start to the season with a double header against the Blue Sox.

They certainly had no trouble notching win number nine in the first game pounding Sydney 16-1 in a game where they notched 24 hits.
Alex Burg continued his hot start to the season going 3-3 with 4 RBI (he was replaced defensively by Aaron Bonomi in the fifth), he is now hitting .353 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI to start the year. It's obvious the American import loves Aussie pitching!
In the game Mitchell Grahan contributed a 3 run homerun, his third of the season.
Perth starter Trevor Caughey (2-0) got the win, giving up one run on four hits in six innings. For the Sox, starter Aiden Francis (0-2) got the loss, giving up seven earned on nine hits in four innings of work.

The second game of the double header was a much tighter contest.
Perth once again got on the board first, this time on a single by Catcher Allen de San Miguel that scored Jamie McOwen in the first inning to give them a 1-0 lead. That lead would stand until the bottom of the fourth when the Sox would tie it up at one-apiece when Pat Maat scored on Michael Lysaught's double off of Perth starter Warwick Saupold.
After the fourth inning Sox starter Wayne Lundgren was replaced by Chris Oxspring. In the fifth, a two out error by second baseman Jacob Younis gifted the Heat a run and a 2-1 lead.
That score would stand until the top of the eighth, with reliever Cameron Lamb in the game to replace Saupold (7 IP, I earned on 2 hits and 2 walks) sloppy defense once again reared its head. With a runner on first, Trent D'Antonio lined out to shortstop Mitch Graham, Graham's throw then went wild allowing the runner on first (Younis) to advance to third. Younis would then score on a sac fly by Tyler Collins.
Neither team could break the deadlock in the ninth so with the score tied at 2, the game went into extras.
In the top of the tenth Tim Kennelly reached on an error with one out and after consecutive singles by Burg and de San Miguel came in to score the go ahead run. An error by shortstop Michael Lysaught on a stolen base attempt gave the Heat another run and the third run and final run of the inning was scored on a Mitch Graham single to centre.
With the Heat leading 5-2 in the bottom of the tenth, the Sox managed to convert a Moko Moanaroa lead off walk into a run but that was all they could muster and ended up losing 5-3.
Cameron Lamb (2-0) got the win and Benn Grice (3) got the save for the visitors while Dae-Sung Koo (0-1), who pitched the ninth and tenth innings, took the loss for the Blue Sox.

The series finale is tomorrow.