Four games were on the schedule in the Australian Baseball League on Saturday. The Adelaide Bite and the Brisbane Bandits split a doubleheader. Adelaide scored four runs in the first two innings against Alex Maestri en route to a 7-1 win over Brisbane in game one. The Italian right-hander settled in after that and issued four hits, four runs and four walks in five innings overall. However his teammates couldn’t recover from the early deficit, thanks to the efforts of Darren Fidge, who went the distance in a six-hitter.
In game two Brisbane won a nail-biter 4-3. Ryan Battaglia hit a solo homerun and scored twice. Daniel Lamb-Hunt, who is going to play for the Bonn Capitals in 2012, also went deep for his first long ball of the season. Ryan Searle (W, 3-1) struck out nine batters in seven strong innings for the win. Reed Brown (L, 1-3) took the loss.
The Melbourne Aces blew a 9-4 lead in the last three innings of regulation, but still celebrated when Elliot Biddle hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the tenth innings for a 10-9 victory over the Canberra Cavalry. Brian Burgamy went deep twice, scored three times and drove in five for the Cavalry to spark the guests offense. Dominic Ramos and Justin Huber drove in three apiece for Melbourne.
The Perth Heat concluded the day with a 3-0 shutout over the Sydney Blue Sox. The pitching of Warwick Saupold (W, 5-3), Tyler Anderson and Benn Grice kept Sydney to five hits and a walk in nine innings. Saupold struck out nine in 6 2/3 strong frames. Aidan Francis (L, 4-4) tried his best, but had to take the loss after seven solid innings.
Results:
Wednesday, January 18:
Melbourne – Canberra 7-16
Perth – Sydney 4-3
Thursday, January 19:
Melbourne – Canberra 11-4
Perth – Sydney 2-4
Adelaide – Brisbane 5-3
Friday, January 20:
Melbourne – Canberra 2-5
Adelaide – Brisbane 4-9
Perth – Sydney 4-3 (15)
Saturday, January 21:
Melbourne – Canberra 10-9 (10)
Adelaide – Brisbane 7-1
Adelaide – Brisbane 3-4
Perth – Sydney 3-0
