One day after the official opener was rained out the Australian Baseball League went underway with three games on Friday. The Canberra Cavalry followed the lead of pitchers Mike McGuire, Brian Grening and Chris Morgan to three-hit the Brisbane Bandits in a 6-0 shutout. Kody Hightower (0-3, 2 SO), who has played in Germany and Switzerland, batted ninth and played third base for Canberra.
The Sydney Blue Sox edged out the Melbourne Aces 3-2 thanks to a sac fly by Tyler Collins in the bottom of the ninth inning. Melbourne had tied the contest with a two-run double by Hayden Dingle in the seventh. Craig Anderson (played for DOOR Neptunus in 2011) pitched 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball for Sydney.
In the evening matchup Perth Heat beat the Adelaide Bite 6-1. Four runs in the eighth blew things open. Perth had broken a 1-1 tie with a RBI single by Alex Burg in the seventh. Dushan Ruzic (DOOR Neptunus/2011: Telemarket Rimini) took the loss, issuing five hits, two runs and six walks in seven innings. Mitchell Graham had two hits and two RBI for the Heat.
Results:
Friday, November 4:
Canberra – Brisbane 6-0
Sydney – Melbourne 3-2
Perth – Adelaide 6-1
