The regular season in the Australian Baseball League ended this past weekend. Since Thursday the playoffs had been set with the Brisbane Bandits directly advancing to the championship series as regular season winner and the Canberra Cavalry and Adelaide Bite squaring off in the semi-finals.
The Brisbane Bandits finished the preliminary phase on a high note thanks to a four-game sweep over the Perth Heat. In a preview of next week’s semi-finals, the Adelaide Bite won three of four against the Canberra Cavalry. In the rain-fill third matchup of the weekend the Sydney Blue Sox won two of three against the Melbourne Aces.
Germany’s Jan-Niclas Stoecklin (Sydney) didn’t see game action on the last weekend, as he probable start on Sunday got cancelled. He finished his first season in the ABL with a 4-4 record and an ERA of 4.89 in 12 starts. He struck out 39 and walked 43 in 57 innings.
His national teammate Donald Lutz (Brisbane) went 4-for-14 with his fifth home run and five RBI. He is now batting .272/.348/.524 with 26 RBI in 27 games.
Dutch reliever Loek van Mil (Adelaide) pitched twice on the weekend, allowing one hit and a walk in two scoreless innings. He captured his fifth save and lowered his ERA to 2.93 in 13 games. He has struck out 19 and walked six in 15 1/3 innings.
Regular Season Standings:
| Club | W | L | PCT▼ | GB | Home | Away | L 10 | Streak | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Bandits | 37 | 19 | .661 | – | 23-5 | 14-14 | 9-1 | W4 | |
| Canberra Cavalry | 31 | 25 | .554 | 6.0 | 18-10 | 13-15 | 5-5 | L1 | |
| Adelaide Bite | 30 | 26 | .536 | 7.0 | 18-10 | 12-16 | 7-3 | W1 | |
| Sydney Blue Sox | 26 | 29 | .473 | 10.5 | 18-9 | 8-20 | 3-7 | W2 | |
| Perth Heat | 23 | 33 | .411 | 14.0 | 12-16 | 11-17 | 2-8 | L4 | |
| Melbourne Aces | 20 | 35 | .364 | 16.5 | 10-18 | 10-17 | 3-7 | L2 |