By Australian Baseball League
SYDNEY, 11 May – The Australian Baseball League will expand its schedule to a 56-game regular season in 2015/16, highlighting the continuous growth and expansion of the league.
Boasting a total of 168 contests over 14 rounds, each team will play seven four-game home series, with bye weeks eliminated to accommodate the expanded schedule.
The additional games represent a 20 percent increase over last season, which General Manager Ben Foster considers a testament to the league’s fan-first mentality.
“The new schedule, which was designed to maximise home games during summer school holidays, gives fans more chances to see their teams in action,” Foster said.
“New membership and ticketing packages league-wide also make it easier for anyone to get out to a game.”
The new season launches on Friday, 23 October, with reigning Claxton Shield champion the Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat to host the SA Power Networks Adelaide Bite in an October rematch of the 2015 ABL Championship Series. The 2015 championship victory was historic for the Heat; Western Australia and South Australia are now tied second place on the all-time Claxton Shield titles list with 15 each, seven behind first-place Victoria (22 titles). That same night, the Canberra Elite Cavalry host the Brisbane Bandits, proudly presented by Welldog, at The Fort at Narrabundah Ballpark while the Jet Couriers Melbourne Aces open the new season at home against the Sydney Blue Sox.
Rivalries abound in the early rounds as well, with the Hume Highway Cup between Sydney and Canberra starting in Round 3 at The Fort. Also in Round 3, Adelaide hosts Melbourne as the two teams renew an intense and long-standing rivalry between South Australia and Victoria.
The holiday season brings an abundance of cheer and baseball, with Round 10 starting on Boxing Day and running until 29 December. Two days later, Round 11 action begins with three ballgames on New Year’s Eve and runs until 3 January, meaning fans can ring in the New Year with family and friends at a ballgame.
The playoff formats remain the same with the Preliminary Final Series falling at the end of January and the Championship Series following shortly thereafter in the first week of February. Announcements regarding game times, along with the official date and location of the 2015 ABL All-Star Game, will come in the following months.