The Brisbane Bandits swept the Sydney Blue Sox in four games to move into first place in the Australian Baseball League on the post-Christmas game day. Previous leader Canberra Cavalry split a four-game set against the Adelaide Bite. The Perth Heat and the Melbourne Aces also shared wins.
The European players in the ABL had mixed results. Germany’s Donald Lutz went 2-for-7 with two RBI for Brisbane, but he didn’t play in the last two games of the series. He therefore also missed out on a duel against his national teammate Jan-Niclas Stoecklin, who issued two hits, five runs and four walks in 3 1/3 innings on Tuesday resulting in a no-decision.
Dutch reliever Loek van Mil picked up the win on Sunday and then took the loss on Monday against Canberra. He pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, a run and no walks overall, while striking out five.
Standings:
| Club | W | L | PCT▼ | GB | Home | Away | L 10 | Streak | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Bandits | 24 | 16 | .600 | – | 16-4 | 8-12 | 8-2 | W4 | |
| Canberra Cavalry | 23 | 17 | .575 | 1.0 | 13-7 | 10-10 | 4-6 | L1 | |
| Adelaide Bite | 20 | 19 | .513 | 3.5 | 13-7 | 7-12 | 6-4 | W1 | |
| Sydney Blue Sox | 19 | 20 | .487 | 4.5 | 13-6 | 6-14 | 5-5 | L4 | |
| Perth Heat | 18 | 22 | .450 | 6.0 | 9-11 | 9-11 | 3-7 | W2 | |
| Melbourne Aces | 15 | 25 | .375 | 9.0 | 8-12 | 7-13 | 4-6 | L2 |