The Brisbane Bandits have extended their lead in the Australian Baseball League. They won three of four against the Sydney Blue Sox this past weekend and now sport a three-game advantage over the Canberra Cavalry in the standings. The Adelaide Bite already face a six-game deficit.
Brisbane’s series win featured the first German duel in the ABL, as Donald Lutz (Brisbane) squared off against Jan Niclas Stoecklin (Sydney) on Sunday. Lutz won the duel, as he homered and doubled off the right-hander as he reached base four times total, while scoring three runs and driving in three. He collected six hits in the series overall and raised his batting line to .293/338/.547 in 19 games. Stoecklin went 5 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits, five runs and five walks for his third loss of the season. He is now 4-3 with an ERA of 4.85.
Meanwhile Loek van Mil earned his third save since going to Down Under. Against the Melbourne Aces he pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to close out Adelaide Bite’s win. He lowered his ERA to 3.97 in 10 games.
Standings:
| Club | W | L | PCT▼ | GB | Home | Away | L 10 | Streak | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Bandits | 30 | 18 | .625 | – | 19-5 | 11-13 | 8-2 | W3 | |
| Canberra Cavalry | 27 | 21 | .563 | 3.0 | 15-9 | 12-12 | 5-5 | W1 | |
| Adelaide Bite | 24 | 24 | .500 | 6.0 | 15-9 | 9-15 | 5-5 | L1 | |
| Sydney Blue Sox | 23 | 25 | .479 | 7.0 | 16-8 | 7-17 | 4-6 | L3 | |
| Perth Heat | 22 | 26 | .458 | 8.0 | 11-13 | 11-13 | 6-4 | L1 | |
| Melbourne Aces | 18 | 30 | .375 | 12.0 | 9-15 | 9-15 | 3-7 | W1 |