Playoffs almost set in the Australian Baseball League

With one week to go in the regular season the playoffs in the Australian Baseball League are almost set. The Brisbane Bandits won three of four against the Melbourne Aces and maintained their three-game lead in the standings. They nearly have clinched a bye in round one of the playoffs and home field advantage in the semi-finals. The Canberra Cavalry also have already secured a spot in the playoffs thanks to winning three of four against the Sydney Blue Sox. Sydney meanwhile is trailing the Adelaide Bite by three games in the standings, which look to be the third and last team in the playoffs.

The European players in the ABL saw mixed results this weekend. Loek van Mil was nearly flawless in his weekly appearance for the Adelaide Bite. The Dutch reliever closed out their victory against the Perth Heat on Friday by throwing two scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk, while striking out three. He is now 3-2 with four saves and an ERA of 3.38 in 11 games. He has struck out 15 and walked five in 13 1/3 innings. Germany’s Donald Lutz went 2-for-14 with a solo home run for the Brisbane Bandits. He is now batting .270/.337/.517 in 23 games. His national teammate Jan-Niclas Stoecklin allowed eight hits, three runs and three walks in five innings to take the loss for the Sydney Blue Sox against the Canberra Cavalry on Sunday. He is now 4-4 with an ERA of 4.89.

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