Game Two - Brisbane vs. Adelaide
In the first two innings, Adelaide stranded a runner in scoring position.
In the third, they left runners on second and third base.
Brisbane had runners on first and second base in the first at bat, then was retired in order in the second by starting pitcher Steven Chambers.
But the home team then opened the score in the bottom of the third inning and that formed the the base for today's victory and in the end the championship.
Riley Unroe (with one out) and Justin Williams (with two outs) singled, then Donald Lutz followed with a 3-run homerun.
After the game, Lutz, who celebrated his 27th birthday today, was named Most Valuable Player of the Championship Series.
From there, Brisbane dominated and added more runs.
After Adelaide was retired in order in the top of the fourth, Brisbane scored again in its fourth.
David Sutherland led off with a single, moved on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error with two outs.
Brisbane made it 5-0 in the fifth inning.
This time, Logan Wade led off with a double.
Hereafter, Steven Chambers was relieved by Nick Talbot, who then saw Wade score when Justin Williams reached on a throwing error.
Adelaide then scored its lone run in the game in the top of the sixth inning when Kyle Petty led off with a homerun off of starter Travis Blackley.
...Adam Blackley, the brother of winning pitcher Travis,...
...played in the Dutch big league for Amsterdam Pirates...
...Here, he pitches during the European Cup Final Four...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
The 33-year old Blackley pitched six strong innings for Brisbane, striking out six batters and giving up six hits.
The lefthander plays professionally since 2001.
Since then, he has traveled around the world and played for a lot of different teams.
Besides playing in Australia and the USA, Blackley also played in other countries.
He pitched in Mexico and for big league-teams Kia Tigers (Korea) and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Japan).
Blackley played for the Golden Eagles in the same season as Loek van Mil (2014).
Both didn't pitch much for the Japanese squad.
Blackley appeared in only three games, Van Mil in seven.
The lefthander also pitched in 82 Major League-games, playing for five different teams.
He pitched for Seattle Mariners (2004) and San Francisco Giants (2007), then made his comeback in the big league with the Giants in 2012.
Blackley also pitched for Oakland A's (2012), Houston Astros (2013) and Texas Rangers (2013).
He also played in minor league-teams for all these clubs, but also for Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets and Miami Marlins.
Last year, Blackley played in the Triple-A team of the Marlins, but currently is a Free Agent.
His younger brother Adam Blackley, also a lefthanded pitcher, played in the Dutch big league in 2009 for Amsterdam Pirates and in that year, he also pitched for the Australian National Team during the World Championship.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Loek van Mil took the mound for Adelaide, but gave up two additional runs.
With one out, he gave up a single to Ryan Battaglia and Andrew Campbell, which put runners on the corners.
Moments later, Battaglia scored on a wild pitch, then Campbell scored on a 2-out single by Logan Wade that lifted the lead to 7-1.
In the remainder of the game, Adelaide got only one more baserunner off of two relievers.
In the seventh, Matt Timms retired the side and issued a walk in the eighth to Stefan Welch, who was left behind on first base.
In the ninth, closer Ryan Searle also retired the side to end the game and the season.
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Brisbane wins Australian title; Van Mil's season 'down-under' ends
NEWMARKET, Brisbane, Queensland (Australia) -
Brisbane Bandits is the new champion of the Australian Baseball League.
On Saturday-evening (Februray 6), the Bandits won 7-1 vs. Adelaide Bite to complete a sweep and win the best-of-three Championship Series.
With that, Brisbane won the Claxton Shield, the trophy that is handed out to the annual Australian champion since 1934.
It marks the first time that Brisbane wins the championship in the 6-year history of the professional ABL.
With this, the Australian season ended.
That meant that the first season 'down-under' for Dutch professional pitcher Loek van Mil also has ended.
The tall righthander played for Adelaide since early December.
Van Mil now travel to the USA where he soon will start Spring Training to prepare for the upcoming season in the States.
In September last year, Van Mil made his comeback in professional baseball in the USA, pitching in three games for the Triple-A team of the Minnesota Twins.