(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Brisbane and Loek van Mil open Australian Championship Series with win
Nederlands
 THORNLIE, Perth, Western Australia (Australia) -
Defending champion Brisbane Bandits opened the best-of-three Australian Baseball League Championship Series against Perth Heat on Thursday (January 31) with a 3-2 win.
The Series continues on Saturday.
At Perth Harley-Davidson Ballpark in Thornlie, Brisbane opened the score with two runs in the top of the second inning.
Perth came alongside by scoring in the third and fourth at bat, but Brisbane then scored what would be the winning run in the seventh inning.
In the second inning, Logan Wade led off for Brisbane with a double off of starter John Anderson.
With two outs, he scored on a double by Wynton Bernard, who then scored himself when next batter Danny De La Calle reached on an error.
Perth, which had left runners behind on first and second base in the first inning, cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the third inning off of starter Ryan Bollinger.
Tim Kennelly and Pete Kozma led off with singles, then the bases got loaded when Tristan Gray walked.
Next batter Robbie Glendinning then struckout, but the third strike was a wild pitch.
As first base was occupied, Glendinning was out, but the wild pitch enabled Kennelly to score.
The two other runners were left behind.
Perth came alongside in the fourth inning.
This time, Chris Clare led off with a single.
With one out, he moved to second base when a pick-off ended in a throwing error.
With two outs, Clare scored the tying run on a single by Tim Kennelly.
In the remainder of the game, Perth got only one more baserunner.
Brisbane, which was retired in order in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth inning by John Anderson, then broke the tie in the top of the seventh.
With one out, Logan Wade doubled and scored on a 2-out single by Wade Dutton, which marked the end for Anderson.
With a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Loek van Mil took over the pitching for Brisbane-starter Ryan Bollinger, who had retired the side in the previous two innings.
Van Mil also retired the side in the seventh.
With one out in the eighth, the righthander gave up a double to Robbie Glendinning.
Moments later, he was eliminated in a double play after next batter Carl Chester flied out.
In the ninth, Ryan Searle relieved Van Mil, who was credited with a hold.
Searle also retired the side to end the game and earn a save.
(January 31)
Related Articles:
 Van Mil (Brisbane) in Australian Final; Kemp (Sydney) eliminated. (January 27)
Canberra and Perth force 3rd game in Australian Play-Offs. (January 26)
Kemp & Van Mil win Australian Play-Off openers. (January 25)
Canberra wins Australian Wild Card; Kemp leads in basehits. (January 23)
Loek van Mil returns to mound in Australia for Brisbane. (January 20)
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