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Anyone a baseball fan?
The ABL has been ressurected and the Brisbane Bandits are in their second season back at the RNA Showgrounds.
I'm really enjoying it, only one home series left for the Bandits.
Just watched my taped copy of the ABL All Stars game played a week or two ago. Australia's best vs best from the World. The World won.
I like doing something very different to Rugby League in the off season, really recharges the batteries and makes me hungry for it.
Brisbane vying for a playoff spot
Though the Brisbane Bandits couldn't capitalize on their opportunity to take sole possession of fourth place in the Australian Baseball League standings on Sunday, they are still very much in the hunt for playoffs.
Against the Canberra Cavalry over the weekend, Brisbane grabbed three victories in the five-game set, moving them out of last place and into a three-way tie for fourth with the Cavalry and the Melbourne Aces. Paul Gonzalez, General Manager of the Bandits, believes the team looks good coming out of the series against Canberra, but still has obstacles to overcome in order to get past the regular season.
"With a great effort against the Cavalry, the Bandits look strong going up against the always tough Perth Heat," Gonzalez said. "This will be a great test leading into the business end of the season."
Facing the first-place Heat (23-7) on home soil will be a challenge for Brisbane, but certainly not one they aren't prepared for. Though Perth took three of four the last time they faced the Bandits (12-18), the hometown team came out swinging in the final game, scoring 18 runs with contributions from every hitter in the lineup.
Brisbane will be looking to their starting rotation to continue the success they had against Canberra (12-18) when they head across the country to face their next opponents. The ace of the squad, Alex Maestri, earned Player of the Week honours in Round 8 action, with a two-hit complete game on Thursday, just the third complete game in the ABL this season. The Italian right-hander is tied for second in the league with 44 2/3 innings pitched and ranks third with 40 strikeouts.
Justin Staatz made his Bandits debut on Saturday and was a runner-up for the weekly award that his Italian counterpart took home. The American righty threw eight shutout frames of his own, allowing only three hits and striking out four in a no-decision. Staatz was extremely effective in his inaugural Bandits game, using only 82 pitches to get through his eight innings of work and allowing only one runner past first base.
In the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday, Ryan Searle made his second start of the season for Brisbane. Though he is still searching for his first win, the right-hander went six innings, allowing only two runs (one earned) on two hits and struck out four.
Chris Mowday made a successful transition from the back of the bullpen to the starting rotation on Friday, going five innings in his first start of the season. Mowday allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, but kept his team in the game the entire time he was on the mound.
Offensively the team will look to the heart of the lineup in their playoff run, continuing on the success they found in the series against the Cavalry. Brad Dutton, the team's leader in batting average and runs scored, went 7-for-21 over the weekend with two home runs, three RBI and two walks. David Sutherland was 6-for-16 with five walks and four runs scored against Canberra.
Josh Roberts, who leads the Bandits with 11 doubles, 60 total bases, 20 RBI, a .484 slugging percentage, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .812, batted .412 (7-for-17) in the final four games against Canberra with two doubles and three runs scored.
It appears that Rory Rhodes has also found his swing once again after battling back from a back injury early in the season. Against the Cavalry he hit .333 (6-for-18) with two home runs, two doubles, two walks and six RBI.
Though the roster in Brisbane has changed significantly with the departure of the Japanese imports, the team won as many games just over the five-game series on the weekend as it had in its previous 16. The Bandits will be looking to build on their most recent victories and solidify a playoff berth as soon as possible.
As the Bandits take on the 'Alcohol Think Again' Perth Heat in Round 9 of ABL action, Adelaide (15-15) will face the Jet Couriers Melbourne Aces (12-18) and the 'Uberglobal' Cavalry will host the Blue Sox (16-14).
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