CONGRATULATIONS 
VICTORIAN ACES
2010 CLAXTON SHIELD CHAMPIONS!

GRAND FINAL SERIES  Game 2  Sat 6 FEB 2010

VICTORIA TAKES 22ND SHIELD 7-4 OVER SA!

It was warm and slightly balmy for the second game of the Claxton Shield 2010 Championship series, much more pleasant for spectators who had thawed out since the previous evening. Another similar sized crowd of around 1,000 was on hand for what proved to be another extremely keen contest. Once again the management of both teams demonstrated their unwillingness to give an inch by their pitching selections. Neither team had a lot left in the bullpen cupboard when this game concluded. If there had been a Game Three it could have been a last man standing affair.

SA’s Canadian titan Ryan Murphy was an expected choice to start this must win game after his demolition of NSW in the semi-final decider and, although he was nowhere near as dominant at La Trobe in this game, he produced another quality start. Only two earned runs were scored from his six innings and he was slated to be the game winner with his team leading 4-3 when he departed.

Semi-final Game Two starter, Texan Richard Bartlett, took over but he was unable to preserve the lead as the Victorian offence tied the game in the eighth and then grabbed it from him in the ninth. Three singles, separated by a fielder’s choice in the ninth, saw him saddled with three more runs when closer Hayden Beard cashed in the final two left on base by Bartlett. It was an unworthy end for a gallant South Aussie campaign this summer.

Productive Paul Weichard again showed his liking for the big stage with the first two RBIs for Victoria, one via a bases loaded walk in the third and the second by a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Backup catcher Tristan McDonald registered the other RBI from Murphy with his sac fly in the sixth. Scotty Wearne tied the game for the Aces with his RBI double in the eighth and I’m now going to leave the title clinching ninth inning until later.

Left-handed professional specialist reliever Adam Bright has been making an impressive fist of starting for Victoria since Christmas and, although he allowed a run in the fourth, his four inning start for Victoria was a vital performance for his team once again. He struck out five before Mathew Smith nailed him for a two out RBI in his final frame.

Hard-throwing Shane Lindsay, not for the first time, lost his bearings and it’s not often that you can survive a pair of walks to start an inning. In this case he suffered the ultimate punishment when ‘Mighty Mike’ Collins slammed a three run jack over right centrefield to snatch a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Even though Lindsay steadied for three up and three down in the sixth, it looked like it might have been a little too late when former pro Ross Hipke took over for a couple of superb 1-2-3 innings.

Hipke was outstanding to earn a richly deserved win, as was the redoubtable Russell ‘Savior’ Spear who survived a leadoff double from Ryan Murphy in the ninth to add his second save from as many games in this Championship series. These two Essendon hurlers would have made club mate Shane Lindsay a much happier camper by the end of the game!

We mentioned Collins’ home run and Mathew Smith’s RBI that supplied all the scoring for South Australia, but it was the hot bat of Jeremy Cresswell that garnered two hits to precede his walk in the fifth. ‘Bashing Ben’ Wigmore came through in the heat of battle with a double and a walk, while Scott Gladstone and Ryan Murphy both added doubles to their prolific post season offensive efforts.

So we return to the bottom of the eighth, just after the Victorians had tied the game in the away half of the inning. Young gun James Beresford, the Minnesota Twins prospect and AROOS star, completed a stunning defensive play to polish of the inning and his confidence may have carried over into the ninth. After stars Russell and Weichard singled to set the table, Beresford stepped up with one out to rake a clutch RBI single into right field. It reminded some of us of his similar heroics for Australia with his go-ahead RBI in that agonising loss to Cuba during the 2009 World Baseball Classic. This time the end result was much more fitting for Beresford and his team. Next ‘Mashing Matt’ Lawman put the icing on a prodigious batting summer with his two RBI single that added some welcome padding to the Aces’ lead.

Aside from those mentioned who drove in the runs, it was regular “Money Men” Andrew Russell, Brett Tamburrino, Elliot Biddle and Paul Weichard who often set the table. Tamburrino slapped three singles, 'Rusty' Russell was plonked by a pitch before hitting twice, Weichard hit plus walked twice and Biddle singled plus walked.

When veteran closer Russell Spear secured the last out it was a delighted swarm of Victorian players who piled upon him for the traditional Championship stockpile on the diamond. The home-standing Victorians had completed a memorable 2-0 Claxton Shield victory for their 22^nd Australian National Championship, including the four ABL Championships won by Victorian teams.

The Victorians had endured quite a bit of adversity throughout this competition, especially in the form of quality pitchers who were unavailable for one reason or another. Apart from many superb performances, the primary reasons for their success were strong management and the team chemistry that enabled them to rise above some adverse situations. The Victorian Aces finished the preliminary games as clear ladder leaders and they deserved their ultimate success at the end of Claxton Shield 2010.

The South Australian team have nothing to feel negative about having climbed out of the dungeon after 2009 to reach the Championship series in 2010. Along the way they have re-established the presence of baseball at Norwood in Adelaide and, in many ways, they enter the looming new ABL era with a lot more pieces of their jig-saw in place than some other states. They should feel pretty good about themselves when the temporary pain of this narrow defeat subsides!

WELL DONE VICTORIAN ACES - 2010 CLAXTON SHIELD CHAMPIONS!

Our standard recognition for umpires: Brett ROBSON, Paul HYHAM, Mark GOODING, and David MILTON.
 

GRAND FINAL SERIES  Game 1  Fri 5 FEB 2010

VICTORIA WINS FINAL OPENER 5-3 v SOUTH AUST!

It had been raining for most of the previous 24 hours in Melbourne and a cold front had rolled in following a spell of very hot weather. The rain had pretty much cleared by the time that hardy baseball fans arrived for this eagerly awaited opening of the 2010 Claxton Shield Grand Final with the Victorian Aces hosting the South Australian team. The conditions were chilly with overcast skies and a cold blustery wind blowing in from the south west.

I make no apologies for having described this La Trobe University venue variously as desolate, barren and a baseball outpost… because that is what it is. However, having said that, I must give some credit to Baseball Victoria and our ABL management for doing their very best to make an unwelcoming venue into something reasonably suitable for a baseball event of this stature. Some rather neat temporary grandstands did supply a modicum of cover and comfort. To some extent they had managed to make the proverbial silk purse from the sow’s ear.

A decent crowd of around 1,000 gathered and any discomfort caused by the lack of warmth was soon forgotten as a keenly contested and most enthralling baseball game set into motion. A very enthusiastic band of travelling SA supporters didn’t have much trouble making more noise than the larger but more conservative Victorian crowd. It was a pretty good backdrop to this Game One of the series, but it does not gloss over the fact that Melbourne will need a MUCH better location for the future of the Australian Baseball League… enough of the political comment, time to focus on this game!

The high stakes of this opening contest was evident in the pitching setup that clearly indicated a mind-set from both teams that they were going after every inning and every game with everything they had. There was nothing to be left on the table when this series was over! Former Red Sox pro and current Dutch League star Adam Blackley has been the ace of the Aces bullpen since Christmas, while recent ‘AAA’ pro Paul Mildren has been the key No.1 starter for the South Aussies. Both men had pitched well in their recent series in Adelaide, but Mildren was virtually untouchable in front of his home fans… it would not be quite so uplifting for him on this occasion away from Norwood.

Adam Blackley wobbled a fraction in the first inning when the gusty wind and a tight strike zone seemed to affect his radar. An error, a pair of uncharacteristic walks and a wild pitch cost him two unearned runs and this might have shaken the resolve of a lesser competitor. It was a vital thing for Victoria that Blackley had the composure to settle and, although his stint was a relatively brief 3.1 innings, he had put the V-Train back on the rails. He struck out the side in the second before finishing with seven punch outs and only one earned run recorded against him.

As we said, there was no rope available for any pitcher in this series and, after Scott Gladstone’s RBI double put SA back in front in the top of the fourth, it was time for Victoria’s manager Phil Dale to summon his go-to-guy Matt Blackmore, the man with a 6-1, 1.95ERA record from the preliminary games. Once again Blackmore was a tower of strength for the Aces with five superb scoreless innings that secured him another win while taking the ball into the ninth inning for his team. The save was entrusted to evergreen Russell Spear who, redundant to mention, didn’t let his team down. Suffice to say that all three Aces' pitchers were vital to the Victorian team cause and their 1-0 series lead after Game One.

Paul Mildren owned a mighty 5-1, 2.96ERA from the preliminary games but, although he tried hard to battle through, he was unable to lock down Victoria’s offence this time. Former major leaguer Brad Harman tugged one over the left field corner for a leadoff home run bomb in the second inning to narrow the gap to 2-1, then reliable Andrew Russell tied the game at 2-2 with a RBI double in the third. The wheels became really unstable for Mildren in the fourth when two hits, two walks, an error and hit batter saw three game-winning runs scored by the Victorians.

Having gone the same distance as Blackley, Mildren was lifted for side-winder Chris Lawson, who took over with one out in the fourth. Lawson has had a varied career at national level but he was excellent on this day with eight straight outs to keep South Australia within reach of a comeback. He gave way to former Golden Arm pro Dushan Ruzic who also blanked the final two frames in spite of a Harman walk and an error in the eighth. Lawson and Ruzic were terrific even though their team was unable to rally this time.

It’s a little hard to separate the value of Victoria’s top three offensive stars from this game. You can make you own choice between Elliot Biddle who continues to be a key performer for the Aces with his 2-4 that included a RBI, hard-hitting Andrew Russell with two RBIs produced by a double and a hit by pitch or Bradley Harman who homered and walked. Ever valuable Scotty Wearne walked and supplied the other Victorian run batted in via a ground ball that induced an error.

It is not unfair to say that Scott Gladstone and Jeremy Cresswell haven’t been noted as heavy hitters during their careers to date, yet both have been running hot with the stick for South Australia at the business end of this competition. Both Gladstone and Cresswell enjoyed two-hit games, while Gladstone’s RBI double was the big hit of the game for SA. For the umpteenth time in recent years Ben Wigmore was kept at bay by limiting his at bats with a walk and, for the NINTH time this summer, he was hit by a pitch… you might need to bat in a suit of armour ‘Wiggy’! Ryan Murphy walked to push across a run for SA’s other “ribbie”.

As we said, it was a most entertaining contest for the true baseball lover as the balance of power shifted through the first four innings and the last half was dominated by mighty pitching and defence. One low catch on a line drive up the middle taken by Victorian second baseman Brad Harman was a stunner! In the end the hosting Victorian Aces grasped a very handy 1-0 lead in the best-of three series, yet they won’t feel that they have any great advantage over the South Aussies who fought back from a 0-1 deficit in their semi-final. There is still EVERYTHING to play for… bring on Game Two!

Our standard recognition for umpires:
Paul HYHAM, Brett ROBSON, Stewart HOWE, Greg HOWARD, David MILTON and Mark GOODING.