SEMI-FINAL SERIES  Game 3  Sun 31 JAN 2010

SA INTO FINAL AFTER MURPHY BEATS NSW 1-0!

The South Australian team won just one of sixteen games throughout Claxton Shield 2009 yet here they stand today as semi-final winners and ready to contest the 2010 Claxton Shield Grand Final in Melbourne next weekend. While it is never quite so simple as to explain a circumstance like this by pointing just one factor, the inclusion of import players has definitely made a significant difference for the ‘Croweaters’ this summer. ‘Flintoff & Dunn’ are not passing judgement on this decision, simply stating the facts.

American pitcher Richard Bartlett produced a quality start in Game Two of this series to help SA win a close game, but his impact has now been paled by the incredible, match-winning performance of Canadian import Ryan Murphy in this deciding game. If we simply told you that Murphy’s solo home run over the short porch in right field produced the only run of the game, he would have already qualified for hero status. If you tack-on the fact that he threw a complete game, two-hit, shutout victory as a pitcher, then his efforts here must be enshrined forever in Claxton Shield folklore!

Oh yes, the 195cm giant from Edmonton has played Independent League baseball in Canada while more recently he has been a dominant pitcher in the Dutch Baseball League. During 2009 he boasted the lowest earned run average in the Dutch League with a miniscule 0.89ERA from 110.2 innings, including 104 punch outs… not too shabby! During the preliminary rounds he has played almost exclusively as a hitter in our Claxton Shield, mostly at first base, with just one cameo appearance on the hill.

It might be stinging the New South Welshman today that Murphy emerged to put them to the sword on such an important occasion. Trent D’Antonio milked a two out walk in the first inning, Michael Lysaught rifled a one out double in the sixth and Mitch Dening singled in the seventh… that, folks, is the full extent of the Patriots’ offence mounted against Murphy in this game. Outside of this he struck out eight and, aside from a dropped fly ball in the fifth, he cruised through six 1-2-3 innings of supreme domination.

Baseball is a game that often hinges on one key moment and maybe this moment arrived in the top of the third inning, immediately after Ryan Murphy had staked SA to a 1-0 lead with his big fly in the previous inning. Michael Lysaught, who has been a star for New South this summer, lifted one to deep right field with two out, only to see the tying run snatched from his statistics by Dan Wilson’s dramatic “over the fence” catch. It kept a magnificent clean sheet for Murphy but we will never know what effect this may have had if the scores had been tied at that stage… it does change things!

Murphy was matched against another seasoned professional in NSW lefty ace Craig Anderson who, perhaps unfortunately, hasn’t quite pitched enough to reach full throttle in this competition. Anderson was nowhere near as sharp as he can be, but he battled hard to keep the scoreboard empty until, yes him, Ryan Murphy latched onto one for his game winning long ball in the bottom of the second. Young Jarrett Commane took over after four innings to keep the home team quiet into the sixth frame when he handed the ball to another Canadian Lee Ingram. Ingram was very penetrating through two and two-third innings at the end of a tight game although his offensive team mates couldn’t muster anything much against, him again, Ryan Murphy.

The quality bat of Stefan Welch has enjoyed the playoff series with another standout 3-4 to take the cake from Jeremy Cresswell who continued his good recent form with another two hits. Both Welch and Cresswell featured doubles to overshadow ‘Mighty Michael’ Collins who singled and walked twice.

South Australian fans will now look forward to a shortish trip east to Melbourne for the Grand Final series against the Victorian Aces. Unfortunately, I can’t offer them much encouragement to attend Melbourne’s barren baseball outpost at LaTrobe University, however, we can just about guarantee that the quality of the baseball will be MUCH better than the venue!

As we often say on these occasions, in a series like this it is sad that there has to be a loser. Two 1-0 games and one decided 3-2 is a clear indication of a tremendous contest. New South Wales baseball devotees should be fairly proud about another worthy playoff appearance. If you don’t want to hear his name again then look away now… they just couldn’t get past the massive presence of RYAN MURPHY… PHEW!

Our standard recognition for umpires Brett ROBSON, Mal MACKAY, Neil POULTON and Blake HALLIGAN.
 

SEMI-FINAL SERIES  Game 2  Sat 30 JAN 2010

SOUTH AUST LEVELS SEMI WITH 3-2 WIN v NSW!

Playoff baseball… don’t you just love it? On the back of a 1-0 epic in Game One of this semi-final series South Australia turned the tables 3-2 over New South Wales in another pitching dominated contest of high tension and drama. Patriots’ starter Wayne Lundgren almost matched the heroics of their Game One starter Tim Cox, yet he found himself copping a very hard-luck loss. Baseball can be like that!

Seasoned Texan Richard Bartlett drew upon all of his poise and experience to counter the start of Lundgren and he managed to limit the damage to just one run while tip-toeing around seven hits across his quality seven inning start. Like many mature starters Bartlett appeared to be getting stronger as the game progressed by striking out four in his last two scoreless innings. It could not have been an easy decision for SA manager Tony Harris to replace him for the top of the eighth.

It may have made the decision somewhat easier to have one of the most experienced arms in AMLB history, Darren Fidge, warmed up and ready to rumble. We have mentioned often how unfortunate Fidge has been at times during his long career, but he will not complain about recording the win after an inning of work that was by no means his best. He coughed up three hits, hit Tim Auty with a pitch and allowed the tying run to score, yet he was bailed out for once when his team mates rallied to win the game with a run in the top of the ninth.

Former Provincials' professional Hayden Beard earned the save of his life with a highly competent last inning closure that delighted home fans who were shifting towards the edge of their seats in a must-win situation. The home standing South Aussies had effectively spoiled the magnificent start of Lundgren which, in the end, didn’t count for a lot apart from our appreciation of his effort.

Lundgren did his best impersonation of Cox with nine strike out victims. The first two runs posted against him in the fifth were both unearned following an error, while his solitary earned run was cashed in by Mathew Rae who walked Dan Wilson with the bases loaded after Lundgren had hit two batters and intentionally walked another. The Patriots might have wished they had gone straight to experienced pro Matt Williams who promptly struck out the last two batters with the bases still juiced to finish the ninth. Rae, a recent U23 Golden Arm award winner, will be tormented for a while by the free pass that enabled the go-ahead run to score late in this high-pressure game.

New York Mets pro Stefan Welch singled twice and was hit by a pitch to pinch the attention from our new Hall-of-Famer Ben Wigmore who singled to set the table for two runs in the fifth and he was, yet again, plonked by a pitch in that fateful ninth inning rally. Dan Wilson delivered the only run batted in for the victorious hosts.

Red Sox pro Mitch Dening hit safely twice for New South Wales, as did the reliable Mark Holland who included a huge RBI double among his batting efforts. Colorado professional David Kandilas walked twice to add to his RBI single, while former pro Tim Auty doubled and was hit by a pitch for the defeated light blues who actually topped the hit count 10-6.

This series probably deserved a deciding game, especially for those supportive SA fans who have turned up in numbers to Norwood throughout this competition. Wayne Lundgren was dreadfully unlucky not to be sipping the champagne tonight, while that old warhorse ‘Fidgey’ is entitled to smile over a quiet beer content with the knowledge that he has earned a rare slice of luck… that’s baseball!

Our standard recognition for umpires Mal MACKAY, Brett ROBSON, Neil POULTON and Andrew BELL.
 

SEMI-FINAL SERIES  Game 1  Fri 29 JAN 2010

COX SILENCES SOUTH AUST AS NSW WINS 1-0!

New South Wales lefty ‘Terrible Tim’ Cox may not win his third Golden Arm Award this year, but he once again rose the occasion for his team with another heroic winning start at a most important time. Cox anchored a four-hit shutout for the Patriots to secure a vital 1-0 victory from the opening game of the semi-final series at Norwood Oval, in Adelaide.

If it had been almost anyone else we would be waxing lyrical about this eight inning, nine strike out performance of sublime pitching however, in his case, it is something we have almost come to expect. Cox didn’t allow his first hit until he had secured one out in the fifth inning and up until then he had only walked David Washington twice. Lead off hitter Washington has a strike zone the size of a pin-head and even the precision of Tim Cox couldn’t prevent him from inducing three walks for the game.

In the eighth inning Washington walked for the third time, Cresswell followed with his second single and a throwing error advanced the runners to second and third with one out, yet even this pressure-cooker situation couldn’t crack the Cox resolve. He snuffed the final SA threat with a pair of ground outs from the dangerous Welch and Collins. This fellow has been a titan in recent Claxton Shield history.

Canadian Independent League pitcher Lee Ingram took over with a conclusive 1-2-3 ninth to put a nice tight lid on the narrowest of 1-0 shutout wins for the visitors. Naturally, the harsh reality of any 1-0 ballgame is that the pitching on the losing side of the ledger must have been very good too and, while it would be nigh on impossible to match the dominance of Tim Cox, we must feel a deal of sympathy for South Aussie starter Paul Mildren who was excellent again.

Currently with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Mildren has reached ‘AAA’ level with Kansas City in 2008 and in his last two starts he has pitched like a senior professional to delight the home fans at Norwood. Sure, Mildren had to work a fair bit harder than Cox on this day, although you can’t ask any more than his opening six scoreless innings that maintained the 0-0 deadlock. The only run of the game came when Pat Maat led off the seventh with a single then, after advancing on a sacrifice bunt, he was driven home by Tim Auty’s game winning RBI double into left field.

Mildren went a sturdy seven-plus innings before handing over to the underrated Chris Lawson who allowed only a two out walk in the ninth as a minor blemish on his one and two-third scoreless innings at the end of the game. No doubt Lawson withstood the pressure to prevent the New South Welshmen from adding any insurance runs and keeping home-town hopes of a comeback victory very much alive.

We mentioned Tim Auty’s pivotal RBI double that supplied the only run and it was also the only extra base hit from a pitching dominated affair. The table-setter on that occasion was Pat Maat with his second leadoff single of the contest as only he, and SA’s Jeremy Cresswell, could boast more than one hit against the sterling opposition pitching.

Red Sox pro Mitch Dening singled and walked while, as mentioned, the pesky David Washington walked three times as the leadoff batter for SA to represent the only three free passes issued by Tim Cox. New South Wales will be delighted to take the vital first blood in this best-of-three semi-final series and, as often, they can thank the quality of their bullpen.

Another two thousand-plus crowd in Adelaide will be most disappointed to lose the opening game and even the miniscule margin of victory will be little comfort for them. As we say at these times, the equation has not changed for them as they still need two wins and the parochial home fans will be doing their best to help attain them.

Our standard recognition for umpires Brett ROBSON, Mal MACKAY, Blake HALLIGAN and Neil POULTON.