Australian (Winter) Baseball League - 2022/2023

[Ro Mueller]

Early Sunday AM:

Brisbane won its regular season finale 3-1 over Auckland, with Robert Moore hitting his 8th homer of the campaign and Justin King dancing through a lot of traffic in a rare start:

• 2B Robert Moore – 2-for-3, HR, walk, RBI (.294 AVG, .894 OPS)
• 1B Darrien Miller – played one inning, catching a line drive
• LHP Justin King – 1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks (5.79 ERA)

Perth also won its regular season finale, defeating Melbourne 9-4, although Alex Hall did not play.

I believe we’ll now see Brisbane and Perth face-off in a playoff semi-final series.

[wibadgers23]

We’ll see how he does next year in his first full season of professional baseball, but I’m officially really excited about Moore. Switch hitter, has some pop, high on base guy and elite defensively. Cannot wait for the minor league season to start!!

[Jim Goulart]

 

[Jim Goulart]

 

[wibadgers23]

Anyone know when the playoffs start over in Australia?  I can't seem to find any information anywhere.

[Ro Mueller]

7 minutes ago, wibadgers23 said:

Anyone know when the playoffs start over in Australia?  I can't seem to find any information anywhere.

Semi-final series Friday-Sunday, January 27-29: 

 

[Ro Mueller]

Early Friday AM:

Brisbane came back from a 2-0 deficit to win Game One of their semi-final series 3-2 over Perth, with Robert Moore and Darrien Miller contributing a sacrifice fly and RBI single, respectively.

In the 9th inning, a walk and a single put James Meeker in a jam with one out, but he struck out Alex Hall, then came back from a 3-0 count to get Pete Kozma to fly out for the final out:

• For Brisbane
  • 2B Robert Moore – 1-for-3, sac fly, RBI
  • C Darrien Miller – 2-for-3, RBI
  • RHP Max Lazar – 5 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks
  • RHP James Meeker (save) – 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks
• For Perth
  • DH Alex Hall – 0-for-4

[Jake McKibbin]

Hall went 2-2 catching base stealers, and Moore, with another fielding error. Strange how many he's made down under when he's in an MLB prospect defense team

[wibadgers23]

11 minutes ago, jakedood said:

Hall went 2-2 catching base stealers, and Moore, with another fielding error. Strange how many he's made down under when he's in an MLB prospect defense team

Yeah I'd be interested to know how many are bad throws that are possibly not being scooped up by the 1B vs. fielding errors.

[Jake McKibbin]

This game was registered as a fielding error, but be interesting to hear reports of guys this season in the minors and see how he holds up

[Ro Mueller]

Early Saturday AM:

Brisbane was blasted 14-4 by Perth, who tied their semi-final playoff series 1-1. Expect RHP Cameron Wagoner to start the series-deciding game tomorrow.

For Brisbane:

• 2B Robert Moore – 1-for-4, walk
• C Darrien Miller – 0-for-1, 2 walks, HBP; gave up 3 stolen bases and had an error
• RHP Brandon Jordan – 1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 1 K
• RHP Justin King – 2 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K

For Perth:

• DH Alex Hall – 1-for-5

[Ro Mueller]

Early Sunday AM:

Despite a valiant comeback, Brisbane lost the thrilling deciding game in their semi-final playoff series against Perth Heat, 10-8.

After dominating all winter, Cameron Wagoner simply didn’t have it on this day, yielding 6 runs in the 2nd inning to wipe out an early 3-0 lead. The Bandits trailed 9-3 by the 6th inning before clawing back to 9-7 in the bottom of the 7th inning with 2 on and nobody out. A walk and a strikeout later brought Robert Moore to the plate with the bases loaded and 1 out, but he grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end that threat.

With James Meeker (perfect 0.00 ERA throughout Winter ball) covering the final 3 innings to give Brisbane a chance, Darrien Miller got one last opportunity, down 10-8 with 1 on and 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning. Alas, he flew out to center field to end this series and the 2022/2023 Australian Adventure for Wagoner, Moore, Miller, Meeker, Max Lazar, Brannon Jordan and Justin King.

Congrats to Alex Hall and Perth for winning to advance to the Championship against Adelaide, a Best-of-3 series scheduled to commence on Friday, February 3rd.

For Brisbane:

• 2B Robert Moore – 1-for-5, HR, 2 RBIs
• C Darrien Miller – 1-for-3, 2 walks
• RHP Cameron Wagoner (loss) – 1 2/3 IP, 6 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 Ks
• RHP James Meeker – 3 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 3 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks

For Perth:

• C Alex Hall – 2-for-4; had an error and allowed 3 stolen bases

[Ro Mueller]

Robert Moore led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a first pitch homer to give Brisbane an early lead: 

 

[Ro Mueller]

Early Friday AM:

Alex Hall’s Perth Heat squad continued its offensive surge, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and defeating Adelaide at home 9-5 in the opening game of the Best-of-3 Australian Championship Series. They’ll now head to Adelaide for games 2 and 3 (if necessary).

• DH Alex Hall – 0-for-3, walk

[Jim Goulart]

Perth Catcher Alex Hall was 0-for-4 with two K's in a blowout loss and as you can see below, it'll be an overnight Saturday night game (US time) for the best-named Championship Trophy in sports:
 

 

[Ro Mueller]

Early Sunday AM – Deciding Game of Championship Series:

The Perth Heat grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the 2nd inning, but Adelaide hometown hero Jordan McArdle smacked a 2-run blast to tie the game in the bottom half.

The Giants then grabbed a 3-2 lead in the 4th inning, while their pitchers stifled the potent Perth bats, holding the Heat to just four hits in the game while registering 14 Ks. Adelaide tacked on two late insurance runs en route to their 5-2 championship victory.

The Brewers’ Alex Hall caught and batted sixth, singling and scoring the Heat’s second run. In his final opportunity while down 3-2 with two outs in the top of the 8th inning, Hall drew a walk, but former major leaguer Pete Kozma followed with an inning-ending strikeout.

• C Alex Hall – 1-for-3, walk

[Jim Goulart]

 

[Jim Goulart]

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Incredibly excited to see how Meeker fares in the Southern League this season. That's a big jump up in competition and pitching elements. Regardless, he is riding an incredibly productive streak of impactful late-inning pitching - from taking over Robinson's closing role to this flawless performance for Brisbane. Let's hope he keeps it rolling!