Sydney pitcher David Welch said his side “should win” the inaugural Australian Baseball League title as the Blue Sox prepare for their three-match preliminary final against Adelaide.
The Blue Sox missed their chance to progress straight through to the grand final after losing to Perth in their first-round playoff series and must now battle it out with the in-form Bite at Blacktown Olympic Park for the right to face Perth in the decider.
The match shapes as a classic pitching-versus-hitting dual, with Sydney’s strength on the mound going head-to-head with Adelaide’s power at the plate.
Welch has the best earned run average (ERA) of any pitcher in the ABL’s regular season and will look to put Sydney in the box seat when he starts in Friday night’s opener.
The 27-year-old free-agent, who was formerly associated with Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers, said the Blue Sox will be disappointed if they don’t win the premiership.
“With the team we have we should, we’ve been the best team all year so we should win it,” said Welch, a local Sydney product from Castle Hill.
“We’re pretty happy with our game plan against them to minimise the damage those guys (Adelaide’s hitters) are going to do and not give them something big to hit and execute.
“You want the ball and as a pitcher if you’re sitting back and you’re a bit nervous, than you don’t want to be on the mound.
“I’m confident going into tomorrow, so that’s why I’m not nervous, it’s just another game, but it’s a playoff so just exciting.”
Sydney are comfortable they hold the pitching advantage, but Blue Sox manager Glenn Williams emphasised that it was his underperforming batters who could hold the key to victory.
“We can’t just rely on those guys (pitchers) to keep us in low scoring games,” Williams said.
“They’ll give us an opportunity to stay close in a lot of ball games but definitely it’s up to our offence to step up and score some runs and put us in a position to win.”
Adelaide were swept four games to nil the last time they travelled to Sydney, but since then they have picked up some momentum heading into the playoffs.
Bite coach Tony Harris is confident his starter for Friday night, American Mark Brackman, is more than capable of matching Welch on the mound.
“We’ve got our own version of David, his name’s Mark,” Harris quipped.
“He’s certainly the competitor that David Welch is.
“I think it’s a classic match-up. Two of the best starters in the league, two of the best clubs fighting it out for the honour to take on Perth next week.
“We feel we have some unfinished business here in Sydney and it’s a bit of a burning desire for our guys to have another chance at the Blue Sox, so we’re really looking forward to that.”
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