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Adelaide will meet the Perth Heat in the inaugural championship series of the Australian Baseball League after the Bite accounted for the Sydney Blue Sox 7-4 in a marathon 15-inning game at Blacktown Olympic Park on Sunday.
The Bite scored three runs in the top of the 15th inning to finally break the deadlock and secure a 2-1 series win in a game that lasted almost five hours.
Both teams struggled early in the hot conditions but as a cooling southerly pushed through the ground, Adelaide opened the scoring in the fifth inning when Scott Gladstone got home after Jeremy Cresswell tripled for a 1-0 lead.
The home side hit back immediately when Alex Johnson and Pat Maat scored in Sydney’s next at-bat for a 2-1 advantage.
The Bite then wrestled back control of the match and the prospect of advancing to the championship series at the top of the sixth inning.
Tom Brice tripled on a line drive to right fielder David Kandilas and Jamie McOwen and Quincy Latimore scored and Adelaide led 3-2.
Sydney starter Craig Anderson was then relieved by Detroit Tigers signing Chris Oxspring but that didn’t prevent the flow of runs as Gladstone’s sacrifice bunt scored Brice for a 4-2 lead.
The Blue Sox tied the game up 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh and things stayed that way until the top of the 15th when Gladstone scored from a bunt single from Matthew Smith for a 5-4 edge.
Smith then scored to stretch the lead to 6-4 after Stefan Welch singled to left fielder Trent Schmutter.
Creswell then completed the scoring after Todd Grattan walked Brandon Bantz for the final run of the game.
The three-game championship series will commence in Perth on Friday.
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