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The reigning champions and benchmark ABL franchise, Perth Heat, fought back from two games down to level the series 2-2 against Brisbane last weekend, as the ABL season races towards a thrilling conclusion.
With four teams – Brisbane (19-17), Perth (18-18) Canberra (17-19), and Sydney (16-20) – all fighting for two playoff spots over the next three rounds, this could be one of the most exciting finales in the league’s history.
Brisbane snapped a three-game losing streak in Friday night’s Game 1 by taking out a thrilling, see-sawing encounter 11-6 thanks to a huge, 6-run eighth inning.
In front of an engaged crowd of around 1,200, the Bandits struck early. Tommy Coyle hit a 2-run homer in the third, followed by a monster solo home run by Taiwanese third baseman Kuan-Wei Yang in the fourth off the Heat’s starting pitcher Michael McClendon, giving the Bandits a 3-0 lead.
Perth responded by farming the outfield for 4 runs in the fifth innings, accounting for starting pitcher Masaki Takashio and reliever Justin Erasmus in the process – who only lasted 0.1 of an innings before he was jettisoned – leaving new Bandits signing left-handed Chicago Cubs prospect Jeff Lorick to successfully close out the innings.
The Bandits were not behind for long as Ipswich native Andy Campbell scored Maxx Tissenbaum and Granden Goetzman with a single to give the Bandits a 5-4 lead in the sixth.
This tense contest had every spectator on the edge of their seats, and Goetzman increased the fervour in the bleachers at the top of the seventh with an outstanding, athletic diving catch in left field to retire Heat catcher Allan De San Miguel – who could scarcely believe he’d been caught out.
McClendon – a former Milwaukee Brewer who played 35 Major League Baseball games with a 5-0 record (5 victories) – was relieved in the seventh by McKenzie Acker. Acker, who hadn’t allowed any earned runs so far this season, quickly found his groove in the seventh, but was no match for the Bandits in the eighth, who scored three quick runs off hits by Yang and Logan Wade.
19-year-old utility Ben Shorto relieved Acker, but was unable to stop doubles from Jonny Field and Tommy Coyle scoring a further three batters for the Bandits, sending the home crowd wild.
Despite the Heat scoring via a Luke Hughes home run and a Matt Kennelly single, Daniel Cooper closed out the game for the Bandits. The former Seattle draft pick retired the remaining Perth batters for a well-earned victory, handing Lorick a win in his first Bandits game.
The Bandits also won Game 2 of the series 5-4, but then dropped Games 3 (4-3) and 4 (9-3), causing some consternation for a side who have away series against Canberra and Perth to come, sandwiching their final regular season home series against Sydney.
This tough run-in puts the Bandits’ playoff hopes on a knife edge, but still in their hands. The importance of getting to the playoffs cannot be underestimated in this city, and could be crucial for the ongoing success of the Bandits.
The Bandits are still the only ABL team not to have made the post-season since the league’s reincarnation five years ago. Making the playoffs would no doubt prove a huge boost in helping to attract fans in what is a hugely competitive sporting marketplace.
It is no secret that Australian sports fans love finals encounters above all others, and the lure of post-season baseball at Holloway Field would undoubtedly help increase attendances, both in the short and long term.
For example, Perth – the ABL benchmark both on and off the field – have been able to capitalise on their regular success by increasing regular season attendances by over 73 per cent since the first season.
Tellingly, average attendances in 2011-2012 increased from 1,450 (36 per cent of Barbagallo Ballpark capacity) in the regular season to 3,074 (77 per cent of capacity) in the finals.
And there is no reason to think it would be any different in Brisbane.
Take the Brisbane Roar in the A-League as an example. The Roar went from averaging 8,850 in 2009-2010 (17 per cent of capacity at Suncorp Stadium) when they missed out on the playoffs, to averaging 14,957 in 2013-14 (28 per cent of capacity) when they won the premiers’ plate. In the finals series the average attendance at Suncorp was 38,752, with 51,153 attending the final (97 per cent of capacity).
It was the same with the Reds rugby union side. When they won three games in 2009, they averaged just 18,646 (35 per cent of capacity), but in 2012, one year after winning the title, they averaged 34,217 (65 per cent of capacity), higher even than the Broncos (33,377 – 64 per cent capacity).
Success sells, and as such, I would suggest that Brisbane sports fans would pack Holloway Field if the Bandits were to secure a home playoff spot this summer, leading to an increase in attendances next season and even facilitating an increase to Holloway Field’s 1,500 capacity.
All they need to do is hold off the chasing pack and secure second in the table. Simple…
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