Australian League: Games of December 21

Another good outing for Lewis Thorpe.  A Justin Huber sighting.

ADELAIDE 4, BRISBANE 1 IN ADELAIDE (GAME 1--SCHEDULED 7 INNINGS)

Twins:  Logan Wade (Brisbane) was 1-for-3 with a run.

Brisbane:  Marcus Bradley was 2-for-4 with a double.  Craig Goodman struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.

Adelaide:  Chris Adamson was 1-for-2 with a walk and a double, scoring once.  Chris Jacobs (Dodgers) was 1-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.  Richard Olson pitched five innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

The game:  Adelaide scored all four runs in the third inning.  The first scored on a bases-loaded walk and the other three on a three-run double by Jacobs.  Brisbane's lone run came in the fifth, but they never got the tying run up to bat and their last nine men were retired.

BRISBANE 3, ADELAIDE 1 IN ADELAIDE (GAME 2)

Twins:  Logan Wade (Brisbane) was 1-for-5 with a run.

Brisbane:  Ryan Battaglia (Cleveland) was 2-for-3 with a walk and a home run, his sixth.  Joey Rickard (Tampa Bay) was 3-for-5.  Ryan Searle (Cubs) struck out nine in a complete game, giving up an unearned run on three hits and two walks.

Adelaide:  Chris Jacobs (Dodgers) was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Fu-Te Ni struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing no hits and one walk.  Darren Fidge pitched 2.1 scoreless inning, allowing three hits and one walk with two strikeouts.

The game:  Brisbane scored once in each of the first three innings, scoring in the first on a balk, in the second on Battaglia's home run, and in the third on a homer by Joshua Roberts.  Adelaide got on the board in the fourth on an RBI ground out.  Adelaide loaded the bases in the seventh with two out, but their last seven batters were retired.

SYDNEY 3, MELBOURNE 2 IN MELBOURNE (GAME 1--SCHEDULED 7 INNINGS)

Sydney:  Jacob May (White Sox) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Joshua Dean was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs.  Connor Whalen struck out five in 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk.

Melbourne:  Ryan Casteel (Oakland) was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.  Justin Trapp (Kansas City) was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run.  John Hussey (San Diego) pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

The game:  An RBI groundout and a run-scoring single by Zach Shepherd gave Sydney a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.  Casteel doubled in a run in the bottom of the first to make it 2-1.  A Joey DeMichele (White Sox) single drove in a run in the third to give Sydney a 3-1 advantage.  Justin Huber's RBI single made it 3-2 after four.  Melbourne put runners on first and second with one out in the sixth, but could do no more.

MELBOURNE 4, SYDNEY 0 IN SYDNEY (GAME 2)

Twins:  Josh Guyer (Sydney) pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and one walk.  Lewis Thorpe (Melbourne) started and pitched five shutout innings, giving four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Sydney:  Trent Schmutter was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Melbourne:  Ryan Casteel (Oakland) was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his eighth.  Brad Harman was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Scott Wearne was 1-for-3 with a double.

The game:  Casteel's two-run homer in the first put Melbourne in front 2-0.  They added single runs in the fourth and fifth.  Sydney loaded the bases with none out in the second, but a strikeout and a double play ended the threat.  The only other Sydney threat came in the fifth, when they put runners on first and second with one out.

CANBERRA 6, PERTH 1 IN CANBERRA

Perth:  Brandon Tripp was 1-for-3 with a home run, his third.  Corey Adamson (San Diego) was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Mike Ekstrom struck out seven in six innings, giving up three runs on twelve hits and one walk.

Canberra:  Shane Opitz (Toronto) was 4-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Jeremy Barnes was 4-for-5 with an RBI.  Ethan Cole pitched seven innings, allowing one run on nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

The game:  Tripp's homer leading off the fourth put Perth ahead 1-0.  It was the only lead they would have, and it didn't last long.  Casey Frawley doubled in two in the fifth to put Canberra in front 2-1, and an RBi single by Barnes later in the inning made it 3-1.  Canberra added a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth.  Perth did not get a man past first after the sixth inning.