Queensland impressively booked their semi-final berth with a conclusive win over WA in the afternoon matchup today.

We have gloated about the accuracy of our predictions before, but we must do so again as we had questioned the depth of the Heelers' bullpen... it surely ran out of Claxton quality arms today!?

With both teams firing offensively and both registering double-digit hits for the game, there can be little doubt that the more potent pitching of the Rams probably decided the end result.

Or, if it was not the pitching, could it be the three WA errors or the five walks (versus one) that counted against them, much like the Victorians earlier today?

2003 Claxton Shield 'Pitcher of the Year' John Veitch was back on the mound for his second start and he was quite tidy again, managing to space the eight WA hits enough that he allowed only two runs over 6.0 innings.
Having taken a "knock" against the Provincials, rising Arizona Diamondbacks 'AA' and 'AAA' pitcher Phil Stockman found some better form, while young professional Chris Mowday was also much more effective than he was against 'AP'.
We get the feeling that this pair might be "cherry ripe" for the Rams' finals campaign!

By contrast, the Heelers did not have pitchers of the calibre (yet?) to match Stockman and Mowday out of the bullpen.
Starter Brad Thomas was reasonably tidy but he did not have enough "stuff" to contain the strong hitting Queensland lineup.
Four runs from his 4.0 innings will not help his ERA!
However, there was to be little relief for the Heelers with AMLB rookies 20yo Nick Forkin and 19yo Mark Kelly both finding the Claxton Shield kitchen a little too hot for them at this stage of their careers.
The young pair failed to contain the runaway Queensland train as they rattled on 12 runs for the game.

Paul 'Gonzo' Gonzalez is obviously not content with his induction into our 'Flintoff & Dunn AMLB Hall-Of-Fame' in 2003 as he seems to be priming himself for another strong finish to the 2004 carnival.
Paul batted 3-4 today with 3RBI's, including his 47th AMLB career home run.
Ben Foster and Steven Bayliss continue to run into hot form with another two hits and a couple more RBI's each.
2003 star David Sutherland also came alive today with a two-hit game.

Proven WA player Clint Balgera supplied three hits and a RBI for WA, as did Minnesota Twins 'A'-baller Stephen Tope.

David Nilsson did not grace the diamond again today and, although he has been seen about as often as the Tasmanian Tiger during this carnival, why is that we still get the feeling that he might yet play a pivotal role at the "pointy end"!?

Queensland Rams continue to "roll on" with a genuine chance to retain the Claxton Shield while, barring upsets, WA will most likely battle Victoria on runs for and against for the last semi-final slot.
The most critical difference is that WA have their fate in their own hands!