With respect for our many loyal
subscribers in WA who will be feeling a little deflated tonight,
it must be said that a couple of really good things happened tonight
for the "unattached" baseball fan
First of all, it's nice to know that, sometimes, the "baseball
gods" don't find a way to disappoint the team that has deserved
more than any to win
Western Australia (who we sincerely hope get rid of the already
historic Perth Heat tag next time) had a good tournament at Blacktown
2006, but they did have a losing record after the preliminary
rounds and it was the undefeated Queensland who had everything
to lose today - we reckon it is a good thing that those "baseball
gods" saw fit to make sure that this didn't happen!
Secondly, for the baseball purists, and you can count 'Flintoff
& Dunn' in this, it gives our illustrious Claxton Shield even
more credibility when our strongest teams produce a classic "pitcher's
duel" like today, as happens in most big baseball contests
when the pressure is at its most intense and when there is a lot
at stake
Top billing today, very obviously, goes to the Queensland pitching
duo of Matt Gahan and Tristan Crawford who will both sleep easily
tonight knowing that they have both produced the performances
of their AMLB lives and historic ones as far as the Claxton Shield
is concerned with a complete game five-hit combined SHUTOUT!
Something that was produced alone by Victoria's Golden Arm Award
winner Simon Beresford in 2005, but it has rarely been done before!
Gahan, a former New York Mets professional, has maintained a very
useful record in AMLB from the IBLA era and with the Queensland
Rams, but we can never remember him producing such a memorable
start than he has on this occasion to stifle the dangerous WA
lineup to the melodic tune of four hits, zero walks and six huge
KKKKKK's!
Take a bow Matt Gahan you have done everything you can - and you've
done it magnificently!
Not far behind him, and maybe even more imposing, was former Minnesota
Twins pro Tristan Crawford who has been good rather than great
so far in AMLB - today he was nearly great!
Like Gahan, he walked none and gave up only one hit and, for the
second time in this tournament, I cannot quite understand why
our information says that he was not credited with a save - someone
must have changed the scoring rules without letting us know!!?
Great job Tristan!
Next on the order of merit were the gallant WA pitchers
Unfortunately the impressive Scott Mitchinson took the loss and
he might feel like a loser tonight after allowing all of the offensive
action for Queensland during his 3.0 innings - but this would
be doing him a bit of an injustice
The impressive young 'Philly' pro made the mistake of walking
three, but then the first run he allowed was unearned after a
leadoff error in the second inning
The run scored by Queensland in the third was also "scrambled"
on a fielder's choice - but then, that is what big game baseball
is all about!
Scott Mitchinson should not feel too bad about himself - he will
have much worse days when he enjoys the spoils of victory!
Much like the Rams' pitchers today, we can't remember middle-reliever
Brendan Wise having a better day in AMLB than he did today under
the Claxton Shield spotlight
The Detroit Tigers Rookie League player pitched with the aplomb
of Detroit's World Series MVP legend Jack Morris to allow nothing
more than one hit over his four fantastic innings - top job!
Brendon Thomas also did himself proud once again as one of the
really consistent performers over the recent history of AMLB
On a day when offence was at a premium, WA might bemoan the fact
that they actually out-hit the Rams 5-3, but then when you consider
that Queensland's stingy pitching duo did not add a single walk
to their efforts, it really highlights what those free-passes
can do for a team in our beloved game of baseball!
It does not surprise
us to see the quality players getting the job done at this stage
of the carnival with Roneberg, Utting and Naughton doing the hitting for Queensland,
while the well performed Sutherland and Simpson supplied the two
huge RBI's that really mattered in this game
Brett Roneberg, importantly,
also milked two decisive walks in a game when hits were very hard
to come by and when any on-base was welcomed - what a superb,
unselfish team contributor he is!
It is a well worn and perhaps overused statement at times like
these, but we can't find anything more apt than to repeat that
there maybe didn't deserve to be a loser in this game and that
the game of baseball was the clear winner!
WA can be very proud of another terrific effort at Claxton Shield
2006 while Queensland will be hoping that their undefeated run
in this tournament doesn't come unstuck at just the most vital
moment
They have been great, no doubt about it!
Victoria will meet Queensland in the final
of baseball's Claxton Shield on Saturday night in Sydney
Victoria trumped NSW 3-2 in their semi-final with the home side
squandering too many opportunities at Blacktown Olympic Park
Queensland earlier continued its domination by beating Western
Australia 2-0 in the other semi-final
The Rams remain unbeaten at the national championships after a
strong seven-inning performance from starting pitcher Matthew
Gahan, who picked up his second win for the week
Gahan gave up only four hits and struck out four at Blacktown
Olympic Park in Sydney, while reliever Tristan Crawford conceded
one hit in his two innings to complete the shutout
The Rams scored their first run in the second inning after veteran
designated hitter Andrew Utting reached first base on a fielding
error
Queensland then loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly from third
base Michael Simpson scored Utting
The next inning, centre
fielder Brett Roneberg was walked and eventually scored Queensland's
second run when first base David Sutherland ground out to short
stop