If you ask any Victorian baseball
fan tonight they would probably give a frustrated shake of the
head and tell you that being a baseball supporter is a "tough
gig"
Ask a Queenslander and they will confirm what we all know
That baseball is the greatest game on earth!
'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATE the undefeated Queensland
Rams on securing their fourth Claxton Shield victory, not including
the ABL Championships won by Queensland teams
Regardless of anything else that might be said in the aftermath
of a pulsating Grand Final game, you simply cannot take anything
away from a team that emerged from a seven game Claxton Shield
campaign UNDEFEATED
They looked a "team of destiny" at Claxton 2006!
But, if you have to lose such an important game, there are MUCH
more palatable ways of doing it than the gallant Victorian Aces
did tonight when they failed to close out a FIVE-RUN lead after
six innings
The Aces led the game from the start and maintained 5-0, 6-1 and
7-2 leads until the walls came crashing down in the bottom of
the seventh inning
It was a fate too horrible to contemplate for Victorian fans who
lost narrowly to Queensland in the 2003 Claxton Final and to NSW
in the corresponding fixture last season
Three such gut-wrenching losses in five years is a bloody bitter
pill and they will know better than anyone that there is no prize
for coming second!
To say that the game is hard to analyse and report is an understatement
because, even allowing for Queensland's devastating five-run seventh
inning, it is still hard to see exactly where Victoria lost the
game
In the end it seemed to come down to the fact that, while both
teams were scraping the bottom of their bullpens, the Rams had
a little more poise and experience going for them "at the
death"
While the Rams closed a massive gap somewhat towards the end,
they were still out-hit 12-10 in the game and Victoria left 11
on base compared with 6
About the only offensive statistic that Queensland had the edge
was in runs - and you don't win a prize for guessing what statistic
counts the most!
One unfortunate fact of life in these competitions is that the
semi-final games are very often better games of baseball where
teams have to call upon their best pitchers to give themselves
the very best chance of making the Grand Final
Then, having made it through to the big game after six games in
seven days, the pitching stocks of both teams is either severely
depleted or dog tired, or both - this was the case once again
at Blacktown in 2006
What a pity for Victorian fans that starter Greg Wiltshire ran
out of arm strength in the fifth inning after sailing through
four magnificent frames with no hits, no runs and seven strikeouts
For a moment it looked like he might be on course to top his brilliant
performance at Claxton 2005 but his heavy workload in club baseball
where he has tried to rest in recent weeks came to haunt him at
just the worst moment
The well-performed Russell Spear did his best to backup after
his strong performance mid-week, but he could go no further on
short rest
19yo Donnie Hendricks had shown plenty of his great potential
at Claxton 2006, but he struck a speed-hump tonight with a barrage
of hits from the seasoned Queensland hitters that rocked the youngster
in that decisive seventh frame
He had to be replaced by experienced lefty Cameron Forbes who
could only contribute two wild pitches and a walk as the wheels
quite literally fell off for the Victorians
Adam Bright entered the game too late to completely stop the carnage
in another pretty good outing, while we cannot blame veteran utility
Peter Moylan for allowing the winning run unearned!
As mentioned, the Rams' pitching story was quite the opposite
as it finished in triumph after appearing to have given up a game
losing start to the Victorians
Highly respected former New York Mets pro Wayne Ough was chased
from the mound early with seven hits from four innings, while
neither Drew Naylor nor Mark Kearney looked capable of stemming
the Aces flow on this big occasion
An unsung hero for the Rams will be Tristan Loetzsch who hasn't
had too many memorable games in his AMLB career but he found the
most important blank innings of his life at just the right time
tonight
It allowed two of Queensland's bullpen stars of Claxton 2006 in
Matt Gahan and Phil Stockman to collect the spoils of victory!
You can look for yourselves below to see those same familiar names
listed among the Queensland hitters and RBI men in this game as
they have been in most of their other games - this has been a
key to their consistent success!
Victoria tended to share around the offence a bit more during
the tournament with different players coming through at different
times in different games, but it should have been no surprise
that Berg, Clarke, Kent and Dingle are among their average leaders
for the tournament
Mathew Kent very nearly found a phone box and changed into his
Superman costume for this game and he was nearly the superhero
with his great 4-5 (3RBI) game in this Grand Final!
To finish our report where it began, Victorians will still
be shaking their heads while assuring you that being a baseball
supporter is a "tough gig"
Queenslanders will confirm what we all know
That baseball is the greatest game on earth!
'Flintoff & Dunn' CONGRATULATE the undefeated Queensland Rams
on securing the fourth Claxton Shield victory, not including the
ABL Championships won by Queensland teams
Regardless of anything else that might be said in the aftermath
of a pulsating Grand Final game, you simply cannot take anything
away from a team that emerged from a seven game Claxton Shield
campaign UNDEFEATED
They took on a "team of destiny" look at Claxton 2006!
Well done QUEENSLAND RAMS
It will all start again next year
At Blacktown again we suppose?
NO, sorry folks, we no longer have the energy or the inclination
to get into this negativity again - well, not until next year
that is!!
See ya!
The Queensland Rams record
setting week at the 2006 Claxton Shield was capped off in grand
style with a thrilling 8-7 come from behind victory over the Victorian
Aces in the championship game last night at Blacktown Olympic
Park
Queensland looked down and out when trailing Victoria 6-0 after
four innings, but the Rams showed plenty of fight scoring eight
runs over the final five innings of the game to ensure that they
went a perfect 7-0 at the week long tournament
Right fielder Josh Roberts was the main instigator for Queensland
in their magnificent comeback picking up two hits and scoring
the winning run, while major leaguer Trent Durrington also impressed
driving in the go ahead run in the eighth inning
“I give full credit to their pitching staff
They were ahead of us all night, but that particular at bat I
got a fastball and got a good piece of the bat on it” said
Durrington
Victoria appeared to be on course for their first Claxton Shield
title since 2002 when catcher Matthew Kent exploded for three
hits and three RBI’s in the first four innings to put the
Aces in total control of the match, but from that point on it
would one way traffic for the Rams
Queensland began their comeback midway through the game scoring
runs in the fifth and sixth inning to creep back into the contest
at 7-2
The seventh inning was when all hell broke loose for Victoria
with the Rams piling on five runs to tie the game at 7-7 courtesy
of a two run double to tournament MVP Brad Dutton and a run scoring
triple to David Sutherland
Queensland’s amazing run continued in the eighth inning with
Durrington driving in Roberts to put the Rams in front for the
first time in the game
It all came down to the final inning, but veteran closing pitcher
Phil Stockman showed the required nerve to get the final three
outs of the game to give the Rams their second Claxton Shield
title in four years
After the game Queensland head coach Peter Gahan was still in
a state of shock at his teams astonishing comeback
“I really couldn’t believe it was going to happen until
that last out was made” said Gahan
“Everyone gave a great contribution
It was just a matter of us hitting the ball and scoring the runs
There was no great strategy involved”
Queensland stormed home
to pip Victoria in the final of baseball's Claxton Shield at Blacktown
Olympic Park tonight
The Queenslanders overcame a sluggish start to take out the national
championship, scoring five runs in the seventh inning to tie up
the game
They clinched the crown in the eighth when Trent Durrington singled
to right field for Josh Roberts to score, giving Queensland its
first lead of the night
Earlier Victoria looked in control with five unanswered runs over
the first four innings, but they were unable to stop the Queensland
comeback
Ben Foster, Joel Naughton, Durrington and Roberts all had two
hits for Queensland, while Victorian Matthew Kent had four hits
in five at-bats in a great effort in a losing side