In the Australian League:
Adelaide Bite 7, Sydney Blue Sox 4 — It took 15 innings, but the Bite battled to a win, advancing them to the Championship round of the playoffs next weekend. Each team posted 15 hits in the game, though each team also left 17 runners on base. DH Quincy Latimore did not have any of the hits, but he walked once and scored one run. Former Altoona Curve Paul Mildren made the start for the Bite, and pitched into the 7th inning. Mildren buzzed through the first four innings, allowing only two singles, and erasing one of those with a double play. The Bite scored one run in the top of the 5th with a batter reaching base on a fielding error, then scoring on a triple by SS Jeremy Cresswell. Sydney answered with 2 runs off Mildren in the bottom of the 5th, on two walks and two RBI singles. The Bite kept Mildren going with 3 runs in the top of the 6th. A hit batter began the inning, then Latimore dropped down a sacrifice bunt and beat out the throw to first base. A triple by RF Tom Brice plated both runners, then Brice scored on squeeze bunt. Mildren got into some trouble again in the 7th, with a single and a walk and one out. He was relieved, and the next batter grounded to short, but the Bite were only able to force out the runner at second base, leaving runners on the corners. Another grounder to Cresswell at short resulted in a fielding error, and one run scored, then a single drove in the game-tying run. Both of those runs were charged to Mildren.
Seven scoreless innings followed. Latimore was hit by a pitch in the 8th and stole second base, but got no further. The Bite loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 9th, but a grounder to second was returned to the plate, forcing out the lead runner, and Latimore grounded out to end the inning. The Blue Sox loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, but a pop out and a fly out left all three runners stranded. Sydney loaded them again in the 10th, but a strikeout ended that rally. Both teams continued to put runners on base, but couldn’t push them around to score. Latimore walked in the top of the 14th to give the Bite runners on the corners…. nope, no scoring. A walk and a single put two runners on for the Blue Sox in the bottom of the 14th, and after a pitching change, the next batter put a single through the hole into right field. The runner from second rounded third and headed for the plate, but a near-perfect throw in from RF Daniel Wilson cut him down at the plate. That left runners on second and third, and the Blue Sox fans held their breaths as the next batter ripped a liner down the left field line. Bite LF Brendon Pett made a spectacular full-out diving catch to save the game for the second time in the inning. Those two amazing plays must have rallied the Bite, because they came out swinging in the top of the 15th. A double and a sacrifice bunt put a runner on third. He scored on an RBI single to give the Bite the lead. Two more singles drove in an insurance run, then another single loaded the bases. Latimore struck out, but the next batter walked, forcing in the third run of the inning. The Blue Sox could not answer in the bottom of the inning, and the Bite get to move on to face the Perth Heat next weekend.
