ADELAIDE BITE VS. BRISBANE BANDITS (TERZA PARTITA):
The Bite defeated the Bandits in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader behind a dominant complete game outing by starting pitcher Darren Fidge. The veteran righty allowed just six hits and one run, striking out six in earning his fourth win of the season. The loss eliminated Brisbane from postseason contention.
As they had done in each of the previous two games, Brisbane scored first when Brad Dutton, the fourth batter of the game, knocked in Matthew Roxburgh with a sacrifice fly. That would be the only run the Bandits would get, however, as Fidge allowed just four hits in the final eight innings, finishing off his first complete game.
The Bite scored early, as well, giving their pitcher plenty to work with. They responded to Brisbane’s first inning run with three of their own in the bottom half, taking advantage of Alex Maestri’s wildness. In a disastrous sequence, Maestri allowed three consecutive runs to score on bases loaded walks. Adelaide sent nine batters to the plate in the inning, none of whom recorded a base hit.
Brisbane’s right-hander would settle down after the first, allowing just one more run and four hits while pitching through the fifth inning, but the damage had already been done. With Fidge pitching his best game of the season, the Bite easily closed to within one win of their second straight postseason appearance.
The Bite added to their score on late home runs by James Jones and Mathew Smith. For Jones, it was his eighth of the season and third consecutive game with a homer, as he now has 13 hits in his last nine games. Denny Almonte moved into a third-place tie with his 35th RBI of the year.
With the win, the Bite improved to 20-23, lowering their magic number to one more win to clinch a postseason appearance.
The Bandits fell to 18-25 and can no longer qualify for postseason play.