BRISBANE BANDITS AT JET COURIERS MELBOURNE ACES
Brisbane Bandits at Jet Couriers’ Melbourne Aces (Game 2)
One night after squandering a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth inning, the Brisbane Bandits held off the ‘Jet Couriers’ Melbourne Aces thanks to some costly late Melbourne defence for a 4-3 Friday night win at Melbourne Showgrounds.
With the game tied at three in the ninth for the second straight night, the Bandits took advantage of Melbourne’s fifth error of the game to earn the win. Brisbane’s Matthew Roxburgh scored from first when left fielder John Edwards, the Aces’ hero of Thursday night, misplayed a Joshua Roberts fly ball. Each side got strong starting pitching performances after shaky opening innings.
Brisbane got a run in the first and two in the second before Melbourne’s Shane Lindsay (5.0 IP/2 ER), of the Chicago White Sox, settled in. The Aces plated two of their own in the first and one more in the fourth against an effective Alex Maestri (7.0 IP/3 ER) of Brisbane.
The Aces’ two runs in the first came on Elliot Biddle’s second home run in as many nights. Hayden Dingle added his second of the year in the fourth. Brisbane got a pair of RBI singles from Taisei Makihara and Roxburgh in the second after Roberts singled home Makihara in the first. Only two of Brisbane’s four runs were charged as earned for Melbourne pitching.
This four-game series between the Bandits and Aces continues Saturday at 6:00pm (local time) at Melbourne Showgrounds.