Australian Baseball League: Cavs & Sox to Start Playoffs

The defending champion Canberra Cavalry will be hosting the Sydney Blue Sox at The Fort in game one of a best of three playoff series. During the regular season, the Blue Sox won the Hume Highway Cup and are hoping their luck continues in this postseason rematch. After winning both the Claxton Shield and Asia Series in the last year, the Cavalry are looking to repeat. One of these two clubs is going to string a pair of wins together this weekend and go on to face the Perth Heat in the ABLCS at Barbagallo Ballpark.

Even though the Cavs have some very recent triumphs and trophies, Canberra is a surprise competitor in this postseason. To say the club stumbled down the stretch is a kind way to describe a scary skid that left a lot of rubber on the asphalt and stopped millimeters from a guardrail next to a ravine. It was a lengthy swoon that gave fans plenty to hope for in Adelaide and Melbourne, but the Bite and Aces would come up just short when the final out of the regular season was recorded.

The Sydney Blue Sox have not been perfect either, but did finish the campaign a step ahead of the pack. For all of the complaints and discussion throughout the season about imbalances, the ABL had more parity than most. The Perth Heat were pretty good. The Brisbane Bandits were pretty bad. The other clubs were pretty much in the middle. The Blue Sox avoided costly stumbles, clinched their playoff spot the day before the season ended, and finished second overall.

Before jumping into a weekend of playoff baseball, a brand new episode of “Strike Zone” hosted by Chris Coleman of ABC Radio will set the mood and catch you up on the latest news.

Action starts tonight at Narrabundah Ballpark and will continue in Blacktown for two more games if necessary. Game one begins at midnight PST or 3:00 a.m. EST on the 31st. Streaming video can be found at the Australian Baseball League website. Click on the tab that says “Watch Live” and enjoy an exciting postseason.