Good 'Knight' for the Giants!

By Robert Laidlaw

Adelaide Giants have gone back-to-back in the Australian Baseball League, with a 3-1 victory at West Beach over Perth Heat in the deciding game three of the Championship Series on Sunday.

And it was a ‘Good Knight’ because it was Briley Knight who was the game hero, as he broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out, two-run, two-bagger.

While it was a 43-year wait for a South Aussie team to win the Claxton Shield last season, now the Giants have gone back-to-back to prove they are not ‘one hit wonders’!

Emphasising the ‘team’ aspect of Adelaide, in its four play-off victories – against Melbourne and Perth – the Giants have had a different hero in each game, with Cade Fergus and Josh Altmann hitting big dingers against the Aces, while Quincy Latimore and now Knight have stood tall against the Heat.

As expected the deciding game three against Perth was tight, with the ABL Championship and Claxton Shield the rewards for the winner.

After the first three innings it was a nil-all ballgame, with the Giants finally breaking the drought in the bottom of the fourth with the game’s first run – Liam Spence walked and came home on a big Rixon Wingrove double.

That 1-0 scoreline was looming as a bridge too far for Perth, as the zeroes kept piling up, through to the top of the seventh frame, where the Heat took advantage of a pair of errors to finally level the game.

Lead-off Perth batter Alex Hall reach on a wild throw, and after Ulrich Bojarski singled, Jake Bowey flied out to centrefielder Cade Fergus, with Hall tagging up at second base and running to third, with another infield error gifting the Heat a run, and it was 1-1.

But the drama wasn’t quite over, as Perth still had a runner on third base and only one out. The Heat’s next batter Raudelis Martinez hit a line shot to rightfield, where Knight took a sensational diving catch, and threw the ball in to hold the runner.

Knight appeared to be badly injured and looked like he would be replaced, but after some medical attention he remained in the game, and an inning later was the game’s hero!

That successful bottom of the eighth was also drama packed. The first two batters were retired, before Josh Altmann walked and Andrick Nava singled, to set up Knight’s heroics.

There could have been more damage, as Fergus singled and Nick Ward was hit by a pitch, but the third out was made before any further runs could score.

Then the top of the ninth, and who else but series MVP and relief ace Todd Van Steensel to the mound?

Van Steensel struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up two singles, the second on a bit of a mix-up. But then induced two fly balls, one to Latimore in leftfield and one to Liam Spence at second base, and it was time to celebrate.

Congratulations to all the players and staff of the Adelaide Giants, including General Manager Nathan Davison and Field Manager Tony Adamson.

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RESULTS:

GAME THREE

Perth Heat 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 – 1

Adelaide Giants 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 x – 3

Hits: Giants – Nava 2, Knight 2, Ward, Wingrove, Fergus; Heat – Peguero, Hall, Bojarski, Bowey, Martinez, Sanchez.

WP: Austin Ross; LP: Tucker Smith. Save: Todd Van Steensel.