Baseball NSW congratulates the Blacktown Workers for edging out the Macarthur Orioles in a three-game thriller to win the tournament last 1 April!
Defense and excellent pitching carried the two teams throughout the first three innings after Blacktown scored first on a steal of home in the first.
However, Blake Gooding dinged a homer deep in the third to score three runs for the Orioles and grab the initiative with a 4-1 lead.
The Workers couldn’t build momentum as their attempts to mount a consistent offense were stymied by the Orioles’ pitching staff, who struck out one hitter after the other.
A wild pitch at the bottom of the sixth pushed Harris to third base, and a single by Masiuk on a ground ball sends him home to add to the lead.
Blacktown scored on a fielder’s choice at the top of the seventh, though that was the extent of their offense on that day.
Game 1 was Macarthur’s all the way. The Orioles scored again deep in the inning, as an error from Blacktown pitcher Grattan opened up a scoring opportunity for Hislop, pushing the Orioles 7-2.
The same error allowed Douglass to advance to third, and he scored at the next at-bat after Clugston hit a single on a hard ground ball that sent the ball to the right field.
Still, as dominant as the Orioles were in Game 1, the Workers returned the favor in Game 2, winning by a decisive 10-0 margin.
The Workers recovered from their stagnant offense and immediately began scoring in the second. A single from Josh Pearl on a fly ball sent Ranieri and Martin to score deep in the inning.
At the next at-bat, Anderson-Vine ran home from another single, this time from Cavill on a ground ball.
Both teams went quiet for the next few innings until deep in the sixth when the Workers blew the game open with a six-run barrage that put them up 9-0.
Lachlan Bojarski put on the finishing touches in the bottom of the seventh, scoring off a single from Mitch Austin that sent the ball to left field and tied the series 1-1.
Compared to the high-scoring affairs of the first two games, the deciding Game 3 was a slugfest that saw the Workers squeak out a 2-1 win to secure the title.
The Orioles scored the first run after Gooding scored off a wild pitch that also put a runner on third. However, the inning ended shortly after as Harris ground out to give the Orioles their third.
Both teams were unable to put runs on the board for most of the games, thanks partly to cold bats and great pitching and fielding on both sides.
Blacktown managed to put up a run at the top of the sixth, as Austin hits a ground ball and reaches off an error by Orioles second baseman Wigg. Martin scores to tie the game.
Then, it was two innings later that the Workers took the lead with a double by Strong off a ground ball to Clugston the left fielder, who then commits an error that allowed Austin to run home and grab the lead.
Still, the Orioles had many opportunities to come back, but costly outs in the eighth and ninth innings as well as cold batting kept them from building any sort of momentum.
This title is the Workers’ fifth in six years, capping off four straight premierships and solidifying a dynasty. After the series win, the Workers’ Tom Stancic received the Grand Final MVP award for his performance across two of the three games.
With four innings pitched, Stancic allowed only one hit and zero runs and struck out six. His work helped Blacktown keep control of the game when it mattered the most and put them over the top.
Once again, we congratulate the Workers for their masterful performance and victory! Your success is an inspiration to every club in New South Wales.
Photo: Blacktown Workers Facebook