The Melbourne Aces and the Adelaide Giants will face each other in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) Championship Series. Game one of the three-game series is scheduled for Friday, 7 February, at 7 pm in Melbourne. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday, 8 February, at 7 pm in Adelaide. If needed, Game 3 will be played on Sunday, 9 February, at 6 pm in Adelaide. (All times are local. The time zone in Melbourne is GMT +11. The time zone in Adelaide is GMT + 10.30.)
The Aces eliminated the Auckland Tuatara, the second-year team from New Zealand. The Giants booked their spot defeating the Canberra Cavalry.
The Melbourne Aces roster features three international baseball veterans like catcher Allan de San Miguel, infielder Luke Hughes and right-handed pitcher Peter Moylan. Former Major Leaguer Delmon Young leads the best line up in the ABL.
The Adelaide Giants finished last in the ABL 2017/2018, when their brand was still Bite. They have one of the youngest rosters in the league. Infielder Curtis Mead, a 19-year old who made his debut in the USA Minor Leagues in 2019, impressed with eight hits in 14 at-bats during the semifinals.
In addition to national coverage, the ABL Championship Series will be live-streamed via the WBSC Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wbsc.
The current season kicked off in November 2019. The eight professional ball clubs are divided into two Divisions. The Auckland Tuatara, Canberra Cavalry, Brisbane Bandits and Sydney Blue Sox competed in the Northeast Division, while the Adelaide Giants, Melbourne Aces, Perth Heat and Geelong from Korea, another second-year expansion team, form the the Southwest Division.
Each team plays the Division rivals eight times and the inter-division teams four times in a 40-game regular season. The teams with the best three records advance to the semifinals. One more team per Division, the best record amongst the teams that have not qualified, plays for the fourth spot in the semifinals.
The Australian Baseball League 2019-2020 season enjoyed a 21% increase of average attendance in comparison to the previous season. The Brisbane Bandits recorded the highest average attendance this season, with 1,507 spectators per game.
The Australian Baseball League, the top-tier professional baseball league in the country, is an Associate Member of the WBSC. Many players competing in the ABL play for the Australian National Team in international competition.
