Melbourne wins 2nd straight Australian Baseball League title
The two-time defending ABL champions beat Perth, 9-2 in the decisive game. Starting pitcher Tyler Beardsley earned MVP honours.
The Melbourne Aces defeated Perth Heath, 9-2, to win their second consecutive Australian Baseball League (ABL) title. The win earned the Aces the Claxton Shield, the trophy that goes to the winners of Australia's national baseball championship since 1934.
Righthander Tyler Beardsley went six innings for Melbourne, allowing only one run. He was named the championship-game's MVP.
Tyler Beardsley has been named the 2021 #ABL Championship Game MVP.
The Aces broke the score open, scoring seven runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a two-run triple by second baseman Jarryd Dale and a two-run home run by right fielder and leadoff hitter Colin Willis.
Melbourne combined for 14 hits against six Heat pitchers.
The ABL playoffs were cut short as the State of Victoria proclaimed a five-day lockdown due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. The ABL protocol stated that the winner of the Qualifying Final in the page-system playoffs would be awarded the title if the games scheduled during the weekend had to be cancelled due to restrictions applied to the pandemic.
The ABL, the nation's top-tier professional baseball league, is an Associate Member of the WBSC.
