After decades of failing, the Adelaide Giants now have everything they need to become a success in the Australian Baseball League. Finally, the Giants won the Claxton Shield on Sunday night, coming back from being down a game to beat the Perth Heat 3-1 and take the winners series two games to one.
People in Australia are calling the first two games of the championship series “classics.” Perth won the first game 4–3 at home after 13 innings that went on for more than four hours. The second game was in Adelaide, and both teams had to be there by 5 a.m. on Saturday. The Giants came back from two deficits to win 6-3 and force the decider.
The Giants were one of the original teams in the ABL, which began in 1989. However, they never won a title before the league ended in 1999. When the league started up again in 2010, Adelaide changed their name to the Bite, but they always had the same luck at the end of the season. Before last season’s big win, they came in second place four times in the new league.
During the ABL regular season, the Giants were the best team. In Sunday night’s game, the score was tied at 1-1 until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Briley Knight doubled with two outs and scored two runs.
Following that, Todd Van Steensel pitched the ninth inning and sealed the win. He pitched three scoreless innings in the championship series, giving up three hits and five strikeouts. He was named the most important player of the series.
