With two more weeks to go in the Australian Baseball League season, the Canberra Cavalry, the team of four Blue Jays minor leaguers, lost three out of four games to the Sydney Blue Sox and have moved into a three-way tie for second place (with Sydney and Adelaide) with a record of 19-19.

 

 

Thursday’s game opened the weekend with a narrow 4-3 loss to the Blue Sox. Second baseman Jon Berti went one for four with with a walk, a pick off and was caught stealing. Catcher Jack Murphy went two for two with two RBI and a walk while Michael Crouse went one for four with a double and a walk and striking out once.

 

On Friday, Canberra won their only game of the series with a 10-0 shutout of Sydney. The Blue Jays trio (Shane Opitz has already gone back to the US) contributed seven of the club’s 15 hits with Jack Murphy having an epic five-for-five day with five singles and two RBI. Berti went two for five, scored two runs and stole his 24th base of the season. Crouse went oh for three with a run scored and a walk.

 

Saturday’s game was a tough 9-6 loss for Canberra despite Michael Crouse’s seventh home run of the Australian campaign. Crouse added a single but struck out three times. Murphy went one for five with a pair of RBI while Berti went one for three with a walk, an RBI and was caught stealing.

 

Sunday involved a heartbreaking, 12-inning, 3-2 loss to Sydney. Berti and Murphy had a hit each with Berti stealing once and getting caught once while Crouse went oh for four with a walk.

 

As of now, Crouse is sitting third in the home run race in the ABL. He’s got a .308/.408/.542 line with four doubles and seven home runs. He also is fourth in the ABL with a .950 OPS. Murphy is fourth in batting average with a .331/.384/.431 line with seven doubles and two home runs. Berti leads the league in stolen bases with 25 to go along with a .301/.424/.428 line.