The Australian Baseball League Championship Series begins Friday night at Blacktown International Sports Park in Rooty Hill, Australia.
The ultimate prize is the Claxton Shield, awarded to the annual winner of the best-of-three series. This year, the Sydney Blue Sox and Adelaide Giants are the two finalists.
Sydney Blue Sox – The Blue Sox finished in first place during the regular season in the four-team league with a 24-14 record, winning more games on the road (13-6) than at home (11-8). They own home-field advantage for all three contests in the championship series.
This is Sydney’s first appearance in the title round in franchise history. Their 29 home runs ranked dead last in the ABL, but they finished second behind the Giants (222) in runs scored with 208.
Outfielder Eric Rataczak is the hitter to watch for the Blue Sox. He had a .336 batting average and .982 OPS in 38 games during the season, finishing with a club high seven homers and 27 RBIs.
Landen Bourassa is a candidate to start Game 1 on the mound for Sydney. The right-hander finished the regular season with a 6-2 record and 2.31 ERA in nine starts.
Adelaide Giants – The Giants finished in second place with a 19-20 record, scoring 13 more runs than they allowed. As noted, they will be the road team for all three contests.
Adelaide won the Claxton Shield in two of the last three seasons, failing to reach the championship series during the 2024-25 campaign.
Their position player to watch is shortstop Nick Ward, a 20-home run hitter during the summer in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball with the Lancaster Stormers. Ward had a .354 average and .942 OPS in 38 games during the ABL regular season.
Jack O’Loughlin could receive the starting nod for the Giants in Game 1. He led the club with 10 starts and had 62 strikeouts and a 3.91 ERA in 48 ⅓ innings.
ABL Championship Series Schedule
* – If necessary
Game 1 – Friday, Jan. 23 at 3 a.m. EST
Game 2 – Saturday, Jan. 24 at 3 a.m. EST
Game 3* – Sunday, Jan. 25 at 2 a.m. EST
Fans can watch the action unfold on Baseball+.
