Bandits chase a hit and run win

BRISBANE heads to Geelong for its first Brut Australian Baseball League series against Geelong-Korea needing wins — and a bit of help — to claim the Northeast Division title.

The Bandits enter the final round of the regular season two wins back from division leaders Sydney after claiming a split against Canberra last weekend.

Brisbane needs to record two more wins than Sydney (away to Adelaide) and one more than the Cavalry (home to Perth) in Round 10 to clinch the division title and a home semi-final series in week one of the playoffs.

The Bandits (21-15) hold the tie-break advantage over the Blue Sox (23-13) and Canberra (21-15) in the event of a two-team tie.

But the Cavalry would come out on top if a threeway tie occurs due to their superior record in match-ups between the teams.

Brisbane kept its title hopes alive by coming back from 2-0 down to claim a series split at home to Canberra last weekend.

The Bandits rode a powerful offensive performance to a sweep of their Saturday double-header with the Cavs.

Brisbane has blasted a league-high 20 homers in January and sits behind only Canberra with a .294 batting average since January 1.

Riley Unroe (13 runs batted in), Andrew Campbell (11) and TJ Bennett (10) are all in the league top-five for RBI this month.

But while the Bandits pack offensive punch, they will have to be wary of GeelongKorea.

GK has found a way to frustrate opponents, despite sitting last in the South-West Division.

They rallied from six runs down to top Perth 13-10 in a wild extra-innings battle on Sunday, denting the Heat’s hopes of hosting a playoff series.

Catcher Tae-Joon Lim and outfielder Dong-Gyun Woo have come onto GeelongKorea’s 22-man roster.

Entry for children is free this weekend.