Surfers set up decider

“SAME plan.”

Armed with unwavering self-belief, Surfers Paradise will stay true to their Greater Brisbane League blueprint ahead of Wednesday’s championship-deciding battle with Windsor.

The Bluewave yesterday sent the grand final series into a third and final game after mounting an inspirational fightback from 4-0 down to seal a 5-4 win at Carina.

It took a 10th-inning RBI from Scott Hillier to separate the sides, who went blow for blow in Windsor’s 11-6 game one victory on Friday night.

Chasing a record-breaking sixth-straight pennant, the Royals led 4-0 midway through yesterday’s game before a Matt Studeman grand slam levelled the scores.

Japanese import Kentaro Ueda then showed coolness under pressure on the mound, pitching the last four innings for the underdogs without giving up a run.

While his young squad could have been forgiven for wilting under the pressure of a star-studded Windsor side, Surfers coach Matt Corbitt said he never doubted the Bluewave would prevail.

“I believe in all the guys on the team and I wouldn’t have put them out there if I didn’t. I back them the whole way and they back each other,” the former Brisbane Bandits and US college star said.

“The guys didn’t get down on themselves at all (when they trailed 4-0). We just encouraged them and made sure we stuck to the plan.

“The guys just hung in, stuck with the fundamentals and came out on top. It was a great baseball game all-round, pretty exciting.

“It’s probably the best way you could end it. The guys loved it, they were super excited and are pumped for Wednesday.”

The result was a reversal of game one, where Surfers led for long periods before being run down.

While momentum has now swung to the Bluewave, Corbitt does not believe it will play a role on Wednesday.

“It comes down to one game so I don’t think momentum is going to play a huge part. We were up early on Friday and they came back and beat us, but then in game two they were up and we came back and beat them.

“It’s always a battle (to get momentum) but today we got back on top of it. Everyone played a part, no matter how big or small because you don’t get in the situation to tie or win the game without everyone doing their job.”

Game three will be played at Carina at 7.30pm on Wednesday.