The Canberra Cavalry couldn't reward starting pitcher Aaron Thompson with his first win of the season as their high-powered offence failed to fire in a 3-1 loss to the Melbourne Aces on Sunday.
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For the second week in a row to start the Australian Baseball League season, the Cavalry (6-2) won three out of four games to consolidate their lead atop the standings.
The Cavalry were aiming for a series sweep after a 2-0 win on Friday night and back-to-back victories 18-6 and 6-4 in Saturday's double-header.
But the Cavalry's offence produced just three hits on Sunday – two of which came in the first inning – as Aces pitcher Mike McGillivray threw a complete game.
Thompson was equally as difficult to get away, giving up just one run on four hits with three strikeouts while not conceding a walk in five innings.
It was a big improvement on his previous start when the 24-year-old right-hander gave up six runs and 13 hits in five innings in a 12-4 loss to the Brisbane Bandits last Sunday.
"He had a great outing," Cavalry manager Michael Collins said.
"Realistically we could have kept him in there, but with the rest of the bullpen being so well rested, we wanted to get them in there this week so they're not sitting for too long.
"Definitely a great sign for him and hopefully something he will continue."
The Cavalry gave Thompson the perfect start when Ryan Miller singled on a line drive in the top of the first inning to drive in Jeremy Barnes.
Thompson kept the Cavalry in front until the bottom of the fifth inning when Tanner Vavra crushed a solo home run to left field to tie the scores.
Relief pitcher Rafael Fernandes (loss, 1-1) took over for the Cavalry in the sixth inning.
Vavra continued to haunt the Cavalry when he drove a double into right field to bring in Brad Harman and Mike Hill for the Aces to go ahead 3-1.
The Cavalry will now turn their focus to next week's home series with the Sydney Blue Sox starting Thursday night at the Narrabundah Ballpark.
"All in all, it was another great series for us," Collins said.
"It's a great way to start the season, especially for a team coming together so close to the beginning of the season."
ABL: Melbourne Aces bt the Canberra Cavalry 3-1 at the Melbourne Ballpark on Sunday.
