A former racehorse galloped across Narrabundah Ballpark and the crowd beat their inflatable sticks as the Canberra Calvary got their Australian Baseball League campaign off to a dream start.
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Two crucial innings and three home runs set up Canberra's 8-4 win over the Melbourne Aces in warm conditions on Thursday night.
Sweet Caroline blasted across The Fort as the Cavalry lifted their caps in celebration after overcoming a slow start.
Melbourne aced the first inning and took an early lead through Luke Hughes' RBI double, but that's when their charge stopped.
American import JJ Hoover stalled their momentum and held Melbourne scoreless for the next five innings, with Queensland product Rhys Niit and Japan's Takamasa Kasai closing the game out from the bullpen.
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"I thought it was a solid first start," Cavalry manager Keith Ward said.
"Obviously it's warm conditions, [Hoover] is a big guy so I think he went through a period there and struggled a little bit but he got his second wind and finished off strongly.
"There's good signs for us and for him to going down the track. It's really exciting."
Jordy Barley led the Cavalry's batting line-up in the third and fourth innings, which saw the home side take a dangerous 8-1 lead.
Barley hit Robbie Perkins and Cam Warner home with a double in the third, while Zach Wilson drove in Gavin Cecchini.
Kohlwey Taylor, Barley, and Cam Warner then hit three successive homers in a four-run fourth inning to blow the game wide open for the hosts.
"I thought the top and bottom of our order did a fantastic job," Ward said.
"We were able to string together some hits in the third and fourth innings to give ourselves a good lead.
"They showed they're going to go out there and swing the bat and score runs. That's a sign of things to come for us when they get a few games under their belt."
Melbourne fired back and scored three runs in the eighth but Japanese import Kasai quashed any hopes of a late comeback with a scoreless ninth.
"He locked it down for us, it was the key," Ward said.
"It was really important and it was a nice situation to get him an innings on the mound. He's going to be a key for us out in the bullpen as the season progresses.
"A four-run lead can change pretty quickly, so we wanted to make sure we had one of our quality guys in there for the last inning to put on the exclamation mark."
Calvary will face Melbourne in their second match of the series on Friday night.
ABL round one: CANBERRA CAVALRY 8 bt MELBOURNE ACES 4