Canberra Cavalry manager Keith Ward admits they got caught short in the ABL play-offs, but he thinks an overhaul of their recruiting is unnecessary.
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For the second straight season the Cavalry bowed out in game three of the semi-final series, losing 6-3 to the Adelaide Giants in Adelaide on Sunday.
The Giants advanced to face the Melbourne Aces in the decider next weekend.
Overall, Ward was happy with the season - especially how they overcame the adversity caused by Canberra's toxic air.
But he admitted they were a couple of players short come finals.
They recruited to cover the expected losses of their Yokohama Baystars on the eve of the play-offs, but the unexpected losses of Phil Pfeifer, Jerrick Suiter and Gavin Cecchini hit hard.
Pfeifer and Suiter were recalled by their Major League clubs, while Cecchini quit because of the smoke.
"We probably got caught a bit short there at the end with a little bit of depth in the starting rotation," Ward said.
"Even though all those guys did a fantastic job, ideally you'd like to not have [Frank] Gailey pitching on three days rest ... and JJ [Hoover] having to start after throwing three innings in the wildcard game.
"It was a battle and a testament to the guys."
To make life more difficult, the Cavalry lost outfielder David Kandilas following a collision with shortstop Kelvin Melean attempting a catch, while Melean was later ejected from the game.
But Kandilas's replacement Jack Middleton produced a massive hit to get the Cavalry back in the game when trailing 4-0 and their limited pitching depth allowed reliever Josh Warner to shine.
They pulled it back to 4-3, but when they gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth it proved too big a hurdle to overcome.
"[Warner] was huge. He's been a big part of our bullpen, getting quality outs in big situations is absolutely massive," Ward said.
AT A GLANCE
CAVALRY 000 003 000 3R 6H 1E
GIANTS 100 300 02x 6R 10H 0E