Melbourne Aces claim series decider against Canberra Cavalry

The Melbourne Aces had been left without an opponent after the Perth Heat pulled out of Victoria in response to Western Australia closing its border to the state.

But cometh the hour, cometh the Cavalry. With short notice and limited preparation, Keith Ward's outfit flew south to keep Melbourne's series alive.

Cavalry manager Keith Ward's team has been one of the hardest hit by coronavirus disruptions, but Canberra finds itself 2-3 after five games against the defending Claxton Shield holders after losing Sunday afternoon's series decider.

"So far the team has shown me they're prepared to do anything and everything they can to get games in, to represent the Cavalry but also make sure other teams in the ABL are in good shape whenever possible to get games in," Ward said.

"At the end of the day, all everyone wants to do is play baseball at the highest level available."

The Cavalry bounced back from a 5-3 loss to split Saturday's doubleheader at Melbourne Ballpark, keeping the Aces scoreless in the second match.

A pitching masterclass from import Shawn Morimando combined with a strong offensive innings, saw the Cavalry knock-off Melbourne 7-0 under lights.

The former Cleveland Indians pitcher struck out five, allowing five hits and a walk.

Robbie Perkins hit a three-run homer in the third, but the lead became almost unassailable when Donald Lutz sent Zach Wilson home with a long ball two frames later.

"Mormando just proved again that he's one of the top pitchers in the league. He came out and gave us five quality innings again on short rest after pitching Thursday night," Ward said.

"He just tied up the Melbourne batters and gave our offence a chance to work into the game and learn lessons. Perkins and Lutz came up huge for us with home runs, the whole team started to show they're settling in and had quality bats up and down the line-up."

Melbourne proved too good in Sunday afternoon's series decider, winning 11-4 after jumping out to an early 7-0 lead after three innings.

Ward was impressed by the performance of starting pitcher Frank Gailey in Saturday's first match, having kept Melbourne to two runs in four innings with eight strikeouts.

"I thought Frank was awesome in the first game. He gave us four quality innings and when we gave the ball over to the bullpen we had the lead," Ward said.

"Frank was on short rest after throwing in our inter-squad game on Thursday night. He was never in a situation where he would go deep in a ball game - but he's going to take the ball whenever you ask him. He's a team-first guy and did an awesome job for us. Unfortunately we couldn't hold the lead."

The Cavalry are scheduled to meet the Brisbane Bandits and Adelaide Giants away in a double-header on January 18. They're also in talks to host Melbourne at Narrabundah Ballpark next week, with their Sydney Blue Sox series in doubt due to ACT border restrictions.

"We're in a situation where we look like playing our first nine games against Melbourne. I think for the most part we're two fairly evenly-matched teams, albeit they have more depth in the pitching department," Ward said.

"At the end of the day, we're playing the best and I think it's fantastic for the Melbourne crowd and our crowd."