Swans end drought to claim finals win

The 2017/18 Port Hedland Baseball season has come to a close, with A- grade and A reserve grand finals played last week.

It began on Wednesday night with the first A-grade game played between Brewers and Swans.

The underdog Swans came away with the win 23-11 to claim game one of the three-game series.

The main event was on Saturday, with the A reserve final played during the afternoon when Brewers took on Pirates. A seasoned finals competitor in Pirates proved too much for a young Brewers side, claiming the winning final 13-7.

Pirates’ Darren Webster and Corey Thurlow topped the batting chart, with both players bringing in two runners each — Webster from two doubles and a single, while Thurlow hit two singles.

Leigh Italiano came a close second with a single RBI from two doubles. Eugene Cheong took top spot for the Brewers’ batting stats, going three from four and earning two RBIs.

Timara Simpson claimed second position, also with two RBIs from two singles. Brendan Bush contributed a single for his team from four plate appearances.

Kane Hayter pitched the entire match for Pirates, who sent an impressive total of 10 Brewers back to the dugout.

Pitching on the Brewers’ side was a shared affair, starting with Luke Bush. Bush struck out eight Pirates from his five-inning stint at the mound, followed by Cheong to close the match in the last two digs, who sent a single Pirate back to the bench.

Hearts soared and hearts were broken as game two of the A-grade finals series between Brewers and Swans continued.

Tensions flared and anticipation ran deep as the championship was on the line, with Brewers needing the win to even the score and Swans to take out the series.

As the frontrunners for the entire season, Brewers fell short as Swans ended their 25-year drought to take the match 15-11, giving them the two wins needed to be this season’s finals winners.

Swans presented a strong batting line-up, with Matt Glasson and Anthony Baker sharing top batting spot with two singles from three plate appearances each, both players also adding two RBIs to the tally. Teammate Nathan Bann also brought in two runners for his team off two doubles.

Jesse Barron topped the Brewers’ batting list, bringing in two runners off one single.

Fellow player Luke Bush had two singles from his time at the plate, adding a single RBI to the score.

Kenny Brackin also added a single RBI from his time at bat.

Brewers’ pitching was again shared, starting with young Brendan Bush, who sent two Swans packing from the first four innings.

Fred Lindberg came on to pitch the five remaining digs, matching Bush’s efforts with two strikeouts.

Swans’ pitching was a solo effort as Kyle Edwards showed tremendous endurance to pitch the entire nine-inning match, earning a total of nine strikeouts. Edwards was the series’ most valued player.