By ADEM SARICAOGLU
THE Melbourne Aces lost 24 of their 46 regular season Australian Baseball League games this summer.
As it turned out, slightly better fortune in any one of those defeats would have been the difference between staying alive in the finals and going home.
The Aces were placed fourth to end the regular season last week at 22-24 – the exact same record as the finals-bound Canberra Cavalry.
Melbourne was also just one game short of the 23-23 Sydney Blue Sox, who hosted Canberra in the preliminary final series on the weekend.
Aces manager Phil Dale told Star of his disappointment in getting so close, yet being so far from the play-off action taking place in Sydney and Perth.
“It’s frustrating that we didn’t get to host a final by just one game,” Dale said.
“We were solidly competitive right through the summer.
“We played a lot of good baseball to put us in that position so you can’t be disappointed in that, but just one more win would’ve put us in a great position.”
Everything was on the line for the Aces going into their last four-game series of the regular season on the road to the Blue Sox.
They were able to split the series 2-2 – but the damage was done on the opening night with a controversial stolen home base call that led to a 4-3 Sydney win.
While that call may well have proved a fatal one on the Aces’ ultimate plight, Dale said he will look back on the 2013/14 summer somewhat positively after finishing last at 15-31 the year before.
Dale particularly noted his side’s improved competitiveness – which included four wins against ABL frontrunner, Perth – throughout the summer.
“We were hitting the ball and playing teams more competitively than anybody else,” he said.
“I think the games we were losing we were just losing by freaky one-run situations, so they weren’t convincing losses.”
Import catcher Ryan Casteel was the clear standout for the Aces this summer, batting at .343 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs on the season.
First baseman Jared Schlehuber was also impressive, batting above .300 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs of his own.
