Do pitchers or hitters win you games? It's an age old debate, but Canberra Cavalry manager Michael Collins has praised his hurlers for giving them a shot at winning ball games.
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Cavalry pitcher Scott Cone gave up just one run in 4.1 innings on Sunday as Canberra cruised to a dominant 3-1 series victory over the Adelaide Bite at the Adelaide Baseball Complex.
The win was Canberra's third on the trot after clinching both matches in Saturday's double-header and pushed the Cavalry three games clear in second place on the ABL ladder.
"I'm just very very pleased with where our pitchers are at," Collins said.
"To be able to keep us in all the ball games, and we came up with some big outs when we needed it.
"Coming into this, we knew it was going to be a big series for us. To take three was a huge bonus for us. It kind of sets us up for the run home, especially for the teams that we play against."
Canberra held a slender 2-1 lead at the top of the sixth before Robbie Perkins and River Stevens hit doubles to extend the margin to five.
Adelaide threatened to eat away at Canberra's 6-1 advantage in the bottom of the seventh with bases loaded, but pitcher Andrew Case delivered at a crucial stage to pick up two outs.
Collins said maintaining second spot in the standings was "huge" leading into a home series against the ladder-leading Melbourne Aces next week.
"It's such a short season in the grand scheme of things, and the way it's set up with the four games a week, it makes it difficult sometimes to separate yourself," Collins said.
"Winning three games out of four here against a good team, definitely a big result that helps with the final three weeks to come."
Collins expected the Melbourne series to be a battle of the pitchers, and Canberra's stocks have been bolstered by the return of Claxton Shield winner Brian Grening.
AT A GLANCE
Game One
Canberra 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3R 9H 4E
Adelaide 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 X 8R 9H 0E
Game Two
Canberra 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 5R 11H 0E
Adelaide 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2R 7H 1E
Game Three
Canberra 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 5R 9H 0E
Adelaide 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3R 6H 1E
Game Four
Canberra 0 0 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 6R 10H 0E
Adelaide 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1R 6H 2E
