Canberra Cavalry hope Blue Sox victory sparks ABL season comeback

The Canberra Cavalry have fired a warning shot at their Australian Baseball League rivals with a 18-2 victory over the Sydney Blue Sox at Narrabundah Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.

Six homers and seven quality innings by Yokohama pitcher Kosuke Sakaguchi put an end to their six match losing streak, in turn avoiding a Blue Sox clean sweep.

And the best part? Cavalry manager Keith Ward says the best is yet to come.

"It was a really good effort. Even though we were down 10 runs early in Saturday's game, we fought really hard, batted back hard to try and win in the end," Ward said.

"That rolled over to [Sunday]. I thought they played with spirit and a lot of fight. They showed each other the type of team and players we are and hopefully that's a bit of spark that ignites us for the rest of the season.

"We lost six straight matches, we know there's been a few results that have fallen our way but we need to make sure we're still in touch with the other teams in our division.

"We want our fans and members to stick with us. Our best baseball is still ahead of us and we're ready to hit our straps and get some wins under our belt."

Cavalry batter Gavin Cecchini blew the game open with a three-run homer in the bottom of the third, driving in Jordy Barley and Cam Warner to make it 5-0.

David Kandilas tripled on a fly ball to send Tucker Nathans and Zach Wilson home to round out the inning, but the Blue Sox kept them scoreless in the fourth and fifth.

The Cavalry continued their charge in the sixth, extending their lead by another seven runs. Wilson and Jerrick Suiter hit three-run homers, while Taylor Kohlwey scored off a Chuckie Robinson single.

"The real pleasing thing for me is we didn't rest on the third inning," Ward said.

"We put pressure on the ball game, added another seven-run inning and others along the way.

"Cecchini had a huge game. He had three hits and two home runs. We had six home runs for the game so that was really pleasing for us. All the hitters provided us with a level of offence."

Sakaguchi pitched seven innings with an ERA of 6.50 and held Sydney to just two runs, with Michael Crouse and Connor MacDonald scoring in the fifth and seventh innings respectively.

The Cavalry will be looking to continue their comeback when they host the Brisbane Bandits at Narrabundah Ballpark next week.

"Brisbane are two games ahead of us so a strong series will put us right back into the mix for the playoffs," Ward said.

AT A GLANCE

CANBERRA CAVALRY 18 (117 007 20) bt SYDNEY BLUE SOX 2 (000 010 100)