Nilsson's Bandits secure ABL four-peat

Sunday, 3 February 2019:

Australian great David Nilson is a proud man after the Brisbane Bandits became the first team to win a fourth straight Claxton Shield.

The Bandits clinched the Australian Baseball League championship series 2-0 over the Perth Heat with an emphatic 9-4 win before home fans in Brisbane on Saturday night.

"My emotions are on the edge," said Nilsson, who has coached the Bandits since 2014. There are a lot of things going through my head.

"I am really proud of the team and the organisation who has been on the journey with us."

ndrew Campbell, Wade Dutton and TJ Bennett hit home runs for the Bandits, who blew Perth away with a six-run third innings to take an unassailable 8-0 lead.

Starter Tim Atherton worked eight innings in another impressive outing, allowing just four runs on seven hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts.

The Heat hit four solo home runs to cut into the lead, with Robbie Glendinning going deep twice while Pete Kozma and Chris Clare also homered, but they never really threatened.

Atherton was named 2019 the series MVP after allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts.

Glendinning finished with a game-high three hits for the Heat.

The triumph in Brisbane followed a 3-2 win in Perth on Thursday night and meant Brisbane have matched Perth's tally of four titles in the nine-year history of the modern-day ABL.






AAP