Loek van Mil dominates in seven-out save

Partially thanks to a 2+ inning outing by Loek van Mil, the Adelaide Bite beat the ABL title favorite Brisbane Bandits in the first game of a doubleheader.

The Bite took a bold 3-0 lead in the second inning as they scored two runs in the first on an RBI single by Tai-Shan Chang and an RBI 6-4 groundout by Angus Roeger. The third run was scored on a solo home run by Isaia Quiroz.

But the Bandits pushed through in the third inning. Back-to-back singles by Andrew Campbell and Kenshi Sugiya were followed by a line drive home run to left center field hit by Chih-Sheng Lin. After Matt Williams fanned the next two batter, Logan Wade tripled and scored on Wade Sutton’s grounder to left field.

After former Dutch hoofdklasse pitcher Justin Erasmus kept the Bite from scoring in the fourth, just like he did in the third, he gave up a three-run homer to Tai-Shan Chang that lifted the Bite to a two-run lead in the top of the fifth. Brisbane scored one more run in the bottom of the fifth, but there their offense stalled.

To secure the win, Bite manager Chris Adamson sent Dutchie Loek van Mil to the mound in the bottom of the fifth with two outs. Van Mil did what he had to do. In 2.1 innings he retired all seven batters he faced of which six on strikeouts.

Jack O’Loughlin earned the win after pitching 2.0 innings in which he gave up a run on two hits and a walk as he struck out three. Loek van Mil earned the win. Justin Erasmus took the loss after giving up that three-run homer.

Donald Lutz of the Brisbane Bandits went 0 for 4, striking out thrice.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Dutchie Bas Nooij, who doesn’t get much playing time with the Bite, got on base twice. Once thanks to a single and once as he drew a walk. Loek van Mil did not see any action in this game as the Bite was clobbered by the Bandits 11-2.