The 2018-19 ABL season began its final weekend, as the ABL Championship Series kicked off in Perth, with the two division winners facing off against each other. It was a tightly played affair, with the Brisbane Bandits eventually pulling ahead to claim the victory, winning by a score of 3-2. They now lead the best of three series 1-0.

The Bandits kicked off the scoring early, with Wynton Bernard driving in Logan Wade with an RBI double for the first run of the ballgame. They would add on another thanks to an uncharacteristic error by former major leaguer Pete Kozma.

The Heat would tie it up, scoring a run in the third, and a one in the fourth, highlighted by an RBI single from right fielder Tim Kennelly.

As both pitchers settled into the game, runs became harder to come by, until the Bandits broke through with a run in the seventh to take a 3-2 lead, with Wade Dutton driving in Logan Wade for the go-ahead run.

Both starters put together good starts, as Ryan Bollinger went six innings for the Bandits, only giving up one earned run while picking up six strikeouts. Loek Van Mill worked two scoreless innings out of the pen to earn the hold, and Ryan Searle came in in the ninth and pitched a 1-2-3 inning to earn the save.

For the Heat, John Anderson kept the Bandits off balance through 6.2 innings of work, giving up three runs (two earned), along with striking out seven Bandits.

With this win for the Bandits, it means they are only one win away from their fourth consecutive ABL title, and they will have two shots at it back home, as the series shifts back to OneHub Stadium Powered by Optus in Brisbane for the final two games of the series.

Game two will go on Saturday night at 6 pm AEST, as Tim Atherton will take the ball and look to secure the Claxton Shield for the Bandits.