“Hey now, you're an all star
Get your game on, go play”
Synergy is a beautiful thing. Dudes in suits fall to their knees in tears whenever they witness true synergy. For one brief moment, they can forget about vertical integration -- or even their children -- and just live in the moment. That’s what it’s all about.
As voting kicked off for the All-Star game, you couldn’t escape the song _All-Star_ by Smash Mouth. You also couldn’t escape the marketing for the cinematic masterpiece _Shrek_. Every team was issued Shrek-coloured versions of their uniforms, complete with Shrek-coloured bats. When the home team won, the dulcet tones of Mike Myers echoed through the stadium: “GET OUT OF MY SWAMP.” (To clarify, this phrase is never actually said in the movie -- it was recorded specifically for the league.)
This marked the first time Australian and New Zealand teams played each other, with all the New Zealand teams flying over to tour Australia. (The Australian teams will tour New Zealand in August.)
Unfortunately for the Kiwi sides, they heard “GET OUT OF MY SWAMP” a bit too often — the Australian teams collectively went 120–96 over the three-week stretch.
The Newtown Jets caught fire during this stretch, going 16–2 to tighten their grip on the top spot in the Australian North Division. The Bay of Plenty Magic had a horrible time in Australia (more on that later), but so did everyone else in their division, so they remained on top of New Zealand North.
The Preston Bears surged into first in Australia South, aided by a strong 7–2 run against fellow Australian teams. And the Wellington Bees, who ended April on a seven-game win streak, carried that momentum into May -- adding eight more to cap their Australia tour and overtake both the Vikings and Suns.
Some of our picks for most interesting games.
12 May: Northland Dolphins @ Newtown Jets
Northland 3B Wilson Hemi gave everything in this one.
In the 7th -- with the Dolphins down 5–1 -- he ripped a two-run double, then came around to score the tying run later in the inning.
In the 8th -- now tied 6–6 -- Hemi did it again, this time hitting an RBI double to give Northland the lead. He later scored to make it a two-run advantage.
But in the bottom of the 8th, Newtown 1B Jeremy Mason responded with a two-run double of his own to tie the game. He then stole third and scored the go-ahead run on a sac fly from 2B Brodie Hacker.
Closer Isaac Wahl came on for Newtown, and eight pitches later, it was over.
13 May: Wellington Bees @ Fitzroy Boehemians
Early on, singles from 2B Filander Robinson and LF Guy Pearce put Fitzroy up 3–0.
But the Bees responded in the 8th with back-to-back home runs from 1B Aidan Whyte and PH Judah Hobbs to take a 4–3 lead. LF Reggie Harrington added an insurance run in the 9th to make it 5–3.
Fitzroy’s bottom of the 9th was cinematic: PH Deacon Herron singled, PH Joel Webb launched a homer to tie it, and then LF Guy Pearce walked it off with a solo blast.
23 May: Bay of Plenty Magic @ Canberra Griffins
A game of stark contrasts -- Canberra smashed Bay of Plenty for 19 runs, including **three home runs** from 1B **Jaxon Bratlie**.
On the other side, **Austin Dunnam** threw a perfect game for Canberra.
27 May: Waikato Morepork @ Manly Breakers
This Sunday afternoon game was loaded with drama.
Tied 3–3 in the 8th, Waikato PH Carl Abbruzzese doubled, followed by a walk to 3B Kal Cummins and a single from PH Curtis Small to load the bases. C Carter Scholes then hit a sac fly to give the Morepork a 4–3 lead.
In the bottom of the 8th, Manly PH Rion Mesa reached on a single. CF Pete Thomson sac bunted him to second, setting up LF Marshall Guildford, who had already hit a two-run homer earlier in the game. He repeated the feat: first pitch, gone. Manly led 5–4.
Top of the 9th: a pop-out from 1B Benjamin Hollingsworth was a good start for Manly, but LF Brian Smith singled, PH Kai Hughes walked, and PH Murray Low blooped a single to center. Thomson’s throw to the plate sailed high, allowing Smith to tie it.
In extras, Low doubled home Smith in the 11th, but a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning allowed 1B Lewis Sykes to reach third, and SS Kyle Field brought him home with a sac fly.
The 12th went quietly. In the top of the 13th, Kai Hughes singled, and Low doubled him in again -- Low’s third clutch hit since entering in the 9th. Waikato up 7–6.
Bottom of the 13th: a walk, strikeout, another walk, and a pop-out set the stage for C Warley Bolen, who drilled a liner down the right-field line. It cleared the bases and gave Manly the win.
29 May: Manawatu Vikings @ Hawkes Bay Moonshots
A 2-out dinger by 1B Adam Dinger in the bottom of the 9th kept the Moonshots alive.
The game dragged on to the 19th inning, past 1 a.m., when Leo Galloway finally walked it off with a two-run homer.
Injury News
- Parramatta Rebels 3B Lou Deegan hasn’t played since April 24 due to an oblique strain. Initially expected to miss four weeks, the timeline has been pushed back an additional six. He was hitting .386/.439/.545 (164 wRC+).
- Parramatta also lost #4 SP Zach Southard for the season with shoulder inflammation. He posted a 4.06 ERA / 1.61 WHIP across 51.0 innings (105 ERA+).
- The Waikato Morepork are sweating on injury reports for 1B Benjamin Hollingsworth and LF Brian Smith. Hollingsworth is hitting .355/.431/.541 (163 wRC+), and Smith sits at .316/.494/.508 (176 wRC+). Losing both would be a massive blow.