Auckland Tuatara closer Lucas Jacobsen pitches against Geelong-Korea at North Harbour Stadium. Photo: SMPIMAGES/Baseball Australia.
Auckland Tuatara closer Lucas Jacobsen pitches against Geelong-Korea at North Harbour Stadium. Photo: SMPIMAGES/Baseball Australia.
The Auckland Tuatara have the Australian Baseball League playoffs in their sights.
With a 16-11 record through seven weeks of the season, they're in pole position in the North-East division, with a multi-win buffer on their nearest rivals.
After starting the year with just one win from eight games, the Tuatara found their groove in recent weeks, with Geelong-Korea the latest team to be put to the sword.
The Auckland side swept their fellow ABL newcomers in a four-game series at North Harbour Stadium this weekend, extended their winning streak on home soil to 11 games and confirming the ground's status as a fortress.
In their debut year in the competition, run production was a glaring issue for the Auckland side as they scored the second fewest runs in the competition and finished the season with a 14-26 record at the bottom of the division.
This year, they're having no such troubles.
Led by the 'Bash Brothers' Josh Morgan and Jared Walker in the heart of the order, with the consistency of Andrew Marck and the power of Won-Seok Kim and Sir Bas Nooij at the lower end, the Tuatara have made a habit of putting up big numbers and making opponents chase them.
Andrew Marck has been a consistent performer for the Auckland Tuatara this season. Photo: SMPIMAGES/Baseball Australia.
It was the case against Geelong-Korea, with Morgan and Walker, who joined the Tuatara from the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers organisations respectively, combined to score 10 runs while driving in another nine on 16 hits which included three home runs.
The side got production throughout the line up throughout the series, with Walker, Kim, Nooij and Yonny Hernandez having highlight moments over the four-game stretch.
While the bats are working at the moment, the side has the reassurance of a solid pitching staff with their bullpen in particular showing immense improvement over recent weeks. Local hurler Elliot Johnstone has been particularly good, not allowing an earned run through seven appearances, while striking out 18 hitters through 17 innings of work.
Starting pitcher Jimmy Boyce has a 2-1 record this season. Photo: SMPIMAGES/Baseball Australia.
Johnstone and fellow relief pitcher Emerson Martinez, another product of the Rangers association, share the third-best win-loss records in the league, both at 3-0, while closers Hever Bueno and Lucas Jacobsen are among the league leaders in saves.
The Tuatara will look to work towards clinching a playoff spot when they go on the road to meet the Sydney Blue Sox next weekend, before meeting the Canberra Cavalry in Canberra and finishing the regular season at home to Brisbane.
