# 2018–19 Australian Baseball League season

The 2018–19 Australian Baseball League season was the ninth year Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 15 November 2018 to 2 February 2019. It was the first season that it was played with eight teams, as the league expanded for the first time. The Brisbane Bandits won the championship for the fourth consecutive season.

## Teams

Teams in the ABL :
| Team | State / Territory | Stadium |
| Adelaide Bite | South Australia | Diamond Sports Stadium |
| Auckland Tuatara | New Zealand | McLeod Park |
| Brisbane Bandits | Queensland | Holloway Field |
| Canberra Cavalry | Australian Capital Territory | Narrabundah Ballpark |
| Geelong-Korea | Victoria | Geelong Baseball Park |
| Melbourne Aces | Victoria | Melbourne Ballpark |
| Perth Heat | Western Australia | Baseball Park |
| Sydney Blue Sox | New South Wales | Blue Sox Stadium |

## Regular season

With the addition of the Auckland Tuatara and Geelong-Korea as expansion teams, the competition was split into a 'Northeast' and 'Southwest' division. The league retained a 10-round, 40 game schedule, with teams playing division rivals eight times and inter division teams four times.
Key :
* Secured Semi-finals berth
* Secured Wild Card berth
Northeast Division :
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Away |
| 1 | Brisbane Bandits | 25 | 15 | .625 | 1.0 | 12–8 | 13–7 |
| 2 | Sydney Blue Sox | 25 | 15 | .625 | – | 14–6 | 11– |
| 3 | Canberra Cavalry | 23 | 17 | .575 | 2.0 | 13–7 | 10–10 |
| 4 | Auckland Tuatara | 14 | 26 | .350 | 11.0 | 8–12 | 6–14 |
Southwest Division :
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Away |
| 1 | Perth Heat | 24 | 16 | .600 | – | 12–8 | 12–8 |
| 2 | Melbourne Aces | 23 | 17 | .575 | 1.0 | 14–6 | 9–11 |
| 3 | Adelaide Bite | 19 | 21 | .475 | 5.0 | 10–10 | 9–11 |
| 4 | Geelong-Korea | 7 | 33 | .175 | 17.0 | 4–16 | 3–17 |

### Statistical leaders

Batting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| AVG | Gift Ngoepe | Sydney Blue Sox | .437 |
| HR | T.J. Bennett | Brisbane Bandits | 13 |
| RBI | Tristan Gray | Perth Heat | 41 |
| R | Tristan GrayTim Kennelly | Perth HeatPerth Heat | 38 |
| H | Dwayne Kemp | Sydney Blue Sox | 55 |
| SB | D.J. Burt | Melbourne Aces | 18 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| W | Tim AthertonJosh GuyerSteve Kent | Brisbane BanditsSydney Blue SoxCanberra Cavalry | 7 |
| L | Jin-U Kim | Geelong-Korea | 8 |
| ERA | Shota Imanaga | Canberra Cavalry | 0.51 |
| K | Alex Maestri | Sydney Blue Sox | 78 |
| IP | Markus Solbach | Adelaide Bite | 65+1⁄3 |
| SV | Todd Van Steensel | Sydney Blue Sox | 10 |
* ↑ Minimum 2.7 PAs per team game.
* ↑ Minimum 0.8 IP per team game.

## Postseason

A new playoff structure was announced 29 August 2018 with the addition of a single wild card game between the fourth and fifth seeds prior to two rounds of best-of-three finals series.
The top seed awarded to the team with the best regular season record, with the other division winner awarded the second seed. The third and fourth seed were awarded to the two divisional runner ups with the fifth seed being given to the team with the next best season record.
| Wild Card | Wild Card | Wild Card | Semi-finals series | Semi-finals series | Semi-finals series | Championship Series | Championship Series | Championship Series |
| | | | 1 | Brisbane Bandits | 2 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Canberra Cavalry | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Melbourne Aces | 0 | 5 | Canberra Cavalry | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Canberra Cavalry | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Canberra Cavalry | 1 | | | | 1 | Brisbane Bandits | 2 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Perth Heat | 0 |
| | | | 2 | Perth Heat | 2 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Sydney Blue Sox | 1 | | | |

### Championship Series

| 31 January 2019 19:00 (UTC+08:00) Game 1 | Perth Heat | 2-3 | Brisbane Bandits | Baseball Park, Perth Attendance: 2,870 Umpires: HP: Brett Robson. 1B: Paul Latta. 2B: Ryan Harder. 3B: Tom West. LF: Peter Bowie. RF: Lou Bonomi. |
| 31 January 2019 19:00 (UTC+08:00) Game 1 | LP: John Anderson (0-1) | Boxscore | WP: Ryan Bollinger (1-0) Sv: Ryan Searle (1) | Baseball Park, Perth Attendance: 2,870 Umpires: HP: Brett Robson. 1B: Paul Latta. 2B: Ryan Harder. 3B: Tom West. LF: Peter Bowie. RF: Lou Bonomi. |
| 02 February 2019 18:00 (UTC+10:00) Game 2 | Brisbane Bandits | 9-4 | Perth Heat | Holloway Field, Brisbane Attendance: 2,304 Umpires: HP: Paul Latta. 1B: Ryan Harder. 2B: Tom West. 3B: Brett Robson. LF: James Shields. RF: Gavin Carson. |
| 02 February 2019 18:00 (UTC+10:00) Game 2 | WP: Tim Atherton (1-0) | Boxscore | LP: Connor Lourey (0-1) | Holloway Field, Brisbane Attendance: 2,304 Umpires: HP: Paul Latta. 1B: Ryan Harder. 2B: Tom West. 3B: Brett Robson. LF: James Shields. RF: Gavin Carson. |
| 02 February 2019 18:00 (UTC+10:00) Game 2 | HR: T.J Bennett (1), Wade Dutton (1), Andrew Campbell (1) | Boxscore | HR: Pete Kozma (1), Robbie Glendenning 2 (2), Chris Clare (1) | Holloway Field, Brisbane Attendance: 2,304 Umpires: HP: Paul Latta. 1B: Ryan Harder. 2B: Tom West. 3B: Brett Robson. LF: James Shields. RF: Gavin Carson. |