The Canberra Cavalry's dreams of a series sweep against the Melbourne Aces have gone up in smoke and they're already counting down the minutes until game four.
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An Aces onslaught shattered Canberra's hopes of a perfect weekend in a 10-4 win at the Narrabundah Ballpark on Saturday night.
Canberra broke out to a 2-1 lead in the early going but things went downhill at the top of the fourth as Melbourne blasted seven runs in one inning.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts as Cavalry manager Michael Collins was ejected by third base umpire Matthew Pearson during the fourth inning.
Canberra battled hard to rediscover the form that saw them rack up a staggering 31 runs in the opening two games of the series but ultimately went down swinging.
The Cavalry couldn't manage to eke out another run while the Aces scored late through Brett Cumberland and Tyler Neslony to extend the lead.
The Cavalry set a ballpark record of 17 runs on 20 hits on Thursday night when their bats took a liking to former Major League pitcher-cum-Aces gun Mark Hamburger, belting him for five home runs.
For a little while they looked like backing it up as they scored a stunning 14 runs from 15 hits in the return bout on Friday night.
But game three was a much different affair from the outset as Melbourne put two miserable outings behind them in a comprehensive victory.
Canberra have now dropped to 8-6 on the season but they've got a chance to clinch the series in game four at Narrabundah Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
The clash looms as a vital one in the condensed ABL season with the Aces improving to an identical 8-6 record.
AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE:
Sunday: Canberra Cavalry v Melbourne Aces at Narrabundah Ballpark, 1pm.
