The Sydney Blue Sox held on to beat the Adelaide Giants 8–7, taking a 2–0 stranglehold on the series.

What began as a brisk pitchers’ duel quickly morphed into a chaotic, thriller featuring six lead changes and a massive 31 combined hits capped off by a dramatic walk off that had Blacktown on its feet.

Across the opening three innings, neither side could find a breakthrough. The first 15 outs flew by in just 25 minutes, including four first pitch outs, as both starters set an early tempo.

Sydney cracked the scoreboard first in the third, with Pablo Nunez driving in a run with a one-out single to continue his red-hot start to the season.

But Adelaide answered immediately. After back-to-back singles, Jordan McArdle delivered a clutch two out, two run double to lock things up at 2–2. The Giants then pushed ahead 4–2 in the fifth through Yusei Ishizuka and Devin Saltiban, who each picked up RBIs.

Sydney hit back with an RBI double from Jaylin Rae in the fifth and an RBI forceout from Michael Campbell in the sixth to level the contest at 4–4.

The Giants reclaimed the lead in the eighth when Yu Aramaki launched a towering solo shot over right field. But the advantage lasted only minutes Nunez struck again, ripping a two run double to put Sydney ahead 6–5 heading into the ninth.

That’s when things really exploded. With two outs in the top of the ninth, a dropped third strike opened the door for Adelaide. Ishizuka made the most of it, crushing a 10 pitch battle over the centre field wall to steal back a 7–6 lead.

Eric Rataczak belted the first pitch he saw into the left field seats to tie the game yet again. Two singles from Jo Stevens and Dylan Leach set the table, bringing veteran 39 year old substitute Michael Campbell to the plate with two outs and an 0–2 count.

Campbell didn’t blink punching a sharp grounder into centre to walk it off and seal a memorable Blue Sox victory.

Sydney starter Landen Bourassa worked 5.0 innings, allowing eight hits and four earned runs, striking out three without a walk. Coen Wynne and Josh Guyer closed it out behind him.

For Adelaide, Tomoki Tamura was solid across 5.2 innings (9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) before Cooper Morgan, Danyony Pulido, and Todd Van Steensel took over.

Sydney out hit Adelaide 18–13, led by a sensational performance from Pablo Nunez, who went 4-for-5 with a double and four RBIs. Jirvin Morillo added a 3-for-4 night with a walk.

But the moment belonged to Campbell — 3-for-5 with two doubles, and the swing no one in the ballpark will forget.