Brisbane are just one win away from claiming back-to-back Australian Baseball League Championships after a 6-2 win over the Melbourne Aces in game one of the finals series.
The defending champion Bandits went into the game boasting the league's most potent offence and again lived up to that reputation when it counted.
Trent Oeltjen hit the first of Brisbane's four home runs to score a double with Aaron Whitfield also rounding home plate to give the Bandits an early 2-0 lead.
David Sutherland extended the margin to 3-0 in the second when he scored Kevin Padlo on a single.
Melbourne pulled two back in the second innings through Mike Walker and Jared Cruz but that was as good as it would get for the hosts.
David Rodriguez hit home in the third to put the Bandits ahead 4-2 before back-to-back home runs from Logan Wade and Padlo in the eighth extended Brisbane's lead to the eventual 6-2 margin.
The Aces' starting pitcher, Mark Hamburger pitched eight innings for 10 hits, six earned runs, one walk and four home runs while striking out 10.
For Brisbane, Justin Erasmus pitched 2.1 innings and allowed six hits, two earned runs and one walk.
Erasmus was one of six pitchers used by the Bandits to Melbourne's two.
Melbourne, who finished atop the regular-season standings with a 26-14 record to earn an automatic championship berth, can push the series into a deciding game three with victory on Saturday.
