Adelaide Bite manager Chris Adamson excited for future after sharing series with Sydney

ADELAIDE Bite missed the playoffs after sharing their final series with ladder-leading Sydney Blue Sox, but manager Chris Adamson said there are plenty of reasons to be excited for the future.

Adelaide Bite star Stefan Welch has announced his retirement.

ADELAIDE Bite manager Chris Adamson is confident the club has the foundations for a successful future after sharing their final series against high-flying Sydney Blue Sox in West Beach on Saturday.

The Bite finished with a 19-21 win-loss record to narrowly miss the playoffs and while describing the season as a big step forward after winning only 11 games the previous year, Adamson said it was a case of so close, yet so far.

“It’s hard not to go back and think of some games we did not give ourselves the best opportunity to win,” he said. “But if you look at where we have come from in the past 12 months, it is a step in the right direction.

“We have re-signed a good core of our team and have a bigger foundation to build on which is exciting. We also have an extremely young team and they will continue to grow, both individually and collectively as a group, and will be fun to watch.”

The Bite upset the Blues Sox 3-0 on Thursday night, only to be thumped 2-12 the following night. They bounced back in the first game of the Saturday double header, celebrating young gun Jordan McArdle’s 100th ABL game with a 3-2 victory.

However, the Blue Sox showed the form which has taken them to the top of the Northeast division with a 20-8 win in the second game. They added 15 runs in the final two inning.

Bite star Stefan Welch, the club leader in games, hits, runs, home runs and RBI, announced his retirement before the double leader.

“It was a solid way to finish the season,” Adamson said. “We played really, really well for two games and the other two games got out of control a little.

“They are a solid unit and leading the league for a reason. It was good for our group to continue to compete even though the games did not matter in the scheme of things.

“I’m proud of the way they went about it.”