Auckland's Andrew Marck came up big for the Tuatara as they scored a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Sydney Blue Sox in game three of their series on Saturday night.
Trailing 1-0 at the top of the ninth inning, with two outs and the bases loaded, Marck hit the ball to left field, driving Yonny Hernandez and catcher Jonny Homza home to hand Auckland the lead for the first time.
Reliever Elliot Johnstone calmly got the final three outs for the save to hand the Tuatara their 18th win of the season while maintaining their four-game lead atop the northeast division.
"To have our local players do this and contribute this much is the very reason why we started the Tuatara in the first place and why I accepted the job offer," manager Stephen Mintz said.
"It is just amazing to see how the whole thing has come together and how the quality in performance has gone up and up.
"Pinky [Marck] and Elliot have been great for us all season and they deserve all the praise in the world."
The Tuatara will now look to seal the series when they take on the Blue Sox in the final game of the series on Sunday.
Former Major League pitcher Jen-Ho Tseng will take to the mound for his Tuatara debut in the match.
