Canberra reach Asia baseball series final - Sydney Morning Herald

AAP

The Canberra Cavalry may be the only team involved in baseball's Asia Series not to be shocked by their remarkable qualification for the tournament's final.

Before their opening-game triumph over Taiwan's EDA Rhinos, no Australian team had won a match - let alone made the final.

But in the past week the Australian Baseball League champions have not only won a match, they toppled a second Asian champion - South Korea's Samsung Lions - to reach Wednesday night's final.

Previously the Perth Heat had sent their dominant ABL-winning sides to two Asia Series, but despite some strong showings have returned with five losses and no wins.

In bettering those efforts, Cavalry manager Michael Collins says his players have awoken the Asian powerhouses to the strength of the game in Australia.

Along the way they've also become the first team from outside of Japan, Taiwan and Korea to reach the final.

"I think we've earned some respect for the Aussie teams," Collins told AAP from Taiwan on Tuesday.

"Whether it's been the Perth Heat, us or the national team, Australian teams have come to Asia and put on a great show.

"We've been in games, had great performances, but come up short.

"(Australian teams) have been right on the edge for so long.

"And everyone says 'great effort, good games'.

"But maybe winning the games is what sticks in the minds of the people here.

"Getting over that hurdle was important."

Their stunning 9-5 upset of the Lions, care of a two-run home run to catcher Jack Murphy, on Monday night (Tuesday morning AEDT) shocked most observers.

But Collins said it was everything his team had expected.

"We came here to win," he said.

"We obviously understood the competition was great and winning was definitely a huge challenge.

"But we've put ourselves in a position where that could be a reality.

"And we believe that is possible, maybe more so than other people do.

"I'm sure at the end of the day we've shocked some people.

"But I definitely think we've shocked some people more than we've shocked ourselves."

They will face either the Uni Lions (Taiwan Champions) or the Rakuten Eagles (Japan champions) who contest the second semi-final on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEDT).