(Daniel Eade is a BPL contributor and freelance journalist)

Left-handed pitcher Adam Blackley will be bringing the heat when the Melbourne Aces play their first game of the 2010/11 season of the revamped Australian Baseball League, starting tonight against the Adelaide Bite at Norwood Oval.

With opening day here, Blackley will step to the mound for the Aces as the team's starting pitcher, a full circle adventure for the 25-year old who was born in Melbourne and has seen his baseball career take him to the Minor Leagues in the U.S. and over to Amsterdam, as well as appearances with the Australian National Team.

Blackley will go head-to-head with Bite starting pitcher Paul Mildren in the Thursday night showdown, which will be the first of four meetings between the Aces and the Bite this week. The teams will square off against each other again on Friday night and play a double-header on Saturday.

The Aces have Manager Phil Dale in the driver's seat.

Dale, an icon of Australian baseball, has put together a team that he believes will be up there with the best from day one, and the Aces are expecting more big player signings as the season grows.

Earlier this week, the Aces announced they had acquired five players from the Tokyo Giants, the most successful franchise in Japan baseball history, with pitching duo Masumi Hoshino and Norihito Kaneto arriving with Itaru Hashimoto, Takahiro Ijuin and Yoshiyuki Kamei.

Full of praise for his squad, Dale was extremely pleased with his newest additions, "The Melbourne Aces team now comprises a fantastic mix of local and international talent. As well as showcasing our own Victorian players, the Melbourne Aces team now includes top international stars," said Dale.

The six teams who will compete in the inaugural season of the ABL are the Adelaide Bite, Brisbane Bandits, Canberra Cavalry, Melbourne Aces, Perth Heat and the Sydney Blue Sox. The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs.

The Sydney Blue Sox opened their campaign with a 1-0 victory over the Canberra Cavalry last Saturday. Blue Sox right-fielder Mitch Dening got the hit that sent Timothy Auty home in the bottom of the eighth inning. Wayne Lundgren picking up the win for the Blue Sox, while Jun Hyeok Heo was credited with the loss for the Cavalry. The two sides resume their series on Friday night.

The Brisbane Bandits host the Perth Heat in this week's other series.

The Melbourne Aces will play their first home series against the Canberra Cavalry on November 26-28 at the Melbourne Showgrounds and the 4,300 capacity is expected to be sold-out on the first night.

It has been over a decade since Australia had a professional baseball league, but with the backing of Major League Baseball in the US, the new ABL is expected to be a summer hit with fans, highlighted by very cheap ticket prices and an array of fan interaction on the night.