The Bulldogs rode the strong right arm of national team pitcher Sean Cleary to beat The Bigs 5-1 and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven final.
Kelly’s can wrap up their fifth straight senior league crown in Game 6, 6 o’clock Monday evening at Lions Park.
Green Sleeves, with five straight championships from 1988-92, have the league record for most consecutive titles.
Cleary was his usual dominant self Thursday evening, allowing only two hits while tossing the third strike past 19 hitters. He hit two batters and issued one walk.
Mark Power (4H, 1HB, 6W, 9K) was tagged with the loss.
The Bigs were right in it up until the bottom of the sixth. That’s when Power walked a pair of hitters, and then gave up a three-run shot to Shane Boland.
Only Peter Kavanagh and Stephen Jesso managed to get hits off Cleary.
