The Portuguese Baseball and Softball Federation (FPBS) and Major League Baseball International (MLBI) are hosting coaches’ clinics in Abrantes, Portugal for European coaches’ levels I & II. The clinics are to be given in two parts over several weeks in February and March 2012, and are open to the international community of European Baseball & Softball coaches. A key element to the continued development of the sport in Portugal and in Europe as a whole, these clinics were developed following well-established protocols in European Union standards of coaching for all sport. These clinics will provide world-class instruction in both practical and theoretical knowledge of the sport, covering all required topics of pedagogic application for each respective level. Interested parties should contact the FPBS for more information, as spots will fill quickly.

Level I: Baseball and Softball – 41 hours – Combined clinic for Baseball and Softball coaches

Abstract:
This clinic is designed for new coaches (beginners) – coaches of young athletes ages 12 and under with accompanied supervision of higher-level coach (Level II coach or higher). It covers all aspects and knowledge of the game necessary for coaching young athletes ages 12 and under for both Baseball and Softball.

Level II: Baseball – 62 hours

Abstract:
This clinic is designed for advanced coaches – coaches for athletes of all age levels. Level II coaches are supervisors of Level I coaches and assistant coaches to those with an equal or higher-level of acquisition. The clinic covers all necessary aspects and knowledge of the game for coaching athletes of all age levels and is a continuance of Level I.

In accordance with European Union standards, the Portuguese Baseball Softball Federation has established a coaching system and development program in 2 parts: General (basic knowledge of Physical Education) and Specific (Baseball and Softball). This system aims to continue the development of Portuguese and European coaches for all 4 levels of coaching certification.

• Level I – Coaches for youth 12U teams
• Level II – Coaches for 18U teams; senior team coach for regional competition
• Level III – Senior team manager; national competition coach for all age levels
• Level IV – National team manager

Following the completion of practical and theoretical sections of this clinic, a certificate will be given to those coaches who have met the requirements of each course. This certificate will include information about level completed, the amount of hours, and will be stamped and signed by Jim Jones (International Sports Group/MLBI) and the FPBS.

More Information on Baseball and Softball Coach Clinics

On December 28th and 29th the Vilnius Cup was held in Vilnius, Lithuania. The Cup is an annual indoor international baseball tournament in the Cadet division featuring teams from Lithuania as well as neighboring countries. This year’s tournament hosted a tournament-record 16 teams from six different countries (Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Belarus, Czech Republic).

The level of play between teams in the tournament was both of high quality and even throughout, with many games ending in small margins or in a tie. Each year the quality of play among all teams has improved.

Vilnius Sporto Vilkai won the tournament for the second year in a row in similar fashion, defeating Brest Zubry (Belarus) in the finals by a score of 10-2. Third place honors were earned by Moscow SDJŠSOR (Russia) by defeating Trebic Nuclears (Czech Republic) 3-2 in the bronze medal game.

The tournament champions, Vilnius “Sporto Vilkai”, were very happy with their results and hope to carry this success through to the European and World Championships in the Cadet division for 2012. Tournament MVP honors went to Marius Balandis of Vilnius “Sporto Vilkai”. The best player from each team was selected to the All-Tournament team. Honors were also given to the tournament’s best pitcher and hitter.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite all Clubs and Federations to next year’s Vilnius Cup 2012

for full tournament results go to: Beisbolo fanai

Final Tournament Standings:
1. Vilnius „Sporto vilkai“ (LTU)
2. Brest „Zubry“ I (Belarus)
3. Moscow SDJŠSOR (Russia)
4. Trebic Nuclears“ (Czech Republic)
5. Brno „Draci“ (Czech Republic)
6. Utena „Vėtra“ (LTU)
7. BK „Vilnius“ I (LTU)
8. Brest „Zubry“ II (Belarus)
9. „Kiili Panthers“ (Estonia)
10. Skidelis „Sugar Storm“ (Belarus)
11. Kaunas „Lituanica“ (LTU)
12. Dzialdovo „Yankees“ (Poland)
13. BK „Vilnius“ II (LTU)
14. Kaunas Region „Tigrai“ (LTU)
15. Radviliškis „Bėgiai“ (LTU)
16. Vilnius Women’s Baseball Team (LTU)

Enclosed in a letter to the SBDA received last week was a generous donation made by the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs coordinator of community affairs and special projects, Vijay Tekchandani, personally sent in the donation after explaining the donation had originally been sent in May however, was returned back to him. The Cubs representative also enclosed a letter which stated that this donation was made on behalf of the Samardzija brothers, Jeff and Sam. Sam had contacted Mr. Tekchandani on behalf of the SBDA in the spring and obviously made an impression on him along with brother Jeff who just completed his fourth season with the Cubs organization.

This donation comes at a great time as the season has come to a conclusion and winter practices have begun in Serbia. Many kids in Serbia will no longer have to attempt catching a fly ball bare handed and will be outfitted with proper baseball gloves thanks to the Cubs. In our efforts to raise awareness among Major League Baseball and its individual clubs, the Chicago Cubs have been the first club to make a donation to the SBDA. We hope that other MLB clubs will follow the lead of the Cubs and help in the SBDA’s effort of spreading the joy of baseball amongst the underprivileged youth of Serbia.

by www.baseballeurope.com

Anniversary, the tenth Moldova’s baseball championship was won by club KVINT-SDIUSHOR no.4 (from Tiraspol) which was finished on 30 October 2011.

Standing:

1. KVINT-SDIUSHOR no.4 ( Tiraspol)
2. PIRATES (Chisinau)
3. TIRAS-SDIUSHOR no.4 ( Tiraspol)
4. ABATOR (Chisinau)

06 November starting Open National Cup.

by www.baseballeurope.com

Blagoevgrad Buffaloes are the baseball masters of Bulgaria and they proved it with another title in the National championships. With their 45-year-old playing manager Yassen Nedelchev still in charge, the “bisons” overtook Dupnitza Devils 3-2 in the best-of-five final series. The decisive Game 5 took place last Saturday, October 29th, at Porter Field in Blagoevgrad where the Buffaloes sealed their trophy with a 5:2 win.

Blagoevgrad’s ace Martin Andonov threw a complete game giving only 6 hits and 2 runs, none of them earned (0 ER). For the Devils Martin Velinov lasted 7 innings on the mound and was charged with 7 hits and 3 runs and Petyo Petkov closed it, being responsible for the last 2 runs in the game.

For the Buffaloes it was the seventh consecutive and 18th altogether title in the 22 years of Bulgarian baseball history. Established back in 1993 Blagoevgrad’s ball club has played in every championship finals since and has lost only once – in 2004 when it was outdueled in five games by Dupnitza. Only one another team has managed to win the championships – Sofia Academics did it three times in the early ages (1990-1992).

2011 BULGARIAN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

October 1st, Game 1
BLAGOEVGRAD – DUPNITZA 9:1

October 2nd, Game 2
BLAGOEVGRAD – DUPNITZA 7:9 (Final 11)

October 22nd, Game 3
DUPNITZA – BLAGOEVGRAD 6:5

October 23rd, Game 4
DUPNITZA – BLAGOEVGRAD 2:14 (Final 7)

October 29th, Game 5
BLAGOEVGRAD – DUPNITZA 5:2

2011 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Blagoevgrad Buffaloes
2. Dupnitza Devils
3. Sofia Blues
4. Sofia Yunak
5. Sofia Athletic
6. Sofia Lions

On 10th of September Kiili Panthers won the finals over Sox Baseball, without losing a single game in the season. This was already the third Estonian Championship title for Kiili Panthers. The second place belongs to Sox Baseball from Keila.

In the first game of the finals young talented Panther Kristjan Ojasaar threw 14 strikeouts holding Sox on 1 run. On the other hand Panthers kept scoring against Tommy Markus, the starter of Sox. The game ended with 24:1 to Panthers. In the second game of the finals Kristjan Kruus took the mound, Sox also made several pitcher changes, but the game was pretty similar to the first one. By the sixth inning the rain got too heavy, so the umpire decided to stop the game and declared Panthers the winners and champions of 2011 season with 14:2 on the scoreboard. After that, the teams were awarded with medals.

2011 season was quite hectical. In the beginning of the season 5 teams entered the competition, three of them veterans (Kiili Panthers, Sox Baseball and Keila Pitbulls) and two new teams (Kostivere Amigos and Tallinn Baseball Club). Not far into the season Pitbulls had to drop out for several reasons, so 4 teams remained. Every team had two matches with each other – one home and one away game. The ranking was decided by wins. Kiili Panthers earned a place in the finals with 6 wins, but deciding the second finalist wasn’t as easy. Both Tallinn Baseball Club and Sox Baseball won 3 games. In that situation another game between the two teams was held that was to decide the second finalist. Sox won the game 11:9 to face Kiili Panthers in the finals and Tallinn Baseball Club ended up playing for the third place with Kostivere Amigos.

1. Kiili Pantrid
2. Sox Baseball
3. Kostivere Amigos
4. Tallinna Pesapalliklubi

By Jeffrey Darrion Siler II

The Almada White Sharks have taken the double this year with the recent winning of the Portuguese Cup.   Earlier this season, the Sharks clinched the National Championship of 2011, and this latest victory gives the South-side Tejo team the coveted “Dobradinha.”  This is the second “Dobradinha” for Almada, the first of which was in 2008.

Abrantes, Portugal again hosted the Portuguese Cup, with the finals being held on October 22^nd and 23^rd between the White Sharks and Bravos CSLV.  Day 1 saw an action packed first game between these two teams, with both sides scoring runs in the 1^st.  The visiting Sharks started the game with 3 hits and plated 5, while Bravos strung together 2 hits and a sac fly to plate 2.  White Sharks offense streaked on, scoring 6 in the 2^nd, and 4 in the 4^th.  While able to plate 3 more over the course of the afternoon, Bravos batters were not able to crack White Sharks pitching.  Starter Octavian Merineanu took the W, while Almada hurlers combined for 11K through 7-innings.  Sharks SS Silvio Silva hit 4 for 5 on the day with 6 total bases (2-2B, 4R, 2RBI), and newcomer Heslen Rodriguez was one of 5 Sharks to bat over .500.  Bravos starter Eduardo Molina was able to fan 7 through 6-innings, and notable hitting performances came from M Vicente, P Fonseca, and R Santos.  First game of the Cup Finals ended in 7 with a final score: WS 23-5 Bravos.  Box Score available here:

http://www.gamechanger.io/game-4e9d7882d55a3847b6000004/boxscore

Following the game, a skills competition was held for three different categories: Homerun Derby, Pitching Accuracy, and Speed Trials.  Three players from each team were selected for each category, the winner crowned as champion of each specific skill.  Judges Petr Stříbrcký and Luis Caratao oversaw competition and handed out medals to the winners. 

Final results: 

Homerun Derby Champion: Kirk Darwin (Bravos)

Pitching Accuracy Champion: Jeffrey Darrion Siler II (White Sharks)

Speed Trials Champion: João Tiago Fonseca (White Sharks)

Game 2 saw the continued offensive prowess of the White Sharks.  Almada posted 11 runs in the 1^st-inning, and totaled 18 runs in 5-innings of play.  Bravos were able to plate 3, with strong hitting from A Meneses (2B), T Lanoe, V Matos, and H Neto.  While hitters for Bravos were aggressive, they were unable to capitalize with runners in scoring position.  Notable hitting performances came from White Sharks pitcher Jeffrey Darrion Siler II (2-2B, 3B, 4RBI), Ricardo Costa (2B, 2RBI), and Rui Lopes (3B).  Almada pitching fanned 9 through 5-innings, while Bravos pitching fanned 6: Bravos pitcher T Lanoe totaled 5K in 3.2-innings of work.   Second game of the Cup Finals ended in 5 with a final score: Bravos 3-18 WS.  Box Score available here:

http://www.gamechanger.io/game-4e9d7864c0976069e3000003/boxscore

A very special thanks to all players for participation, and especially to Sandra Monteiro and the Portuguese Baseball and Softball Federation for the continued hard work and investment in Baseball in Portugal.

When 28.12. – 29.12. 2011

Where Azuolyno 5, Vilnius, Lithuania

Who
Director: Virmidas Neverauskas tel. +370 69999444 lietuvos.beisbolas@mail.lt
Assistant: Diana Pupininkiene, mail: dianapupi@gmail.com

Meeting Coaches meeting will be held on Tuesday at 8:00 PM at the Azuolyno 5, Indoor Soccer field

Rules Official Baseball rules with adjustments valid for minor leagues in CEB with the following additional adjustments: All matches except finals are limited by 50 minutes + completion of a started inning. Finals are limited by 60 minutes + completion. A match can end up in a draw!
*Score = (runs / innings at bat) – (runs received / innings in the field). Team can score max 5 runs in one inning (does not apply for semi-finals and the Finals).

Tournament plays 3 balls for a walk and 2 strikes for an out.

Bunt Attempt: The batter will be automatically out if the second foul ball after the first strike is the result of a bunt attempt. There is no limit on the number of foul balls that the batter may hit by swinging.

Pitching distance: 18 meters

Base distance: 26 meters

Tournament format and System

12 or 16 teams.
Four games will be played at the same time. 6 games guarantee for every team.
12 teams play in three groups with 4 teams. 2 best teams from each group will move on to play for 1-6 place, 2 groups with 3 teams. When the final game and the games for the other places.
16 teams play in 4 groups with 4 teams each. 2 best teams from each group will move on to play for the semifinal. Playoff games will be played in semifinal for final games.

Standings in a group will be decided on the following basis:
1. More points in total (win: 3 points, draw: 1 point, loss: 0 points)
2. More winnings from mutual face-offs
3. Higher score (see below)*
4. Ballot

Home and Guest are decided depending on the interim standings (first matches) and a ballot (all other matches).
*Score = (runs / innings at bat) – (runs received / innings in the field). Team can score max 5 runs in one inning (does not apply for semi-finals and the Finals).

Balls Wilson A 1217 Soft compression – provided by the organizer

Record Is taken by the Home team on a form provided by the organizer. Should be handed over to the referee immediately after the match, referee will check for completeness and accuracy and pass on for processing. The record can be provided in any, even very simplified, way – the organizer requires just correctly filled-in top part framed in bold (ie. team, runs, innings at bat, homerunners). Without these entries, the record cannot be accepted.

Players Acceptable years of birth are 1997 May 1 through 2000. Every team must have a line-up (can be sent by email before the tournament or handed in to the organizer before the first game of the team). In case a team has more players with the same name, please distinguish them in a unique way to ensure the accuracy of records and statistics.
All teams have to send rooster with names and birth dates of players a week before tournament. On the coach meeting team rooster and passports must be presented.

Umpires each team must have one umpire

Accommodation The organizer will make pre-bookings in tried and tested facilities. Binding reservations, payments, and related paperwork will be handled by the teams themselves. Contacts to accommodation facilities will be provided by Virmidas Neverauskas .The price including. Price for accomondation and food is about 15 EUR per person

Prizes Three best teams will receive medals at the closing ceremony(after the Finals), all teams will receive Cups (all provided and paid by the organizer). The best players will receive the individual prizes. (We kindly ask all teams to remain present until the closing ceremony.)

Medical service A Medical service will be available during the whole tournament. In case of need for a medical intervention, please contact the organizer.

Entry 50 euro

Additional every team can have practises in Vilnius BC batting cages for free

My first three months in Hungary has certainly been an adventure, one packed with memories that I’ll take with me well beyond my days coaching baseball.

In my role with the Hungarian National Baseball and Softball Federation, I have worked as a coach, run summer camps, conducted recruitment clinics as schools in Budapest and towns just outside of the Capital city, and have even played a bit for one of the country’s club teams.

The federation’s main objective here is to increase the participation among young children throughout this country of 10 million people, then develop them through Little League Baseball, which is set to become an affiliation here in the coming couple of years, and its junior program. The hope is that the cadet, junior and senior national teams will benefit from this youth movement as they look to improve their standing at the International level.

There certainly is some raw talent here among young children, however the challenge is to convince kids here that they can enjoy themselves while playing baseball, a sport which doesn’t boast as much constant action as in soccer, handball or water polo, which are the most poplar sports here. Baseball is a thinking man’s game, and that doesn’t often appeal to American kids that grow up with the sport all around them, nonetheless Hungarian kids whose only exposure to the sport may have come via the Internet or an occasional few innings they may have caught of a game on ESPN America.

That’s an obstacle that the federation is struggling to overcome. It’s hard to pull someone away from the “cool” thing to do in school or in extra-curricular activities after school or on weekends when all of their friends are doing it. The best athletes here have been recruited to play the popular sports since they were old enough to kick a ball, swim or throw the handball. For Americans, think trying to pry a basketball out of a kid’s hands and telling him to try out cricket or squash. It’s going to be a tough sell.

It’s a sell, however, that a select few here in Hungary are willing to put the time and effort into ensuring happens. Those on the federation’s board as well as some natives and Americans in towns throughout the countryside are doing what they can to establish and grow youth programs despite a glaring lack of equipment and resources. Often, kids can be seen practicing or playing in sneakers, gloves that are entirely too small for them, or with baseballs that look like a German Shepherd used as a chew toys the previous night.

It’s an uphill battle, but one that I have no doubt the baseball folks here in Hungary will eventually win, and the sport that I have grown up on and love so dearly will one day become household here.

by www.baseballeurope.com

Baseball club Zagreb is the winner of this year’s (14th) Interleague final tournament. Clubs from Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia and Hungary played in this year’s competition. The final tournament was played in Karlovac, Croatia. BC Zagreb (Croatia) played against BC Nada SSM (Croatia) in the final and Zagreb team won 10-7. This is a second crown for Zagreb team, as they already won the Croatian Championship title. For third place Slovan (Slovakia) won against Olimpia (Croatia) 23-8.
Jakub Rautner from Slovan was named the best batter. Best pitcher was Zagreb’s Ernesto Pereira. MVP of the tournament was Marko Pavlaković from BC Zagreb.

by www.baseballeurope.com

Tornado of Moscow (formerly from Balashikha) won the 9th Russian Baseball Championships title (3rd in a row). In the final best of 5 series they beat MGPU Moscow 3-1 (7-5, 5-3, 8-11, 14-7). The bronze came to North Stars of Moscow. There are still games to be played for the lower places due to suspended games.

As we head to our game vs. Austria, the mood on the bus was happy and confidence. You could feel that we were going to have a good game. On the ride over Gracjan and Kris introduce the Hat Game to the some of the players. It’s a fun game that you need to understand to play and you poke fun at the people who don’t get it. In college you have long road trips and you come up with games to occupy your time. On the bus is when Arek, the manager told me that I would start. As everyone heads on to the field I stay in the bus just to take a nap and relax. After a quick nap, I had a conversation with the bus driver, I explain a little bit about baseball to him and he was telling me about how Poland was back in the day. As I head to the field, I see the same kids I played with yesterday and I decide to teach them a handshake. They seem to love it and throughout the week we use the handshake to greet each other.

I go to my normal routine that I use to start a game, run, stretch, long throw, flat ground then head into the bullpen to throw from the stretch and wind up. I am a little nerve because you have your country on your shoulders and then have all your friends and family to make proud of and represented. Every time I pitch, even throughout college, I feel an energy from my teammates that they are excited and ready to play. It was true in the first inning when Kamil make a diving catch in center field that was amazing. In our second inning we were able to get four runs on the board with a sac fly from Grabacz, an RBI double by Zbaraz, an RBI single by Kalinski and a first and third play after Kraszewski who single to get on then got pick off to score Kalinski. I felt four runs were enough for me today because my arm was feeling very good. In the fourth inning, I had more help from my defense when Austria was threating and I threw a pitch that was a groundball to Kalinski where he started a double play and Grabacz make a sweet scoop to complete it. In the six inning, my third baseman Orlinski makes a driving play to his right and a sweet throw across the diamond to end the inning. As the game was getting in the later inning I still felt good and the coaching staff wanted me to finish the game. It wasn’t easy pitching against Austria, they are a very tough team who rarely strikeout and put the ball in play. This was evident when Tomsich came up to the plate in the 5th when we had a 16 pitch at bat. I threw everything at him include the kitchen sink and he would foul it off and take the pitches that were balls. I eventually strike him out but I had to tip my hat to him. After I got the last out I cry a bit because this game was dedicate to my dad who passed away in 2003 and I wanted to represent him and pitch well enough to help the country he was from win. I knew he was watching because I would feel him from time to time and he would be proud of me with a 6-1 victory.

In another European Qualifiers tournament in Barcelona, Spain. My good friend Justin Prinstein, who has helped me out with finding team to play for during the European seasons, is the pitching coach for the Hungarian National Team, and they got their first win with a 6-1 victory over Ireland

Tuesday was our off day of the week. We did our usually running and stretching in the morning then ate breakfast. I went back to bed until it was time to go scout our next opponent Latvia. I did some throwing during the game just so I am prepared to pitch any day that I’m called upon. After the game we went into Antwerp to explore the city and relax. I got to know Kris Dabrowiecki better; he lives in Boston, MA but is from Toronto, Canada. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 34th round out of high school but chose to attend Northeastern University in Boston instead. He was then sign by the Brewers after his senior year. He study finance and insurance and is using that working for a private investment bank. We then head back to the hotel and call it a night.

We wake up hoping to get on the winnings column against Latvia. We had a strong start from Lukasz Snopek who went 6 inns gave up 1 hit no runs and had 8 strikeouts. Ariel Rainko had a good day settling the table for us going 3 for 4 with a walk and 3 runs. Then we had 3 players with 2 RBI each, ŁUKASZ NOLBRZAK, PRZEMYSŁAW PALUCH and JAKUB GARBACZ on to a 15-0 win in 6 innings. At the game, two of my juniors that I coach three years ago drove from Den Hague, Sean Spaans and Mark Klappers to watch me play and hangout. It was good to see familiar faces and heard how they are doing now.

After the game we went back to the hotel to shower and change, half of us went back to the field to scout Austria the other stood at the hotel until it was time to meet up for dinner. We were kind of rooting for Austria to win since Slovakia beat us. During the game I notice some young kids throwing a sponge ball at the wall behind the dugout. They were playing a game that I played a lot when I was younger. It was simple you throw the ball against the wall and field it like a ground ball, if you missed you had to run to the wall before someone will hit you with the sponge ball. I played with them, remembering my childhood at the same time and it didn’t feel like I was in Belgium, just at a baseball field having fun. Good thing I didn’t miss the ball, some of the kids had good arms. Off we went to get dinner and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for Austria the next day.

I woke up excited to be in my first European Qualifiers, I couldn’t sleep well but I was still ready to go. We go out for a morning run and stretch, and then ate breakfast as a team. We proceeded back to our rooms to pack and get ready to head out to the field. We get to the field and do the normal baseball events before a game, battling practice, stretching and ShowTime. In Poland, they call infield outfield ShowTime, which I thought was pretty cool.

They announce the lineups after the grounds crew fix the field and everyone lines up by the line. There is no greater feeling then playing baseball for your country and hearing your national anthem being play. The highlights for Poland was Marek Deska who pitched 8 innings, gave up 2 earned runs and struck out 15. Gracjan Kraszewski was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and Lukasz Nolbrazk came up clutch with the bases loaded with a single through the right side that produced two runs in and gave us the 4-2 lead in the 6th.

Slovakia came back in the 9th to take the game 10-5. It was a tough game to swallow when you can see the victory up ahead and then a detour hits you before you reach your goal. A well played match for both sides and it feel like a 12 round boxing match because the game felt like it was taking forever to finish and both sides battle till the end. I give credit to Slovakia for not giving up.

After the game we did some running and stretching to loosen up our bodies from the match and then head for dinner. I got a chance to get to know Marek Deska, he is Polish-Canadian and this wasn’t his first trip for Poland. He helped them win a game in 2008 against Slovenia. He played three years in the Dutch Head class for RCH Mediamonks. He currently lives in Toronto, Canada and is a high school science teacher. To stay in shape he plays for The Toronto Maple Leafs of the Inter-County Baseball League.

I also spoke to David Philips, The Head Coach of Slovakia; he is from Chicago and is a Hall of Fame 1B for Wheaton College in Illinois. One thing I learn about meeting people in European Baseball, everyone has an interesting story of where they are from and what they are doing. We stay to watch Belgium vs. Austria for a few inns then back to the hotel.

As I say my final goodbyes to my friends and teammates in my last week in Munich, I head on my 9 hour train ride to Den Hague on Saturday. I spent the night with my former President of the Den Hague Storks Michel Spaans and his son Sean who I coached three years ago on the junior team. We caught up on what’s going on with the club and how I have been playing in Germany.

The next morning I head out to Antwerp, Belgium to meet my teammates who left Poland at 15:00 on Sat and arrived the next morning at 10:00. As I arrive I greet familiar faces and say hello to new ones. We all check in to our rooms and most of the guys took a nap because they couldn’t sleep that much on the bus. I unpack and get ready for the Technical Meeting with all the officials and coaching staffs. Marc Janssens, the head coach of Hoboken Pioneers drove us to the meeting and I go to know more about his team and the league in Belgium.

At the meeting I saw one of my buddies Ty Eriksen (Haar Disciples) who is here to help coach Austria and who I play against in the Germany Bundesliga. I also met, Kristaps Aldins who is the Head Coach of Latvia. The funny part is we played against each other in college in 2005, where he played for Vassar College and I played for John Jay College. He is now an assistant coach at Harvard University.

Soon after we had our passports inspected, then we head out to meet the rest of the team for dinner. We got to get to know each other better and share funny stories about baseball. We walk back to the hotel after dinner and I got ready to play catch with Gracjan Kraszewski in the parking as well as get to know him better. He has played in Belgium and Czech League in the past but lives in Pennsylvania now and is married.

After I played catch I went out to do a 20 minute run around the neighborhood then receive my arm massage from our trainer. I called it a night after because we play the first game of the tournament tomorrow [Monday] vs. Slovakia at 13:30 Brussels Time.

Roster Polish National Team for Antwerp, Belgium

1. SNOPEK ŁUKASZ OSIELSKO             P,1B
2. ZBARAŻ KAMIL MIEJSKA GÓRKA  OF
3. LAPCZYK KAROL ŻORY  P
4. RAINKO ARIEL ŻORY INF
5. ROTTER JULIAN ŻORY OF
6. MOTAS GRZEGORZ ŻORY OF
7. GARBACZ JAKUB WROCŁAW  1B,C
8. NOLBRZAK ŁUKASZ Wrocław P,2B
9. GRZANOWSKI MARIUSZ KUTNO INF
10. MATECKI ROBERT KUTNO 1B
11. SOBCZYK ŁUKASZ KUTNO OF
12. KOLASIŃSKI JAKUB KUTNO P
13. BIELECKI GRACJAN KUTNO P
14. KALIŃSKI RAFAŁ KUTNO  SS
15. DOBKOWSKI JOHN GAUTING INDIANS (GER) P/OF
16. PALUCH PRZEMYSŁAW RYBNIK C
17. DESKA MAREK CANADA P
18. KRASZEWSKI GRACJAN USA OF
19. ORLIŃSKI MIŁOSZ USA INF
20. DABROWIECKI KRIS CANADA  P
21. PAPROCKI MARIUSZ ŻORY INF
22. KRZYSZTOF NOWAK MIEJSKA GÓRKA P
23. MUSIAŁEK MARCIN WROCŁAW P/OF

ŻURKOWSKI ARKADIUSZ GEPARDY HEAD COACH

LISKO MICHAL OSTRAVA ARROWS CZECH PITCHING COACH

KUĆERA MARTIN OSTRAVA ARROWS CZECH  BENCH COACH

Reserves : Szymura Artur, Hałucha Tomasz

Results July 16:

Fighting Flies vs Apollo 19-9, 17-7

(These games count only for Slovak teams, because between Slovak teams we have more games)

All games in Round Robin are finished.

* Slovak teams have more games, that are not counted to InterLeague.

Next schedule: InterLeague Semifinal tournaments August 26 – 28

1. Semi final tournament 1 – Zagreb,  double elimination

2. Semi final tournament 2 – Szentendre,  double elimination

Box scores and stats

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Results July 9:

Slovan vs Angels 9:7, HR – Patrik Holub (Angels)

Angels vs Slovan 5:0, no hit game – Mike Wieda (Angels)

(These games are counted only for Slovak teams, because between Slovak teams we have more games)

Schedule for July 16

11:00 Fighting Flies vs Apollo at Bratislava

Doubleheader games

* Slovak teams have more games, that are not counted to InterLeague.

Box scores and stats

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Results week 10, June 18:
Fighting Flies vs Angels 4-11, 0-9

Schedule for July 2
11:00 Aeros vs Angels at Trnava
11:00 Apollo vs Fighting Flies at Bratislava
Doubleheader games

* Slovak teams have more games, that are not counted to InterLeague.

Box scores and stats:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

by Jeffrey Darrion Siler II

Following the season break for the European Cup Qualifier, Portuguese Baseball has seen new developments in competition as the National Championship comes to a close, and NEW Iberian Cup Competition begins.

June 19, 2011 was the last official competition in the Portuguese National Championship as Almada White Sharks faced-off against archrivals A.A. Coimbra. The games took place in White Sharks territory, Sobreda, Portugal on a sweltering, hot, sunny day on the southern side of the Tejo. Coimbra pitching stifled Almada hitters, and their discipline at the plate allowed for the visitors to take an early lead. It held through game 1 as A.A. Coimbra claimed victory over Almada (13-5).

The second match featured much the opposite, as Almada bats wakened to drive in 12 runs, while Coimbra only managed to post 1. With the final victory, White Sharks clinched top spot of competition and claimed title of Champions of Portuguese Baseball. Sandra Monteiro (President of the Portuguese Baseball and Softball Federation), Fernando Lucas (President of Almada White Sharks), and Antonio Matos (Executive Sports Representative for the City of Almada) were all at hand to present awards and deliver speeches. The continuing growth of interest in the sport and ongoing development of teams and players in the Portuguese Federation leaves those who are involved quite optimistic about the future of Baseball in Portugal. As a move to continue this development, an Iberian Cup Competition is in the making, featuring 6 teams from Portugal and Spain. The final details of this international Cup should be forthcoming later next week.

This weekend in Abrantes, the White Sharks of Almada will take part in an exhibition match against newly formed team from Abrantes, The Ravens. This new team seeks to join the Portuguese National Championship next season, and is looking to prepare for the Portuguese Cup this October. This weekend’s exhibition match will showcase the Ravens’ young talent, and be a platform for their entrance into National Competition.

Sleepwalkers – Rascals

Game 1: 14-2 (7 inn)

The first game between the two top Hungarian teams didn’t live up to the expectations, the reigning champion Sleepwalkers, crushed the visiting Rascals in the first game of the doubleheader. The young lefty, Tamás Szabó didn’t allow a run until the 6^th inning. Szabó held opposing hitters off balance and made them swing and miss. There wasn’t a hard hit ball until the substitute “Szasza” hit a hard liner over the leffielder Földessy’s head and scored the first run for them. The Sleepwalkers never let Gergely Felsővári to settle down scoring 9 runs in 4+ innings off him. The southpaw, Péter Draganits followed him on the mound , who seemed to have found the antidote to the Sleepwalkers’ bats, but got hit hard in the 6-7^th inning. The Sleepwalkers ensured to finish top seed in the northern interleague with this win.

Game 2: 0-6

The second game  looked to be much more interesting with the pitching match-up of Péter Gyurcsek and Gábor Nagy.  The home team now playing as visitors started off the game with back-to-back hits from Halmos and Bubla, but Nagy settled down and got Illés, Simonyi and Németh to pop-up. What didn’t go well for the home team, went great for the Rascals. It seemed like every time they managed a hit against Gyurcsek they scored the runner. Timely hits just didn’t happen for the Sleepwalkers, squandering runners in scoring position several times.

The Rascals celebrated their first ever championship win over the Sleepwalkers and left the city on a high note waiting for their first InterLeague playoff.

Results Week 10, June 18:

Rascals vs Sleepwalkers 2-14 (7), 7-0

Apollo vs Slovan 6-8, 6-1

(These games are counted only for Slovak teams, because between Slovak teams we have more games)

Angels vs Fighting Flies 14-2 (7), 4-3

(These games are counted only for Slovak teams, because between Slovak teams we have more games)

Schedule for June 26

11:00 Fighting Flies vs Angels at Trnava, original date May 28 – rained out

Doubleheader games

* Slovak teams have more games, that are not counted to InterLeague.

Standings for Semifinals tournaments

S C H E D U L E

1. Semi final tournament 1 – Zagreb,  double elimination

2. Semi final tournament 2 – Szentendre,  double elimination

Box scores and stats

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Although MKS Stal BiS Kutno didn’t play any game, the club is still at top of the Polish Baseball Extraleague’s table.

Only 2 pairs of teams swiched their places: Demony Miejska Górka advanced on 6 place instead of Silesia Rybnik (which was defeated by the club from Miejska Górka) and also Baseball Wrocław came back on the third place,
because the team during season won 3 times with Dęby Osielsko, which has the same won games quantity.

In Polish Womens Softball League only one doubleheader was played at Sunday. Diamonds and Caper splitted with victories.

Results Polish Baseball Extraleague:
Saturday, 4.06
BUKS Gepardy Żory @ UKS „Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 13-3, 18-0
TSB Demony Miejska Górka @ KS Silesia Rybnik 4-2, 8-7
UKS Dęby Osielsko  @ KS Baseball Wrocław 1-2, 9-2

Sunday, 5.06
UKS Dęby Osielsko @ WUKB Centaury Warszawa 0-1, 0-5
TSB Demony Miejska Górka @ KS Baseball Wrocław 8-1, 6-9
BUKS Gepardy Żory @ KS Silesia Rybnik 15-7, 8-11

Standings – Polish Baseball Extraleague (Team G/W/L):
1. MKS Stal BiS Kutno 16/14/2
2. WUKB Centaury Warszawa 16/11/5
3. KS Baseball Wrocław 18/9/9
4. UKS Dęby Osielsko 18/9/9
5. BUKS Gepardy Żory 16/8/8
6. TSB Demony Miejska Górka 16/7/9
7. KS Silesia Rybnik 16/6/10
8. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 12/0/12

Results Polish Womens Softball League (June 5):
4TB&S Diamonds Warszawa @ UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 7-17, 11-10

Standings – Polish Womens Softball League (Team G/W/L):
1. 4TB7S Diamonds Warszawa 10/5/5
2. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 8/5/3
3. MKS Szóstka Brzeg 4/4/0
4. MKS Stal BiS Kutno 8/4/4
5. WBSC Warriors Warszawa 6/0/6

Due to the final exams of 2nd-degree-trainer’s course in Poland only softball games were played.

Warsaw Diamonds are getting strong, in their 2nd season in Polish Womens’ Softball League they get their second and third victory after defeating Kutno Steel and Kędzierzyn-Koźle Caper.

Good and high scoring wins put Diamonds at 2nd place in PWSL’s table.

Results

Saturday, 28.05
MKS Stal BiS Kutno @ 4TB&S Diamonds Warszawa 3-12, 15-12

Sunday, 29.05
UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle @ 4TB&S Diamonds Warszawa 6-5, 5-16

Standings in PWSL (Team G/W/L)

1. MKS Szóstka Brzeg 4/4/0
2. 4TS&B Diamonds Warszawa 8/4/4
3. MKS Stal BiS Kutno 8/4/4
4. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 6/4/2
5. WBSC Warriors Warszawa 6/0/6

Press Release Panthers Patras

Baseball champions of Greece for the games of 2010-2011, are since Sunday the 01^st of May the Men team “Panthers Patras. This is the second major distinction that a Patras team get’s, because for sixty-one years the third city of Greece didn’t had any 1^st places in team men sports.

The game took place at the Hellenikon stadium in Athens, with opponent: the seven years consecutive champion Spartacus Glyfadas. The team from Patras won by 8-5, but was found two times back in score with 3-2 and 5-2. The success of the young club with manager and first coach Nick Sklavounos made the Patras city proud, and the team celebrated all night. The chairman of the Greek Baseball Federation, Mr. Panagiotis Mitsiopoulos said: “Congratulations to the Panthers for the title, it is really beautiful a provincial team to be crowned champion of Greece.

The Panthers came close last year for the title, as they ranked second. This year’s championship rankings are: Panthers Patras, Spartacus Glyfadas, Euryali Glyfadas, Marousi 2004, Milon New Smyrna and Olympiad Peristeri. The Ainos of Cephalonia and Dias Patras played only two matches and resigned, thus nullified from the league.

Results Week 8, May 28:
Fighting Flies vs Angels – rained out

Schedule for June 4:
11:00 Apollo vs Angels at Trnava
Doubleheader games

* Slovak teams have more games that are not counted to InterLeague.

Box scores and stats
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Sleepwalkers vs Apollo – In game 1, after slow start of Sleepwalkers, Apollo developed leading 6-2. In the top of 7^th Illes corrected score to 6-5 with HR on new Apollo pitcher Kosna. In the top of 9^th Sleepwalkers showed his hitting power with 7 hits and 9 runs for final score 16-11. HR – Imre Illes.

In game 2, Apollo with young pitcher Janovčík, added run to run and goint to lead. This game has scheduled 7 inn and Sleepwalkers power inning did not come. This game break Sleepwalkers 9 winning streak and Apollo 5 loosing streak.

Slovan vs Aeros – These games looked like a homerun derby – 5 in two games.

During games was clearly visible difference between Slovak defending champion Slovan and Aeros – new team in InterLeague. HR – Jakub Horáček, Michal Noga, Michal Ešmír (Slovan), Andy Slaughter – 2 (Aeros)

Next week Slovan Bratislava attends the Qualifier European Cup in Attnang-Puchheim.

Results week 7, May 21:

Sleepwalkers vs Apollo 16-11, 1-7

Slovan vs Aeros 18-4 (7), 10-4

Rascals vs Fighting Flies 8-5, 4-3

Schedule for May 28

11:00 Fighting Flies vs Angels at Trnava

Doubleheader games

* Slovak teams have more games, that are not counted to InterLeague.

Box scores and stats

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Group South (Serbia&Croatia):

21.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split – Vindija Varazdin 8-3
Olimpija Karlovac – Vojvodina Novi Sad 16-2 (7)
Beograd 96 Beograd – BK Zagreb 5-15 (7)

22.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split – Vindija Varazdin 14-9
Olimpija Karlovac – Vojvodina Novi Sad 14-1 (7)
Beograd 96 Beograd – BK Zagreb 4-11

* Qualify for semifinal tournament

Group North (Slovakia&Hungary):

21.05.2011.
Apollo Bratislava – Slepwalkers Szentendre 11-16, 7-1
Aeros Erd – Slovan Bratislava 4-18, 4-10
Rascals Janossomorja – Fighting Flies Bratislava 8-5, 4-3

Next games:

Group North

28.05.2011. (doubleheader games)
Angels Trnava -  Fighting Flies Bratislava

After this weekend no changes were made at top of Polish Baseball Extraleague. Leader is still last season’s champ, MKS Stal Bis Kutno, which defeated KS Baseball Wrocław 3 times in two doubleheaders, and next with 5 GB is Warsaw’s WUKB Centaury.

At bottom of the table is still this season’s debutant, UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle. BUKS Gepardy Żory moved up to 5th place after shutting out Miejska Górka’s TSB Demony at away doubleheader, which concludes the drop of the home team to 7th place.

Results Polish Baseball Extraleague:
Saturday, 21 May
KSB Wrocław @ MKS Stal BiS Kutno 7-0, 3-10

Sunday, 22 May
BUKS Gepardy Żory @ TSB Demony Miejska Górka 3-0, 4-0
KS Silesia Rybnik @ UKS Dęby Osielsko 5-6, 5-6
UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle @ WUKB Centaury Warszawa 1-7, 1-4
KS Baseball Wrocław @ MKS Stal BiS Kutno 0-3, 4-6

Standings (Team G/W/L)

1. MKS Stal BiS Kutno         16/14/2
2. WUKB Centaury Warszawa     14/9/5
3. UKS Dęby Osielsko          14/8/6
4. KS Baseball Wrocław        14/7/7
5. BUKS Gepardy Żory          12/5/7
6. KS Silesia Rybnik          12/5/7
7. TSB Demony Miejska Górka   12/4/8
8. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 10/0/10

by www.baseballeurope.com

The Mellieha Northenders Reflections Sports Bar & Grill were crowned Malta baseball champions last weekend, winning their eleventh title, and seventh in the last eight seasons. The Northenders swept the series, however a persistent Mustangs ball club didn’t make it easy for Mellieha.

Game 1 of the Championship Series brought back some fond memories to Maltese baseball fans, as both Charles Attard and Keith Bartolo were given the ball to battle out each other in yet another playoff game. The two pitchers faced each other several times during the playoffs between 2002-2007, and both won their fair amount of championships thanks to their fastballs and command. Both pitchers kept the opposing teams off balance all game long. Mustangs’ first baseman Patrick Pace gave the Mustangs the lead in the first inning, with a long two-run home run over the left field fence. The Mustangs scored another run in the second inning, extending the lead to three. Mellieha however caught up with Attard’s pitching in third, scoring in three runs to tie the ballgame at three apiece. Mellieha then took advantage of the Mustangs’ relief pitching, scoring in three more runs in the top of the seventh, taking a 6-3 lead. Mellieha pulled Bartolo off the mound in the bottom of the seventh, relying on their relief pitchers to close the game for the Northenders. The Mustangs managed to score two runs, and put the tying and winning run into scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. A wild pitch basically ended the game, as catcher Marlon Borg was quick in throwing out the tying run at the plate, for a 6-5 victory, and Game 1 in the sack.

Game 2 was played the very next day, with the Mustangs needing to win in order to force a Game 3. The Mustangs took full advantage of pitching wildness in the first, scoring in five runs to take a 5-0 lead. However, these were the only runs that the Mustangs would score on that day, as Marlon Borg came in as a relief pitcher in the top of the second, and shut down the offense completely, dominating for six innings. Mellieha slowly ate up the Mustangs’ lead, scoring timely runs off Mustangs’ starter Kevin Spiteri through the course of the game. In the fourth inning, Bartolo ignited an offensive spark for the Northenders, as he drove in three runs with one swing, hitting a home run in left-center field. The Northenders scored in another run to tie the game 5-5. In the bottom of the sixth, Mellieha managed some timely hits to score in two runs to give them the lead. With the tying run in scoring position, Borg managed to battle out the Mustangs’ offense, to give Mellieha the championship.

After the 7-5 victory in Game 2, the Malta Baseball & Softball Association’s president, Mario Debono, presented the trophy to the Mellieha Northenders.

by Pavol Mozola, Slovak baseball federation, www.baseballslovakia.com

Angels vs Slovan – First game started on mound with Jakub Okasa (Angels) and Marek Bošanský (Slovan). Bošanský in 8 innings pitched, allowed only 5 hits, no base on balls and 8 strikeouts. Slovan batters – Tietz, Teslík and Setnička – answered with hits and goes to lead 2-0. Angels reliever Martin Lettler get in trouble in the 7th inning when Slovan scored 5 runs on 6 hits.

Second game started with Martin Strapko (Slovan) and Marek Červený (Angels). They didn’t have a very good start and Slovan led 7-3 after 1^st inning. For Angels, these 3 runs, were all runs for both games. Slovan continued with his hitting power from first game and closed game with 13-3.

HR – Michal Ešmír (Slovan)

Results week 6, May 14:
Angels vs Slovan 0-9, 3-13 (6)
Aeros vs Rascals 1-13, 7-6

Schedule for May 21
11:00 Sleepwalkers vs Apollo at Bratislava
11:00 Slovan vs Aeros at Érd
11:00 Rascals vs Fighting Flies at Jánossomorja

Doubleheader games

* Slovak teams have more games, that are not counted to InterLeague.

Box scores and stats

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Group South (Serbia&Croatia):

14.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split - Olimpija Karlovac 16-4 (7)
BK Zagreb - Vojvodina Novi Sad 16-2 (7)
Beograd 96 Beograd – Vindija Varazdin 12-13

15.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split - Olimpija Karlovac 23-3 (6)
BK Zagreb – Vojvodina Novi Sad 4-0
Beograd 96 Beograd – Vindija Varazdin 3-15 (7)

Group North (Slovakia&Hungary):

14.05.2011.
Rascals Janossomorja – Aeros Erd 13-1, 6-7
Slovan Bratislava – Trnava Angels 9-0, 13-3

Next games:

Group North

21.05.2011. (doubleheader games)
Sleepwalkers Szentendre -  Apollo Bratislava
Slovan Bratislava -  Aeros Erd
Rascals Janossomorja -  Fighting Flies Bratislava

Group South

21. & 22.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split -  Vindija Varazdin
Beograd 96 Beograd – BK Zagreb
Olimpija Karlovac – Vojvodina Novi Sad

Another installment of the Portuguese Baseball National Championship concluded this past Sunday with a double-header between Associação Académica de Coimbra and White Sharks Almada Baseball Club. Both teams played aggressive ball, yet one team’s ability to capitalize on a few mistakes ultimately led to two key victories, and a widening gap between these two Portuguese clubs. White Sharks (6-2) now hold advantage over Coimbra (2-6) as the Portuguese Regular Season approaches the midway mark.

Game 1 was well fought, with both teams taking advantage of runners in scoring position. The score was tied through 3 innings, when the momentum turned in favor of Almada. Starting in the 4th the White Sharks bats began to string hits together, and were able to take advantage of a few fielding errors. Almada players, Rui Lopes, Richardo “Pacheco” Costa, and João Alves each had 2 RBIs, and White Sharks closer Carlos “Alex” Machado Tavaresthrew 4 innings, giving up 4H, 1BB and 7K. Final Score: 6-11 White Sharks. For a more complete overview of stats from the game, check out the boxscore

Game 2 was a tight match with both teams scrapping it out. The first 3 innings were 3up-3down for both sides. Strong defense from Almada kept Coimbra from scoring, while costly errors by Coimbra allowed the White Sharks to post 3 runs in the 4th. Almada bats rallied and plated 2 runs in both the 5th& 6th. Renato Espírito Santo, Jeffrey Darrion Siler II, and Carlos “Alex” Machado Tavares all doubled and plated RBIs for White Sharks, while Silvio Silva was one of only 2 White Sharks to have a multiple hit game. Jeffrey Darrion Siler II threw for Almada giving up 0H, 0R, 3BB, and 14K. For a more complete overview of stats from the game, check out the boxscore

Next week features another doubleheader showdown between these two teams in Abrantes, Portugal.

NBL 1st Division:
May 7th Oslo Rascals vs. NTNUI (Trondheim): 12-2 and 21-2
May 8th Oslo Outcasts vs. Oslo Alligators: 16-5
May 14th Oslo Outcasts vs. NTNUI: 21-4 and 13-3
May 15th Oslo Rascals vs. Oslo Alligators: 22-6

NBL 2nd Division:
Kristiansand Suns @ Stavanger 1: 5-5 (called after 4 innings due to rain).
Kristiansand Suns @ Stavanger 2: Postponed
Stavanger 2 @ Stavanger 1: Postponed

Last weekend the Polish Champions from 2010 – MKS Stal Kutno – got their first defeat in this season. After hard Saturday games with Gepardy Żory (which took 6 extra innings in both games to determine winner) they lost first Sunday game 6 to 1.

KS Baseball Wrocław is moving down in the table – Warsaw’s Centaury jumped into their place after getting three wins this weekend.

No surprises in the Polish Women’s Softball League – a doubleheader between last season’s Champs and last-place team was confidently won by Szóstka.

Results Polish Baseball Extraleague – 14-15 May 2011:

Saturday, 14.05.2011
TSB Demony Miejska Górka @ UKS Dęby Osielsko 5-2, 1-14
BUKS Gepardy Żory @ MKS Stal BiS Kutno 3-4, 4-5
KS Silesia Rybnik @ WUKB Centaury Warszawa 0-10, 3-7

Sunday, 15.05.2011
KS Silesia Rybnik @ MKS Stal BiS Kutno 6-1, 4-9
KS Baseball Wrocław @ WUKB Centaury Warszawa 7-8, 7-6

Standings – Polish Baseball Extraleague (Team G/W/L)

1. MKS Stal BiS Kutno        12/11/1
2. WUKB Centaury Warszawa    12/7/5
3. KS Baseball Wrocław       10/6/4
3. UKS Dęby Osielsko         12/6/6
4. KS Silesia Rybnik         10/5/5
6. TSB Demony Miejska Górka  10/4/6
7  BUKS Gepardy Żory         10/3/7
8. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 8/0/8

Results – Polish Women’s Softball League

Sunday, 15.05.2011
4TB&S Diamonds Warszawa @ MKS Szóstka Brzeg 1-13, 4-11

Standings – Polish Women’s Softball League (Team G/W/L)

1. MKS Szóstka Brzeg          4/4/0
2. MKS Stal BiS Kutno         6/3/3
3. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 4/3/1
4. 4TB&S Diamonds Warszawa    4/2/2
5. WBSC Warriors Warszawa     6/0/6

by www.baseballeurope.com

The two most dominant teams in the Malta Baseball League this season are set to collide in the National League Championship Series over the weekend in Marsa. The Mellieha Northenders Reflections Sports Bar & Grill are the reigning champions and will face the Mustangs in the finals for the second time in three years.

Mellieha has been the most dominant Maltese baseball team over the last decade, winning six championships and bringing up amazing talent through their nursery system. During this period, Mellieha brought up promising talent such as Keith & Michael Bartolo, brothers who have played with Dutch and Italian baseball teams over the last few years. The younger brother, Michael also played professional baseball with CUS Messina in the Italian First Division. The Northenders finished second in the Regular Season, making their tenth straight playoff appearance.

The Mustangs, on the other hand, dominated the Malta Baseball League, finishing at the top of the Regular Season standings for the first time in twelve years. The Mustangs acquired some key players over the offseason, enforcing their infield and pitching staff through these new acquisitions. However, the most important member of the team’s success this year is Kevin Spiteri. The young Spiteri has entered his prime, dominating hitters with his fastball all year long.
Game 1 of the National League Championship Series is this Saturday starting at 1PM. Game 2 of the three game series will be this Sunday at 3:30PM. Both NLCS games will be held at the Malta Baseball/Softball Field. Entrance for both games is free.

National League Championship Series Schedule
Saturday 14th May, Game 1: Mellieha Northenders at Mustangs, starting 13.00 hrs
Sunday 15th May, Game 2: Mustangs at Mellieha Northenders, starting at 15.30 hrs
Sunday 22nd May, Game 3: Mellieha Northenders at Mustangs, starting 13.00 hrs

All games will be played at the Marsa Baseball/Softball Field

article & photo by Charles E. Attard

Press Release Brest Zubrs

Competitions were held in Minsk on 4-7 May 2011.

Brest won in all the preliminary meetings:
04.05.2011 “Brest zubrs” – “Minsk” 4-2,
05.05.2011 “Sugar storm” – “Brest zubrs” 2-18,
06.05.2011 “Brest zubrs” -” Logishinskie Wolves” 8-2.

On May 7 in the finals, “Brest zubrs” played against a team of “Minsk” and won by a score of 11-2. Third place went to “Sugar Storm (Skidel).

by Pavol Mozola, Slovak baseball federation, www.baseballslovakia.com

Apollo vs Rascals – After the double victory of last week against Nagykanizsa in the National League Jánossomorja swept again at home, this time against Apollo Bratislava that was beset by injuries this Saturday. At the first game Gergő Felsővári started on the mound for the Rascals and Robert Kokavec for Apollo. Home team defense dominated the game, the Slovakians scored their first run as late as the 6^th inning, while the Rascals had already 3 on the board. In the top of the 7^th, after walking the first and striking out the second batter, Felsővári had a chance to close the inning with a lineout double play, but he did not succeed to catch the hard comebacker and Apollo had two runners on with one out. The Bratislava team used the opportunity and scored 3 in a row with smooth base hits to take the lead. Lefty Daniel Orlický relieved Kokovec in the bottom of the 7^th but this was not his day. He struggled hitting the zone, threw a number of wild pitches, and after three base hits and one batter walked he allowed 3 runs for Jánossomorja. In the last two innings Apollo could not score anymore while the Rascals secured the first win with 4 further runs. Home offense was led by István Maidics and Felsővári, both finished with 3 base hits.
Rascals – Apollo 11-4

At the second game Apollo was not able to recover under the leadership of Martin Brunegraf. On the Rascals’ side newly signed and so far convincing Gábor Nagy played outstanding again, he struck out 9 in 6 innings. The Slovaks sent juniors Michal Janovčík and Denis Pakši on the mound, but the Jánossomorja batters showed no mercy, they batted in 11 runs in 6 innings. The only run for Apollo was scored by Orlický in the 4^th inning, so the game ended with mercy rule. Rascals batting was led by Szabolcs Kiss and Tamás Varsics (2/4) and Felsővári (2/2).
Apollo – Rascals 1-11

Fighting Flies vs Slovan – First game started Slovan with Marek Bošanský and Flies with Tomáš Hatala on mound, and first inn. heralded the game development, 3-0. Flies reduced the score at top of fifth, but after fifth Slovan lead 7-1 after 3 base on balls and double by Robert Setnička. 6^th inn. continued pitcher Martin Strapko and allowed Flies 2 hits and run. Slovan finished the game at bottom 7^th with 5 runs and mercy rule.

Second game started Slovan wit Michal Noga and Flies with Lukáš Králik. Slovan systematically added runs from first inn. Slovan continued from first game with more hits than Flies and clear defense. Game closes Šimon Procháczka with 5 strike outs in 2 inn.

(These games are counted only for Slovak teams, because between Slovak teams we have more games)

Sleepwalkers vs Aeros – Szentendre Sleepwalkers still unbeaten in the Interleague after the reigning Hungarian champion faced Interleague rookie Érd Aeros on Saturday in a double header played in howling wind at Érd baseball field. The first game did not start untroubled though. Hectic Szentendre offence gave easy outs to a concentrated Aeros defence. On the other side Gyurcsek worked hard on the mound but Érd hitters managed to put the ball in play constantly and scored two runs early in the game taking advantage of a couple of extra bases on errors. After 5 innings Szentendre was 2-1 down. A short assembly followed in front of the visitors dugout and the Sleepwalkers reset their attitude which resulted in 13 runs scored in the top of the 6th, including a two-run homer by 18-year-old Tamás Szabó. Érd hustled hard to escape a mercy rule defeat but their 4 runs scored in the bottom of the 6th were answered by 6 by Szentendre in the 7th.

Érd Aeros – Szentendre Sleepwalkers 7-20. HR – Tamás Szabó (Sleepwalkers)

In the second game the Sleepwalkers made some changes in their lineup allowing young players get more Interleague experience and they earned the trust. Pitcher Tamás Szabó succeded in the mission of which he was only two outs away last week: he pitched his first complete game shutout. Érd bullpen could not challange with quality pitching and Szentendre started to roll in the bottom of the 2nd. With several hard line drive hits they kept the Aeros under instant pressure and finished the job in 5 innings.

Szentendre Sleepwalkers – Érd Aeros 17-0

Results week 5, May 7:

Apollo vs Rascals 4:11, 1:11

Fighting Flies vs Slovan 2:12 (7), 3:15

Sleepwalkers vs Aeros 20:7 (7), 17:0 (5)

Next schedule for May 14

11:00 Angels vs Slovan at Trnava

11:00 Aeros vs Rascals at Jánossomorja

Doubleheader games

* Between Slovak teams have more games, that are not counted to InterLeague.

Box scores and stats

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Group South (Serbia&Croatia):

07.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split – Beograd 96 Beograd 21-1 (5)
BK Zagreb - Olimpija Karlovac 3-0
Vindija Varaždin - Vojvodina Novi Sad 19-1 (7)

08.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split – Beograd 96 Beograd 15-0 (7)
BK Zagreb - Olimpija Karlovac 12-6
Vindija Varaždin - Vojvodina Novi Sad 20-1 (7)

Group North (Slovakia&Hungary):

07.05.2011.
Rascals Janossomorja - Apollo Bratislava 11-4, 11-1
Sleepwalkers Szentendre – Aeros Erd 20-7, 17-0
Slovan Bratislava – Fighting Flies Bratislava 12-2, 15-3

Next games:

Group North

14.05.2011. (doubleheaders)
Rascals Janossomorja  – Slovan Bratislava
Aeros Erd – Rascals Janossomorja

Group South

14. & 15.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split -  Olimpija Karlovac
Beograd 96 Beograd – Vindija Varaždin
BK Zagreb – Vojvodina Novi Sad

by Baseball.pl, www.baseball.pl

This weekend, after eight doubleheaders in Polish baseball & softball top leagues Stal Kutno slept in to the top of both tables – baseball players won all four games and they are leading (second is baseball Wrocław with +3 GB), softball team stays at the top because of better runs balance (Stal & Caper have 3 games won, in Polish B&S leagues no winning percentage decides of table leaders, but quantity of games won).

Results Polish Baseball Extraleague – 7-8 May 2011:
Saturday, 7.05.2011
WUKB Centaury Warszawa @ MKS Stal BiS Kutno 3-13, 5-18
BUKS Gepardy Zory @ UKS Dęby Osielsko 0-5, 5-10

Sunday, 8.05.2011
UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle @ UKS Dęby Osielsko 0-10, 0-6
MKS Stal BiS Kutno @ TSB Demony Miejska Górka 5-3, 4-1
BUKS Gepardy Zory @ WUKB Centaury Warszawa 3-4, 4-12
KS Baseball Wrocław @ KS Silesia Rybnik 0-8, 7-14

Standings – Polish Baseball Extraleague (Team G/W/L)

1. MKS Stal BiS Kutno         8/8/0
2. KS Baseball Wrocław        8/5/3
3. UKS Dęby Osielsko         10/5/5
4. KS Silesia Rybnik          6/4/2
   WUKB Centaury Warszawa     6/4/2
6. TSB Demony Miejska Górka   8/3/5
   BUKS Gepardy Żory          8/3/5
8. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 8/0/8

Results – Polish Women’s Softball League
Saturday, 7.05.2011
UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle @ MKS Stal BiS Kutno 8-7, 9-15

Sunday, 8.05.2011
WBSC Warriors Warszawa @ 4TB&S Diamonds Warszawa 1-18, 7-8

Standings – Polish Women’s Softball League (Team G/W/L)

1. MKS Stal BiS Kutno         6/3/3
2. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 4/3/1
3. MKS Szóstka Brzeg          2/2/0
   4TB&S Diamonds Warszawa    2/2/0
5. WBSC Warriors Warszawa     6/0/6

Sunday in Abrantes, Portugal the White Sharks of Almada faced Académicade Coimbra in a league-play double-header.  The two teams split the wins, and a dramatic finish to game 2 gave Coimbra the win to keep their championship drive alive.

Game 1 ended early due to 10-run lead by White Sharks after impressive offensive run by Almada batters.  Eight Sharks posted at least one hit, with Tiago Fonseca (3B,2 singles) and Ricardo Pacheco Costa (2H, 2R) leading the offensive charge.  White Sharks pitching kept Coimbra subdued, allowing 6 hits all game, thanks to the debut relief appearance of João Alves.  Final score 12-2.

Game 2 was a nail-biter to the very end as Coimbra came back to upset Almada in the bottom of the last inning.  White Sharks batting struggled early against Coimbra pitcher Petr Stříbrcký (12K, 6H, 4BB), but costly errors in the field allowed Almada to score runs.  Coimbra bats were largely silent through most of the game due to White Sharks pitcher Carlos “Alex” Machado Tavares(10K, 4H, 11BB), but late in the game were able to string together crucial hits and capitalize on walks and errors by White Sharks defense.  Final Score 8-7 Coimbra.

Weekend of May 8^th 2011 will not see games in the Portuguese Baseball League as Académicade Coimbra has another administrative bye.  Games resume next weekend for the National Championship with current standings showing Almada White Sharks (4-2) with a slight edge over Académicade Coimbra (2-4).

Group South (Serbia&Croatia):
30.04.2011.
Vojvodina Novi Sad – Nada SSM Split 0-29 (5)
Olimpija Karlovac – Beograd 96 Beograd 11-0 (7)
Vindija Varaždin – BK Zagreb 6-1

01.05.2011.
Vojvodina Novi Sad – Nada SSM Split  0-13 (7)
Olimpija Karlovac – Beograd 96 Beograd 10-9
Vindija Varaždin – BK Zagreb  3-14 (7)

Group North (Slovakia&Hungary):
30.04.2011.
Slovan Bratislava – Apollo Bratislava 6-5, 2-1
Slepwalkers Szentendre – Trnava Angels 14-13, 12-1
Aeros Erd – Fighting Flies Bratislava 8-12, 16-3

Next games:
Group North
07.05.2011. (doubleheader games)
Rascals Janossomorja  – Apollo Bratislava
Slovan Bratislava – Fighting Flies Bratislava
Aeros Erd – Sleepwalkers Szentendre

Group South
07. & 08.05.2011.
Nada SSM Split -  Beograd 96 Beograd
Vindija Varazdin – Vojvodina Novi Sad
Olimpija Karlovac – BK Zagreb

Apollo vs Slovan

In first game Slovan goes to lead 6-1 with pitcher Michal Noga in 6 inn. In 8. inn Orlický added 3-run HR and correct the score from first pitch. Apollo at bottom 9 inn closed final score to 6-5. HR – Daniel ORLICKÝ (Apollo)

In second game dominates defenses. Apollo pitcher Michal Janovčík held Slovan batters. Winning run for Slovan was in the bottom of 7 inn with bases loaded and 2 outs with Pavol Teslík`s infield hit.

Sleepwalkers vs Angels

Szentendre Sleepwalkers – Trnava Angels 14-13

The game started with team from Szentendre living up to their name. The “Sleepwalkers,” seemingly slept through the first 2 innings giving up 9 runs. A few defensive miscues, walks, mixed in with timely hitting by the Angels had the visitor on top by a score of  9-1 by the top of the 3rd inning.

Peter Gyurcsek, battling a cold, showed a heart of lion. Gyurcsek didn’t have his best stuff, but settled down to only surrender 3 more runs through 7 innings proving once again why he is the staff ace! By the bottom of 3rd the Sleepwalker’s bats woke up and they began to mount a comeback by scoring 2 runs, 3 more in in the bottom of the 5th, and busting out for 5 in the 6th inning. By the top of the 7th inning, the visitor had the lead; 12-11. Kovacs came in 7 and did a great job keeping the hot hitting Angels of balance with his curveball only surrendering 1 run along the way.

The Sleepwalkers with some clutch hitting, by the end of the bottom of the 8th had captured the lead and were ahead 14-13.

In the 9th, the Angels mounted one more comeback. With Kovacs walking the  lead-off hitter, Szentendre closer Anthony Bennett was summoned to the mound. Bennett quickly got the 1st hitter he faced to pop into a double play, but a hit and two hit batsman loaded the bases. In the end, Bennett picked up his 2nd save in two weeks by getting the last hitter to line sharply to right field.

Szentendre Sleepwalkers – Trnava Angels 12-1 (5inn)

Game 2 was the opposite. Tom Szabo, cruised through 7 innings only surrendering 1 run. Tommy Boy was 2 outs away from throwing a complete game shut-out when the Angel bats finally put together a rally to score. The team from Szentendre rode the momentum from game 1 and continued to swing hot bats scoring 12 runs in 5 innings.

Szentendre has now 6-0 winning streak in the IL, will take on the team Erd next week.

Aeros vs Fighting Flies

In game 1, the Fighting Flies jumped out to sizable 1st inning lead behind solid hitting and few errors by the Aeros.  The Aeros kept it close throughout the match, but were never able to overcome the early lead and lost the match 12-8.  In the second game, the Aeros had several potential rallies stopped by the Flies and left quite a few runners on base in the first few innings.  Solid pitching and many extra base hits carried the Bratislava team to an easy 16-3 win in 6 innings.

Results week 4, April 30:
Apollo vs Slovan 5-6, 1-2
Sleepwalkers vs Angels 14-13, 12-1 (5)
Aeros vs Fighting Flies 8-12, 3-15 (6)

Next schedule for May 7
11:00 Apollo vs Rascals at Jánossomorja
11:00 Fighting Flies vs Slovan at Bratislava
11:00 Sleepwalkers vs Aeros at Érd
Doubleheader games

Standings          W          L          ave
Sleepwalkers       6          0          1000
Apollo             4          2          667
Slovan             5          3          625
Rascals            2          2          500
Fighting Flies     2          4          333
Angels             1          5          167
Aeros              0          4          000

Box scores and stats

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Only one doubleheader was played last weekend in Polish Baseball Extraleague.

Games rescheduled from May 15th give the Demons an advance for third place in the Extraleague standings. In front of their fans, players from Miejska Górka defeated Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 9-1 in the first and 12-3 in the second game.

Results
UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle @ TSB Demony Miejska Górka 1-9, 3-12

Standings – Polish Baseball Extraleague (Team G/W/L)

1. KS Baseball Wrocław        6/5/1
2. MKS Stal BiS Kutno         4/4/0
3. BUKS Gepardy Żory          4/3/1
   TSB Demony Miejska Górka   6/3/3
5. KS Silesia Rybnik          4/2/2
   WUKB Centaury Warszawa     4/2/2
7. UKS Dęby Osielsko          6/1/5
8. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 6/0/6

The Portuguese Baseball Federation has begun the National Championship for the 2011 season. The first two weekends of play for the Almada White Sharks and Academica Coimbra were tough fought as each team wrangled for W’s. Here is a short rundown of the games thus far.

April 3, 2011 was opening day at Abrantes field and both teams played great baseball. The first game saw the victory of Academica Coimbra over the White Sharks of Almada in a 5-1 game of solid ball. Late inning hitting by Coimbra gave them the runs to claim victory for game one of the Sunday doubleheader. Game two was just the opposite. White Sharks pitching silenced Coimbra bats as Jeffrey Darrion Siler II recorded a perfect game, fanning 15 Coimbra batters. Great defensive play by João Alves kept the game perfect. Coimbra pitcher Rui Costa held Almada scoreless through 5 innings, showing great control on his first outing of the year. White Sharks player Rui Lopes drove in 2 RBIs in game 2 to take the W, 2-0.

April 10, 2011 was week 2 of the Portuguese Championship featuring a doubleheader between Coimbra and the White Sharks. The White Sharks took an early lead gaining 6 runs through 3 innings, and rookie White Sharks pitcher, Octavian Merineanu, commanded the first few on the mound. Walks, and the sparking of Coimbra bats, led to a rally in the 4thas Academica tied the game 6-6. White Sharks bats answered back in the 5th to put Almada ahead by an insurmountable score 13-6. Rui Lopes and Carlos “Alex” Machado Tavares closed out the game for Almada. While Academica threatened in two late innings, they were not able to score again. Game 2 was a nail-biter right to the end as White Sharks claimed victory 3-0. Jeffrey Darrion Siler II pitched a fine game, fanning 11 Coimbra hitters, allowing only 1 hit and walking 1. Again, strong defensive play, and a few key hits, allowed Almada to take game 2 as the White Sharks of Almada now sit at top of the table with a record of 3-1. Offense from Renato Espírito Santo, João Alves, Carlos “Alex” Machado Tavares helped the White Sharks take 2.

April 17 and 24 were bye weekends as play resumes in the Championship May 1, 2011.

Apollo vs Aeros – The first game was close game for the first half but Apollo’s hit won out with Lukáš Žilavý going 4/5. In the second game Aeros were plagued by errors (9) and walks (6 BB and 2 HP). In both game, Apollo’s pitching and fielding was able to hold the Aeros to only 3 hits in each game. HR – Erik Teslovič (Apollo).

Sleepwalkers vs Slovan – This was fight between Hungarian and Slovak champions 2010 season.

Slovan Bratislava – Szentendre Sleepwalkers 5-8

The host team started off really well. They scored 5 runs in the first 3 innings off of Gyurcsek. The game seemed to be slipping out of our hand as the score was 5-1 after the 3rd inning. The Sleepwalkers could not find a handle on the Slovan pitcher. After the 3rd inning Gyurcsek managed to find his rhythm that he already showed in the first round against the Fighting Flies. He didn’t allow any more baserunners to cross homeplate from the 3rd inning on. The Sleepwalker bats woke up and fought their way back to take the lead. Gyurcsek finished with a ridiculous 190 pitches on the counter, after closing out the ninth inning.

Szentendre Sleepwalkers – Slovan Bratislava 10-8

The first inning wasn’t easy this time around either. Szabó Tamás the young lefty allowed 3 walks and a 2 run basehit in the very first inning. The bats were silent again on the Szentendre-side as they only scored 1 in the first two innings. Tomyboy settled down in the 2nd inning and threw a 3-up and 3-down inning. The Sleepwalkers ran away with the game after making the difference 10-2 in the 5th inning. The ex-Spiders didn’t give up, they were battling their way back and climbed up to 10-8 in the 7th inning. They had the bases loaded with only 1 out. The 15-year old Japanese pitcher Sakanashi managed to strike out the Slovan batter for the 2nd out of the inning. The game was finished with a hard ground ball to first base. The Sleepwalkers bullpen had a tough time making outs, the shaky defense didn’t help them much. They used altogether 5 pitchers in the 7-inning 2nd game.

The reigning Hungarian Champions took, what they came for. They stay at 4-0 after the first two rounds. They will host the always strong Trnava Angels, where they try to keep their home record clean.

Results week 3, April 23:

Apollo vs Aeros 14:2, 16:1

Rascals vs Angels 12:14, 6:3

Sleepwalkers vs Slovan 8:5, 10:8

Next schedule for April 30

11:00 Apollo vs Slovan at Bratislava

11:00 Sleepwalkers vs Angels at Szentendre

11:00 Aeros vs Fighting Flies at Jánossomorja

Doubleheader games

Standings          W          L         PCT
Apollo             4          0         1000
Sleepwalkers       4          0         1000
Rascals            2          2          500
Slovan             3          3          500
Angels             1          3          250
Fighting Flies     0          4          000
Aeros              0          2          000

Box scores and stats

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Slovan had a clear goal: to win twice. Significantly rejuvenated team Fighting Flies was able to resist only the first two innings of both games and scored the first time in the beginning of the 6th in the second game. So Slovan have booked two comfortable wins 15-0 and 10-1.

In the first game pitcher Robert Kokavec (Apollo) held Angels without hit for 5.1 innings. At the bottom of the ninth inning Apollo took closely win. In the second game Apollo clearly win.

Results week 2, April 16:
Slovan vs Fighting Flies 15-0, 10-1
Angels vs Apollo 10-11, 1-15

Schedule for April 23:
11:00 Apollo vs Aeros at Érd
11:00 Rascals vs Angels at Trnava
11:00 Sleepwalkers vs Slovan at Bratislava
Doubleheader games

Box scores and stats at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm

Group South (Serbia&Croatia):
16.04.2011.
BK Zagreb - Nada SSM Split 6-8
Olimpija Karlovac – Vindija Varaždin 2-12 (7)
Beograd 96 Beograd - Vojvodina Novi Sad 17-7 (7)

17.04.2011.
BK Zagreb – Nada SSM Split 3-14 (7)
Olimpija Karlovac – Vindija Varaždin 2-14 (7)
Beograd 96 Beograd – Vojvodina Novi Sad  (postponed due to rain)

Group North (Slovakia&Hungary):
16.04.2011.
Slovan Bratislava – Fighting Flies Bratislava 15-0, 10-1
Angels Trnava – Apollo Bratislava 10-11, 1-15

Results – Sunday, April 17th
TSB Demony Miejska Górka @ WUKB Centaury Warszawa 2-6, 9-1
UKS Dęby Osielsko @ MKS Stal BiS Kutno 0-5, 0-9
UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle @ KS Silesia Rybnik 1-4, 5-16
BUKS Gepardy Żory @ KS Baseball Wrocław 3-5, 10-2

Standings – Polish Baseball Extraleague (Team G/W/L):

1. KS Baseball Wrocław        6/5/1
2. MKS Stal BiS Kutno         4/4/0
3. BUKS Gepardy Żory          4/3/1
4. KS Silesia Rybnik          4/2/2
   WUKB Centaury Warszawa     4/2/2
6. TSB Demony Miejska Górka   4/1/3
7. UKS Dęby Osielsko          6/1/5
8. UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 4/0/4

Polish Women’s Softball League

Results – Sunday, April 17th
MKS Stal BiS Kutno @ MKS Szóstka Brzeg 2-11, 3-10
UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle @ WBSC Warriors Warszawa 17-3 14-6

Standings – Polish Women’s Softball League (Team G/W/L):

1. MKS Szóstka Brzeg          2/2/0
   UKS Caper Kędzierzyn-Koźle 2/2/0
3. MKS Stal BiS Kutno         4/2/2
4. 4TB&S Diamonds Warszawa    0/0/0
5. WBSC Warriors Warszawa     4/0/4

Countries in East Europe play in the 2011 season the InterLeague divided into North and South. Northern countries are Slovakia and Hungary, Southern countries Croatia and Serbia.

Slovak teams:
Angels Trnava
Apollo Bratislava
Fighting Flies Bratislava
Slovan Bratislava – Champion of Slovakia 2010

Hungary teams:
Aeros Erd
Rascals Janossomorja
Sleepwalkers Szentendre – Champion of Hungary 2010

Playing system: 12 games for each team between Hungary and Slovakia, games are doubleheader 9 + 7 inn, in Round Robin. South part has a similar system. Semifinal tournaments and Final four tournament.

Short look into the first games:
Slovan Bratislava vs Rascals Janossomorja 18-7 (8), 8-10
For Slovan, Champion of Slovakia in 2010, it was an inconclusive performance, in the 2^nd game the Rascals won for the first time in the history in a Slovan game. Congratulations to Rascals.

Fighting Flies Bratislava vs Sleepwalkers Szentendre 0-11 (7), 9-12 (8 extra inning)
The Sleepwalkers confirmed their power from last season.

All games were played under rainy and windy conditions.

InterLeague standings 2010 – final four

1. Nada SSM Split – Croatia
2. Apollo Bratislava – Slovakia
3. Olimpija Karlovac – Croatia
4. Slovan Bratislava – Slovakia

Next week schedule
16.04. at 11:00 Slovan vs Fightin Flies at Janossomorja
16.04. at 11:00 Angels vs Apollo at Bratislava
Doubleheader games

Info links:
Hungarian baseball federation
www.baseball.hu
Schedule
http://www.baseballslovakia.com/sutaze/muzi-interliga
Box Score (about week later than games)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3792894/Sezona2011/Interliga2011/confstat.htm