by Kristian Pälviä
After winning the European Cup B-pool in San Marino earlier in August, Skövde Saints secured that they would be the Swedish team represented at the 2008 European Cup A-pool, winning the National Finals against Alby in three straight games.
Both teams had an easy road to the Finals, Alby beating Leksand 21-0, 22-0; and Skövde beating Söder 16-1, 19-1.
But in the finals Alby had problems to match the depth and strength of the Skövde team. The first two games on Albys home ground easily went to Skövde, 15-4 and 11-3, thereby only one win was necessary when the finals returned to Skövde for the last weekend.
And the Saints did not waste any time, as they finished off their rivals 9-2 in the third game and thereby securing the club’s second straight Championship. Starter Nina Sarajärvi 
went the distance for the Saints, pitching seven innings with ten strikeouts. Offensively it was all about Finals MVP Anna-Karin Solén Westling, who hit 3 for 4 with 5 rbi’s, including a homerun-in-the-park, and leadoff hitter Robin Flier who went 2 for 2 with a couple of walks and four runs. Solén Westling hit .643 in the final series with 11 rbi in the three games played. Key factors was also the strong playoff pitching by Nina Sarajärvi (2-0, 2.00 ERA, 14 IP, 2 BB, 13 K) and Kristi Leiter (2-0, 2.55 ERA) and a solid defense.
Over the course of the full outdoor season, Skövde Saints only lost once in 29 games, scoring 450 runs and giving up only 50.
