by Dirk Fries, pitcher for the German national team and the Haar Disciples (Germany)
Last week´s German-French Series was this summer´s most important competition for the German Senior National Team. With the Olympic Qualifier already passed and Team USA coming in for only a single game (July 15th), this was the best chance for Head Coach GREG FRADY and his staff to evaluate and test old and new German baseball talent. The Federation and coaching staff were glad to get to play a seven-game series against the French National Team in different cities in both countries.
The series was mainly used to get the core players together for an extended period of time, but the event was also used to test some young and upcoming players at the men´s level and get a closer look at some potential players for the upcoming Under-21 European Championships in September.
The roster for the Series was made up by a core of players travelling to every game (16 players), with other players being added to individual games according to availability and location. Among the travelling team were Pitchers MARKUS WINKLER, PHILIPP HOFFSCHILD and ANDRE HUGHES, while ANDY JANZEN, PHILIPP HOWARD, MARTIN DEWALD were experienced and returning position players. Newly added players included Outfielders JULIUS UELSCHEN and CEDRIC BASSEL, infielders ANDERSON ALVAREZ and MICHAEL STEPHAN as well as catchers JULIAN STEINBERG and CHRISTOPHER HOWARD. The Pitching Staff , which was made up by mostly veteran players, welcomed Cologne´s MORITZ SCKAER.
Mannheim
The first game was played in Mannheim. ENORBEL MARQUEZ started the game and was relieved by PETER DANKERL after five innings. MARTIN ALMSTETTER and NILS HARTKOPF then closed it out for Team Germany.
Germany won the game easily, by a score of 12-1. France had a tough time against MARQUEZ, scoring their lone run in the fourth Inning. GREG FRADY’s team came out swinging, scoring early and often against the French starter. JOHN PATRICK CARLSON came in relief and held the German offense in check before tiring in the seventh, when Germany blew the game open.
Dortmund
Game two (in Dortmund) was started by ANDRE HUGHES. He followed in the footsteps of MARQUEZ, shutting out the French through five. JENS CORNELSEN threw two scoreless innings, youngster DENNIS BERG made his Senior National team debut. MARTIN DEWALD closed out the game. About 800 spectators were on hand to watch the lopsided affair, which was led by leftfielder SIMON GÜHRING hitting two homeruns. Almost every starter contributed on offense, helping Germany to its second victory, this time by a score of 12-0.
Solingen
Game three played in Solingen saw TIM HENKENJOHANN, who just recently came of the disabled list, start for Germany. The game was pretty close until the end, with the French offense coming alive in the fourth, with some help by a little less concentrated German defense. But Germany was able to answer right back, taking a 5-2 lead, aided by a solo homerun by MITCH FRANKE. SIMON GÜHRING continued his hot streak, hitting another homerun, giving him three in the last two days. While Germany started hitting better and scoring a total of ten runs, the German bullpen corps of MARTIN ALMSTETTER, and PHILIPP HOFFSCHILD only allowed one more French run.
Head Coach GREG FRADY was happy with the team´s performance, especially with how the team responded to the threat of losing control of the game in the middle innings. The way the offense stepped it up after allowing the French to take the lead was really encouraging.
Neuenburg
After travelling to Neuenburg, the two teams met again in an afternoon affair at a well prepared Atomics ballpark. DIRK FRIES got the start, being relieved in the seventh by Cologne´s MORITZ SCKAER. The game was close until the middle innings, when some sloppy defense, base on balls and timely hits by MARTIN DEWALD and ANDY JANZEN broke the game open. The final score was 10-1 in favor of Germany. A solid crowd of a few hundred people showed up to witness the contest for the first ever German National Team game played in the small southern city.
Mulhouse
The next day featured a day-night doubleheader (7 Innings each) between the teams, played in the French city of Mulhouse. While the first game was not so close (9-3 win Germany), the nightcap was a real nail biter. Germany jumped ahead by a run in the second inning, and managed to push across another in the fourth, when JULIUS UELSCHEN drove in ANDERSON ALVAREZ from first base with a one-out double. This was especially clutch after ALVAREZ could not get leadoff batter CEDRIC BASSEL home from third base, and BASSEL instead was caught in between the bases. The French themselves answered with a run against PHILIPP HOFFSCHILD, who took over on the mound for BENEDIKT ANTWI, who threw four scoreless innings. Team France got another runner on with two out in the seventh, but MARTIN DEWALD was called upon by GREG FRADY to close out the game. And he did in style, throwing his vintage curveball striking out the final French batter.
Mainz
The series was wrapped up in Mainz on July 10th. The crowd saw a Bundesliga matchup of NILS HARTKOPF and JOHN PATRICK CARLSON (Saarlouis Hornets) square up on the hill. Hartkopf went three innings to accommodate appearances by TIM HENKENJOHANN and MANUEL MÖLLER. MÖLLER threw two Innings and HENKEJOHANN three before giving way for closer MARTIN DEWALD. DEWALD, who had started in left field came onto the mound to secure the narrow 3-2 lead for Germany. ANDREAS JANZEN had started the scoring with a two-run homerun before the French offense could equalize against the German bullpen. CHRISTOPHER HOWARD then drove in what turned out to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eight.
Conclusion
All in all, it was a potent German offense that secured a sweep of the French. Solid Pitching and defense held the French in check throughout the series, never allowing more than three runs a game and giving the team a chance to win every time out. Especially SIMON GÜHRING and ANDY JANZEN paced the offense, but youngsters like JULIUS UELSCHEN, MICHAEL STEPHAN and CHRIS HOWARD contributed with solid national team debuts. Aggressive base running, patient hitters willing to take a walk were the right recipe for a relatively inexperienced Germany Team.
The French on the other hand did not play to the best of their abilities. Coming off a solid showing at the Prague Baseball Week, where the team finished second, the team got off to a slow start in the series. Pitchers had their difficulties finding the zone consistently, walking too many opposing batters. Also their defense was shaky at times, compounding the problem of facing too many base runners. And their offense could never really get going in the series. Yet the last two games, which were really close, flashed some of the qualities the team displayed when they finished fifth at last year´s European Championships.
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