Despite a close loss in game three and a two run deficit in game four, the Metrostars lift the trophy for the twelfth time.
Game 3:
As expected, Walter Strasser took the mound to start for the home team, who was down to their last hopes of defending their championship. For the Vienna Metrostars, head coach Tim Patrick sent Jakob Simonsen to try and clinch the championship. The Metrostars offense, which had trouble in the first few innings against Strasser, used a home run by Lutz Rauch to build a 3-0 lead in the third.
The A’s, fired up by their fans, came back with their own long ball, a shot by Jonny Kashuba that cut the lead to 3-2. Strasser looked to keep it close, but a double by Jeff Tezak put him on the ropes again. Tezak was brought in later in the inning, pushing the lead to 4-2. Richard Alzinger replaced Simonsen for the Metrostars.
The ice cold temperatures couldn’t hold back either team, as A’s fought back and the Metrostars tried to close it out. Attnang adjusted to the new pitcher, but had to settle with leaving runners in scoring position. In the eighth, Hubert Weiser replaced Alzinger, hoping to reduce the drama and close out the win and the series, but the A’s had other ideas. Dave Burns, with one swing of the bat, gave the A’s a 5-4 lead with his home run, bringing in Martin Rabengruber as well. The Metrostars tried to rally in the top of the ninth inning, but left runners on first and second as the A’s closed the series to 2-1.
Game 4:
Josh Castanza started game four despite a shoulder injury that most fans had expected to keep him sidelined for the remainder of the series. The Metrostars weren’t impressed, and in the second inning got on the board. Dominik Loeffler drove in a couple of his teammates, putting his team on top 2-0 early. The A’s capitalized on an error in the bottom half of the inning to make it 2-1, as JT Hilliard wasn’t as dominant as in his last start. In the third, the pitcher allowed bombs to Burns and Kashuba, as the A’s took the lead.
With their plan of clinching the title on Saturday starting to run amok, Castanza was looking more the role of the hero. Despite the pain, the pitcher kept his team in the lead into the sixth inning. The Metrostars began a rally with a sacrifice fly to cut into the A’s lead, but they would continue the rally deep into the inning. A few batters later, with bases loaded, Rauch drove in two more runs to force Castanza from the hill. Burns took over on the mound, and Castanza went into the field, where the next horror scene would play out for the A’s. In diving for a ball, Castanza landed on his bum shoulder, and needed assistance in being helped off the field. Playing without one of their leaders, the A’s gave up a hit and a walk, and Alex Hilliard came up big for the guests, putting the ball to the fence and giving the Metrostars a big lead.
Up 8-4 late in the game, the Metrostars brought in Weiser to try and protect the lead, as Hilliard had given up a couple long shots. But Weiser couldn’t find his control, and after a walk and a hit, Burns hit his third homer of the day, chopping the lead down to one with a single stroke. Despite his offensive success, he was pulled from the mound in favor of Kashuba. The new arm didn’t deter the Vienna offense, as the Metrostars tallied hit after hit to extend the lead back to four. Now up 11-7 late in the game, Tezak was brought in to close for the Metrostars. Like in a scene from a bad movie, Tezak had little help behind him, as the defense fumbled through the motions and let the A’s load the bases. Tezak was able to limit the damage to two runs, but the now two-run lead was far from safe given all that had happened.
Lutz Rauch did his part to keep the Metrostars out in front, hitting his second home run and extending the lead by one, but the A’s still had a shot to come back.
The A’s loaded the bases in the ninth, bringing the winning run to the plate. Tezak was able to get two outs, bringing Kashuba to the plate with a chance to tie or even win the game. Tezak would have none of that, striking out the slugger, and triggering a celebration erupting from the Metrostars dugout: Champions 2012.