The MOSQUITO ATHLETICS succeeded the VIENNA METROSTARS and won the Austrian Baseball League Championship on Saturday. They defeated the UNION KUFSTEIN VIKINGS in front of 300 people in the stands twice to win the series 3-1 and to celebrate their first title in team history.
In game one ATTNANG-PUCHHEIM overcame an early 0-2 deficit to beat the VIKINGS 4-2. Tobias Schermer put the guests on the board with a RBI double in the second. Koichi Hida added a run in the fifth with an inside-the-park homerun. But a rain delay woke up the A’s. They cut the deficit in a half in the sixth on a RBI by Dave Burns and evened the score in the seventh, when Martin Rabengruber doubled in Arian Quirantes with two outs. The outcome was decided in the eighth. Harald Pointner drove in the winning run and scored the fourth run moments later.
The second match began with a scare for the home crowd, when pitching ace Carter Clements seemed to be hurt in the top of the first. But it was only a short delay en route to a 6-1 victory and the championship. The ATHLETICS loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first against KUFSTEIN starter Hida, who replaced the injured Todd Fairbrother on the mound. But only one run scored on a RBI fielder’s choice by Lukas Schleicher. The VIKINGS tied the game in the third on a RBI groundout by Bernhard Eidherr. However ATTNANG-PUCHHEIM regained the lead immediately through squeeze plays in the bottom of the third and the fifth. The highlight came in the seventh, when Pointner and Burns tripled back-to-back to seal the win.
Results Austrian Finals:
Vikings – Athletics 0-3
Vikings – Athletics 1-0
Athletics – Vikings 4-2
Athletics – Vikings 6-1
(Athletics win Series 3-1)
Photo: © Joe Yun