by Marc Stein
What a suprise! Los Coyotes (Dominican Republic) and Grizzlies (Austria) qualified for the finals at the second ESSL tournament in Ljubljana. Both teams improved their game since the last tournament in Germany. Especially, the Grizzlies were able to beat the Guzzlers (USA) twice in the double elimination round, but at then end they lost against the Los Coyotes by 19:9. It seemed that the Los Coyotes had more energy left and played a great tournament. The Guzzlers showed their impressive power by hitting a lot of homeruns and finally finished the tournament on third place.
Also the Slovenian teams showed that they are capable of playing on a very high level. For instance, the Bulldogs from Novo Mesto beat the Los Coyotes in a thrilling game and also challenged the Guzzlers. The second Slovenian team, Dream Team Ljubljana, was close to beat the Grizzlies in the first game of the double elimination round. Unfortunately, the Slovenske Konjice Stallions had to pay tribute to their intense program of the weekend. But they were also very close to win some games. It seems like it is only a matter of time when the Slovenian teams will strike back.
However, as everybody knows all comes down to the last tournament in September in Linz, Austria, where the teams will play for the ESSL Championship title.
Final standings Ljubljana, Slovenia
1. Los Coyotes
2. Grizzlies
3. Guzzlers
4. Bulldogs
5. Dream Team
6. Stallions
Link: Results of ESSL tournament in Ljubljana
Website: www.softballeurope.com