Summary
Looking to continue its run of dominance from 2021, Olimpija Karlovac instead played second fiddle as the top team in Croatian baseball’s first preseason tournaments, with an Austrian baseball club making the biggest impression at the Dragutin Gales Memorial Tournament. Karlovac righted the ship a week later, winning the all-Croatian Aleksandar Bekić Memorial Tournament. Medvednica, Varaždin, and Zagreb were active in at least one of the events, while Split did not play any warmup matches.
Highlights
Over the third weekend in March, Karlovac hosted Croatia’s annual Dragutin Gales tourney, named in honor of a much beloved former player. Fellow Croatian baseball clubs Vindija Varaždin and Zagreb travelled to Four Rivers Stadium (Stadionu “4 Rijeke”), where they were joined by the Wiener Neustadt Diving Ducks. In the opening game, Julian Faulhaber, Rick van Dijck and Felix Astner combined on a no-hitter for the 2021 Austrian champion, dispatching Zagreb 3-0. After Olimpija claimed a mercy rule-shortened 10-0 victory from Varaždin, the two winners then matched up, with the Ducks earning a 5-2 win. The loss to Wiener Neustadt was the first defeat by a non-Croatian club for Karlovc since a June 2019 loss to — of all teams — the Diving Ducks’ opponent in the 2021 Austrian Bundesliga Finals, the Vienna MetroStars.
Following a 6-3 win for Olimpija over Zagreb, which had defeated Varaždin in the losers’ bracket, Karlovac and Neustadt faced off once more. The tourists finished on a high note, defeating Karlovac again, this time by an 8-3 margin. The Diving Ducks’ Ferdinand Obed took home the MVP award, while teammate Felix Astner was named Best Pitcher.
The final weekend in April saw the three Croatian clubs battle once more, with Medvednica joining them in Varaždin for the Aleksandar Bekić memorial, held in the name of a longtime board member, coach, and player for Vindija Varaždin, who passed away in November after a long illness.
“Aleksandar Bekić left an indelible mark as an exemplary athlete and friend, and especially as a coach, promoter and host of the BK Vindija Baseball School, with which he has achieved numerous successes on the domestic and international fronts,“noted club president Goran Vučetić in a statement (translated by Google). “In his sports career, he was most excited to work with young categories of players to whom he selflessly transmitted not only his great sports knowledge but also a life experience that made him indelible in the lives of many generations of baseball players.”
The hosts would defeat Zagreb in their first game of the tournament, with Karlovac victorious over the Medvednica Bears. After Zagreb blasted cross-town rivals Medvednica, 16-1, Varaždin would attempt to claim a win from Olimpija for the first time in several seasons. A solid effort fell short, however, and Karlovac claimed the 6-2 win and the tournament title.
Results
No box scores available.
VI Dragutin Gales Memorial Tournament (Mar. 19-20)
Game 1 (Mar. 19): Wiener Neustadt 3 – Zagreb 0
Game 2 (Mar. 19): Varaždin 0 – Karlovac 10 (6)
Game 3 (Mar. 19): Karlovac 2 – Wiener Neustadt 5
Game 4 (Mar. 20): Varaždin 3 – Zagreb 4
Game 5 (Mar. 20): Zagreb 3 – Karlovac 6
Game 6 (Mar. 20): Karlovac 3 – Wiener Neustadt 8
I Aleksandar Bekić Memorial Tournament (Mar. 26-27)
Game 1 (Mar. 26): Karlovac W* – Medvednica
Game 2 (Mar. 26): Zagreb 5 – Varaždin 11
Game 3 (Mar. 27): Zagreb 16 – Medvednica 1
Game 4 (Mar. 27): Varaždin 2 – Karlovac 6
*Score unknown.