The German softball finals take place in Ratingen this weekend. Four teams will play a final four to determine the champion. The participants are the Hamburg Knights, the Mannheim Tornados, the Brauweiler Raging Abbots and the Neunkirchen Nightmares. They will play a preliminary round on Saturday with games against each other. The Knights and the Tornados will get two home games because they were first and second after the regular season. The winner of this group will reach the finals on Sunday directly. The teams in second and third will decide in a half-finale about the opponent.
Mannheim Tornados
They clinched the berth with a 1-0 victory in game four of their playoff match up against Wesseling Vermins. This is their 16th final four in a row. They won the championship last year and seven times since 1996. During regular season play they lost no game and won the southern conference by a margin of nine.
Their pitching staff is led by Sonja GARRNETT (2-0), who gave up only five hits and one walk in 14 postseason innings. She has not allowed an earned run all season.
The Offense relies on Friderieke MEINCK (.463), who scored 41 runs and had 34 RBI during the regular season. She struggled with one hit in eleven at-bats against Wesseling. Christine BRUCKNER hit .535 with 36 runs and 31 RBI.
Hamburg Knights
Hamburg won the northern conference with a 22-6 record. They swept the playoff series against Darmstadt Rockets with three dominant wins.
Vivian MELZER got two wins against the Rockets. During the regular season she had an ERA of 2.61 in ten games. Michele VESELINOVIC (ERA 2.22) and Briana HOUT (1.37) complete the rotation.
VESELINOVIC is also an offensive force. She hit .437 with 34 runs and 25 RBI. She scored already six times during the postseason. Manuela HINTZE and HOUT were responsible for 14 RBI in the last three games.
Brauweiler Raging Abbots
The Raging Abbots were the runner-up behind Hamburg during the regular season. They clinched their final four participation with three wins versus Freising Grizzlies.
Their main starting pitcher is Anna NEUSER. She won eleven games with a 1.24 ERA in 19 games during the regular season.
Nina HASENKAMP hit .545 with 30 runs and 33 RBI in 28 games for Brauweiler. During the playoffs she had seven hits in eight at-bats with five runs scored and three RBI.
Neunkirchen Nightmares
The Nightmares came through a sweep of the Haar Disciples to their first final four. They are just playing three years at the top level in Germany.
Katie HOLCOMB posted a third best 1.63 ERA during the regular season. She, Janneke OGINK (ERA 2.41) and Ulrike GERLACH (ERA 3.16) will be on the mound for Neunkirchen.
But GERLACH is much more important for the Offense. She hit .440 with 38 runs scored in 28 games. Arlene QUINN had 35 runs and 31 RBI.
Prediction:
It is hard to say, who will win. We believe the winner of the group on Saturday has best chances. The Knights and Tornados are the favourites on paper.
Schedule:
Saturday September 22
10:00 A1 – B2 A2 – B1
13:00 B2 – A2 A1 – B1
16:00 A2 – A1 B1 – B2
Sunday September 23
10:00 Half-Final: Second Group Saturday vs. Third Group Saturday 13:00 Final: First Group Saturday vs. Winner Half-Final
(Hamburg and Mannheim will seeded A1 and A2 on Friday) (Brauweiler and Neunkirchen will seeded B1 and B2 on Friday)