On Sunday evening at the latest the 2009 season in the Baseball-Bundesliga will be history and we can applaud a new champion. With the best-of-five series tied at 1-1, MANNHEIM and HEIDENHEIM hope to get the necessary two victories in the remaining up to three games this weekend. It would be the twelfth title for the TORNADOS and the first for the HEIDEKOEPFE.
Game three will be played on Saturday at 4.30pm CET at the Roberto Clemente Field in Mannheim. Like one week before, Martin Dewald is expected to make the trip over the Atlantic to pitch for the TORNADOS. He is a perfect 6-0 during the 2009 postseason and he could step into the footsteps of Keigo Miyagi (2007 Mainz) and Philipp Hoffschild (2008 Regensburg), who had similar runs en route to the championship. He will face German national teammate Markus Winkler.
In game four on Sunday, HEIDENHEIM’s Dusty Bergman tries to defend his streak of nine scoreless innings in the German finals. MANNHEIM’s starter could be Rene Franke or Michael Otto, which probably depends on the outcome of the Saturday-match. In a possible fifth match Peter Dankerl would get the nod for the HEIDEKOEPFE, while either Franke or Otto would step on the mound for the TORNADOS.
HEIDENHEIM also hopes to get a little help from Simon Guehring. The injured national team catcher started with light work-outs this week and could be available for pinch-hit duties. This is not only good news for Mike Hartley and the HEIDEKOEPFE, but also for Germany’s head coach Greg Frady.
The series to determine third place in the Baseball-Bundesliga between the SOLINGEN ALLIGATORS and the BUCHBINDER LEGIONAERE REGENSBURG, which also was scheduled for this weekend, was cancelled for unknown reasons.
Recap Game 1: Heidenheim – Mannheim 1-4
Recap Game 2: Heidenheim – Mannheim 5-0
Schedule:
Saturday, August 29
16:30 Mannheim Tornados – Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
Sunday, August 30
13:00 Mannheim Tornados – Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
15:30 Mannheim Tornados – Heidenheim Heidekoepfe*
* if necessary