The Athletics split over the weekend, and lost their grip on first place. The Wanderers moved into a tie with the A’s atop the standings with their sweep against the Highlanders. The Tigers were able to take home one win from their matchup in Stockerau against the Cubs. Kufstein suffered a tough sweep against the Blue Bats, who moved a game closer to fourth place.
Friday/Saturday:
Vienna Metrostars @ Attnang-Puchheim Athletics
In the first game between the defending champs and the all-time champs the guests from Vienna had a foot up on their hosts, who were celebrating their 20th year of baseball. The Metrostars took the lead, but as soon as starter Ludescher left the game, they weren’t able to protect their lead. The A’s tallied a few hits in a row and were able to push some across the plate. Walter Strasser was able to recover from his early struggles and keep the Stars in check, while his offense picked up the pace and worked their way to a five run lead. In the ninth, the guests started a comeback that would see them come up a bit short, final score 8-5 for the home team.
A new day, a new game. Saturday afternoon brought new fortunes for the guests, as they had no problem handling the pitching of Josh Castanza, punishing him and taking a 5-0 lead in the second inning. On their own behalf, JT Hillard tossed a solid game despite letting the A’s cut the lead from 7-4 in the middle innings. Castanza was replaced by Thomas Schrittwieser on the mound, but he was unable to stem the tide either. Hubert Weiser and Jakob Simonson put the game on ice for the guests, as they left Attnang with an 11-4 win on day two of the trip, and rained on the host’s party.
RiCo Highlanders @ Vienna Wanderers
Clemens Cichocki made another start for the Wanderers, and for the larger part of the game didn’t let the opponents get far on the bases. For the Highlanders, Bernd Weixlbaumer let runner after runner make their way on base. Despite being pulled, the guests were already in a 7-1 hole. Cichocki had only let three runners on base until the last inning, when we started having troubles locating and put a couple on base through hits and walks. Errors in the field contributed to the Wanderers coughing up their lead and letting the Highlanders tie it at 7-7. But the Wanderers had the last say, and in the bottom of the ninth, Cichocki helped himself out and knocked in the winning run with a base hit.
Game 2 was the much-anticipated matchup, with Wayne Ough (RiCo) matching up against Chris Magarian (Wanderers). Both offenses had trouble against the respective pitcher, so that the Wanderers had to be happy with just a 1-0 lead until the late innings. Again it was the defense that let down the Wanderers, as they handed the Highlanders a 2-1 lead with unnecessary errors. The Highlanders were in the drivers seat, but couldn’t seal the deal, as they let a passed ball and a hit by DuToit create the tying run for the Wanderers. Coach Sakanashi at the plate with a chance to win, and picked it up as he drove in the deciding run. The Wanderers took the sweep with a 3-2 comeback win, and moved into a tie for first in the standings.
Sunday:
Schwaz Tigers @ Soroptimist Stockerauer Cubs
For three innings, it was three up, three down, three K’s for Paul Astl. The Tigers starter sat down the first nine outs by strikeout, and it didn’t look like the Cubs would be able to get much going against him. Michael Schneider got the start for Stockerau, and was nearly as impressive for the hosts. Despite the Cubs’ trouble early against Astl, they took the first lead. In the seventh they extended it to 3-0, and looked set to take the pitchers duel with that score until the Tigers fought back late. Narrowing the gap to 3-2, the Tigers were back in the game until Mark Brunnthaler came in to get the save for the Cubs.
The second game was in the same style, as Jason Fronczak pitched a solid game. Scott Holstein wasn’t able to repeat the dominance he’s shown in the past weeks, and repeatedly was beaten by the batters. The Cubs were leading 1-0 in the second, but the Tigers went ahead 3-1. The Tigers added another run to extend their lead, and Fronczak was sharp in limiting the damage the Cubs could inflict. Final score, 4-2.
Kufstein Vikings @ Schwechat Blue Bats
The Vikings travelled across the country to face the Bats, and didn’t want to leave empty handed. The Bats, playing without Daniel Jahn, were able to regroup and present a tough opponent for the Vikings. Both teams got on the board and created long innings for the defense, creating a back and forth of errors and lead changes. After more than three hours, the Bats came out on top 14-13.
With Zsolt Zalabai back on the mound for the hosts in game two, he was hoping to bounce back from a tough outing against the Wanderers the week before. This week, he was in top form, and dominated the Vikings early. On the other side, the offense was able to score nearly at-will against the Vikings starter Thomas Graf, and the Vikings wouldn’t be leaving the East with a win on this trip. With the sweep, the Blue Bats keep themselves in the playoff race just a few back from the Metrostars.
Results:
Friday/Saturday
Vienna Metrostars @ Attnang-Puchheim Athletics
Game 1: 5:8 – WP: W. Strasser (CG); LP: S. Ludescher;
HR: L. Rauch; J. Kashuba;
Game 2: 11:4 – WP: JT Hillard; LP: J.Castanza;
HR: J. Tezak; M. Rabengruber;
RiCo Highlanders @ Vienna Wanderers
Game 1: 7:8 – WP: C. Cichocki (CG); LP: R. Ludwig;
Game 2: 2:3 – WP: C. Magarian (CG); LP: W. Ough;
Sunday:
Schwaz Tigers @ Soroptimist Stockerauer Cubs
Game 1: 2:3 – WP: M.Schneider; LP: P.Astl (CG); S: M. Brunnthaler;
Game 2: 4:2 – WP: J. Fronczak (CG); LP: S. Holstein;
Kufstein Vikings @ Schwechat Blue Bats
Game 1: 13:14 – WP: P. Brenner; LP: W. Harasser;
HR: A. Quirantes;
Game 2: 4:12 – WP: Z. Zalabai; LP: Th. Graf;
HR: W. Zapata; S. Sappl;
{mrb-standing:austria-2011}