Dohren Wild Farmers – Bonn Capitals 2-9, 2-4 (12)
The Capitals added several new players during the offseason to get back into the playoffs. On Saturday they opened the season with two wins against the promoted Wild Farmers. In game one Tim Henkenjohann struck out 18 batters in 7 2/3 innings, while allowing just a seventh-inning single and four walks to lead Bonn to a 9-2 win. Christian Nsien scored three times. Jesse LaCasse had a pair of RBI doubles and drove in three overall. Thies Brunckhorst took the loss.
In the second match Bonn needed a two-run double by Jonathan Marshall in the third extra inning to win 4-2. Dohren had taken a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, when Tyson Jaquez and David Wohlgemuth scored on hits by Stephan Hassenpflug and Alex Grbani. But the Caps tied the game in the seventh on RBIs by Jan Jacob and Georg Enzian. Wild Farmers starter Vince DeCoito struck out eleven in seven innings. Bonn’s Bryce Schoening had ten Ks in nine innings.
Dortmund Wanderers – HSV Stealers 7-5, 0-2
The Wanderers and the Stealers settled for a split in their first doubleheader of the season. In the afternoon game on Saturday Hamburg built up an early 5-1 lead midway through the fifth inning. But Dortmund came back and with the help of three Stealers errors erased the deficit with a five-run rally in the eighth. Michael Gollan pushed the go-ahead runs over the plate with a two-run single.
In the second game Stockholm’s Joakim Claesson, who has joined the Stealers on a loan contract in April, had a brilliant Baseball-Bundesliga debut. The Swedish national team hurler allowed just one hit through eight innings to lead the HSV to a 2-0 shutout. Hamburg took an early lead in the second frame, when Brehan Murphy reached with a double and scored on a single by Arash Etemadi. Philipp von Soosten drove in Jerome Rousseau to add an insurance run in the sixth.
Pulheim Gophers – Solingen Alligators 1-6, 0-6
The reigning north champion Alligators started with two wins over the Gophers into the new season. In game one they scored four runs in the fifth en route to a 6-1 victory. Andre Hughes started and picked up the win in his return to the Baseball-Bundesliga. Markus Solbach took the loss for Pulheim.
In the second match Josh Rickards dominated with 15 strikeouts in seven innings to lead Solingen to a 6-0 shutout. Gophers’ starter Lee Roberts was charged with the loss after a solid performance in his German debut. Robin Drache set the offensive highlight with a solo homerun in sixth.
Cologne Cardinals – Paderborn Untouchables 3-4 (10), 5-11
The Untouchables opened the 2010 season with two wins in Cologne on Easter Monday. In the first game Daniel Meier lifted Paderborn to a 4-3 win with a solo shot over the left field fence in the tenth. Cardinals’ starter Pascal Raab struck out eight in seven strong innings. The U’s offense woke up early in the second game, scoring eight runs in the first three innings against Cologne’s new import pitcher Kevin Brunet. In the end Paderborn won by a score of 11-5.
Photo: © Gregor Eisenhuth www.eisenhuth-photographie.de