Solingen Alligators – Pulheim Gophers 2-1, 9-2
(in Dortmund)
After two previous attempts failed due to rain, the Solingen Alligators and the Pulheim Gophers finally were able to play their two-game set on Wednesday and Thursday. The twin bill however was held in Dortmund, as no night games are possible in Solingen due to the lack of light after 8pm CET. The Alligators won both games and pushed the Gophers out of the playoffs. Instead the HSV Stealers will play southern champion Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg in the quarterfinals.
In game one on Wednesday Solingen used Jens Cornelsen, Andre Hughes and Nils Hartkopf for three innings each to out-duel Markus Solbach in a pitcher’s duel, which was won 2-1 by the Alligators. The two decisive runs were scored in the bottom of the fourth. Pulheim had a chance to come back in the eighth, but Hartkopf escaped a no-out, bases loaded situation with three strikeouts. The three Solingen hurlers combined for 18 strikeouts overall.
In game two on Thursday a solo homerun by Dominik Wulf in the sixth broke a 2-2 tie en route to a 9-2 win by the Alligators over the Gophers. Evan Porter later added a three-run shot to blow things wide open. Wulf also had taken the mound as starting pitcher and only issued runs in the fifth and the sixth.
Solingen will take on the Haar Disciples in round one of the playoffs. The Alligators had written an open letter to the German Baseball and Softball Federation and several media outlets on Wednesday, complaining that they hadn’t much to say about the relocation of the two-game series to Dortmund. They hope to get financially compensated.
Final Standings Regular Season Baseball-Bundesliga:
{mrb-standing:germany-2010}