North
Bonn Capitals – Paderborn Untouchables 1-14 (7)
The PADERBORN overcame an early ejection of shortstop Octavio Medina and a 0-1 deficit in the opening frame to over-power Tim Henkenjohann and BONN with a 14-1 romp. Mike Reed led the offense with five RBI. Pitchers Bjoern Schonlau and Daniel Rahn silenced the CAPITALS bats. Game two of the doubleheader was postponed due to rain and will be made up on Thursday at 4pm CET.
HSV Stealers – Dortmund Wanderers 2-10, 2-1
The STEALERS made a big step this weekend towards the playoffs, while the WANDERERS secured their berth. The two teams in third and fourth in the north of the German Baseball-Bundesliga standings settle for a split on Saturday in Hamburg. In game one DORTMUND scored five runs in the top of the seventh en route to a 10-2 win. Rene Herlitzius had the big hit with a two-run double.
In the second match Kody Hightower allowed just one run on three hits in a complete game to lead the HSV to a 2-1 win. Both runs of the STEALERS were scored on wild pitches, the second by Hightower himself in the bottom of the sixth. Center fielder Michael Kujoth probably saved the game for HAMBURG with a great diving catch of a flyball by Kyle Cherney with a runner on second in the top of the sixth.
Both teams also profited from the two losses by the CARDINALS in PULHEIM. The STEALERS, which will face COLOGNE next weekend, now have a two-game lead in fourth place.
Pulheim Gophers – Cologne Cardinals 12-5, 15-5 (8)
PULHEIM, which wasn’t able to get things going lately, stunned local rival COLOGNE on Sunday with two victories. In game one the GOPHERS scored six runs in the seventh to turn a 3-5 deficit around and to win by a final score of 12-5. A collision at home plate, which caused the dugouts to clear, had injected the rally. In the second match not even Kalev Betancourt could stop the Pulheim offense, as they stormed out to a fast 4-0 lead and blew the game wide open with another big inning in the eighth, winning 15-5. The GOPHERS moved back into sixth place of the standings, while the CARDINALS now face an uphill battle in their pursuit of a playoff berth.
South
Mannheim Tornados – Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg 1-4, 0-3
The BUCHBINDER LEGIONAERE stayed undefeated on the road in the Baseball-Bundesliga and improved to 19-1 on the season with two victories in MANNHEIM. In the night game on Friday evening, Ludwig Glaser drove in three to lead REGENSBURG to a 4-1 win. Philipp Hoffschild pitched six-plus brilliant innings of relief to pick up the win. On Saturday afternoon former TORNADOS’ ace Eddie Aucoin struck out eight in eight four-hit innings en route to a 3-0 shutout. Klaus Hopfensperger hit a solo homerun.
Saarlouis Hornets – Haar Disciples 1-2, 5-3
The DISCIPLES made things interesting in the playoff race in the southern division of the Baseball-Bundesliga, by winning game one of their doubleheader in SAARLOUIS on Sunday. They won it 2-1 thanks to a ninth-inning run after having tied the contest in the top of the sixth. The HORNETS led since a RBI double by Whitney Pierce in the first.
In game two the home team again put the first run on the board, but in difference to the first part of the twin bill they were able to add a bunch of insurance runs to seal a 5-3 victory. Javier Perez drove in two with a double and a single. Johannes Stockhausen added a RBI double. HAAR tried to rally in the top of the ninth, plated two runs and had runners on first and second with two outs, but couldn’t score again.
SAARLOUIS moved into fourth with the split, but only has a lead by a few percentage points over MAINZ, GAUTING and HAAR. The HORNETS will play the ATHLETICS next weekend, while the DISCIPLES have an open date with REGENSBURG left. The INDIANS play the LEGIONAERE and the HEIDEKOEPFE to conclude the regular season.
Mainz Athletics – Heidenheim Heidekoepfe was rained out on Saturday. A make-up date hasn’t been announced yet.
{mrb-standing:germany-2009}
Photo by Werner Weiland, Pulheim Gophers