by Josh Chetwynd

In the fifth annual Mister-Baseball Top 50, T&A San Marino decisively took the top position, becoming the first club based in neither Italy nor the Netherlands to secure the number one ranking. Admittedly, San Marino’s victory is one for the Italian Baseball League as the club competes in Italy’s domestic league. But regardless of geography, San Marino’s performance was dominate: not only did the team capture the IBL title but it also won one of the two European Cup pool events as well as the European “Final 4” club title. The squad outpaced the second-place finisher in the Top 50, Hoofdklasse champion L&D Amsterdam by the largest margin since the first rankings in 2007 when the Netherland’s Corendon Kinheim prevailed by a slightly larger total over its closest rival.

Teams from the IBL also finished third and fourth in the Top 50. Danesi Caffe Nettuno, Coppa Italia victor and runner up in the IBL, came in immediately behind Amsterdam, while Cariparma Parma, which lost to San Marino in the “Final 4” championship, placed fourth. German Bundesliga champions, Buchbinder Legionäre, rounded out the top five.

Winner of one of the two Euro Cup pools, Unipol Bologna led the bottom-half of the top ten, followed by Hoofdklasse vice-champions, Vaessen Pioneers, perennial Dutch contender DOOR Neptunus, Spanish Division de Honor winners, FC Barcelona, and Germany’s second-place club, the Paderborn Untouchables.

As in years past, these rankings are based on a combination of factors. Point totals for teams were amassed from two categories:

1. Strength of baseball in each club’s country: The strength of domestic leagues and the countries’ overall international success are significant factors in these rankings. To varying degrees, the elements considered include: The standing of each country’s national team in the European Championships (and qualifiers); the country’s overall performance in CEB club events; the size of the country’s baseball membership; and the number of international quality facilities in the country. In looking at country performance, both recent events and historical performance are taken into account. Results from the 2011 European Championship qualifiers were considered in this year’s rankings.
2. Club’s performance: This is the actual performance of each club. It includes final standings in domestic leagues (and inter-league play where applicable) and cup competitions; club winning percentages; and performances in CEB-sanctioned competitions. Head-to-head performance against other teams in the rankings is taken into consideration – but it is one of many factors. In this category, a team’s performance for the 2011 season is exclusively considered.

The combination of country strength and individual team performance is intended to give a snapshot of European club play for a single year. These rankings do not attempt to offer a historic comparison of clubs and do not assert that a team ranked higher than another is a “better” team. Rather, a combination of performance and league strength reflects the ordering.

We recognize that these rankings stir debate. In part, that’s their very purpose. We do not claim this list to be definitive. If you have any questions or comments, send e-mails to rankings@mister-baseball.com.

2007 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2008 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2009 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2010 Mister-Baseball European Top 50

Mister Baseball's 2011 European Top 50

Pos.	Club	Country	Points
1	T&A San Marino	San Marino	39.17
2	L&D Amsterdam	Netherlands	34.17
3	Danesi Caffe' Nettuno	Italy	30.17
4	Cariparma Parma	Italy	29.92
5	Buchbinder Legionäre	Germany	29.83
6	Unipol Bologna	Italy	29.17
7	Vaessen Pioniers	Netherlands	28.17
8	DOOR Neptunus	Netherlands	27.42
9	FC Barcelona	Spain	27.00
10	Paderborn Untouchables	Germany	26.83
11	Corendon Kinheim	Netherlands	26.17
12	Solingen Alligators	Germany	24.83
13	Technika Brno	Czech Republic	23.75
14	Sant Boi	Spain	23.00
15	Rouen Baseball 76	France	22.83
16	Bonn Capitals	Germany	22.33
17	Telemarket Rimini	Italy	21.67
18	AVG Draci Brno	Czech Republic	21.50
19	Heidenheim Heideköpfe	Germany	20.83
	Montpellier Université Club	France	20.83
21	Tenerife Marlins P.C.	Spain	19.50
22	Astros	Spain	19.00
23	Les Templiers de Senart	France	18.08
24	Savigny sur Orge Lions	France	17.83
25	Kotlářka Praha	Czech Republic	16.75
26	Southern Nationals	United Kingdom	16.33
27	KNTU-OSVSM Kirovograd	Ukraine	15.75
28	Stockholms BSK	Sweden	15.67
	UVV	Netherlands	15.67
30	Zagreb BK	Croatia	15.42
31	SK Krč Praha	Czech Republic	15.25
32	Lakenheath Diamondbacks	United Kingdom	14.83
33	Hoboken Pioneers	Belgium	13.83
34	Baseball Klub Nada SSM Split	Croatia	12.92
35	Tornado Balashikha	Russia	12.67
36	Göteborg	Sweden	12.17
37	Vienna Metrostars	Austria	11.67
38	Scythians	Ukraine	11.25
39	Namur Angels	Belgium	11.08
40	Bern Cardinals	Switzerland	11.00
41	MOSQUITO Athletics Attnang-Puchheim	Austria	10.67
42	Sugar Storm Skidel	Belarus	9.50
43	MGPU S.Y.O.S. Moscow	Russia	9.17
44	Szentendre Sleepwalkers	Hungary	8.50
	TJ STU Angels Trnava	Slovakia	8.50
46	Beograd 96	Serbia	8.25
	Sporto Vilkai Vilnius	Lithuania	8.25
48	Stal Kutno	Poland	7.50
49	Dublin Spartans	Ireland	6.75
50	Panthers Patras	Greece	6.25
	Zajčki Rabbits	Slovenia	6.25

Honorable Mentions:

Club	Country
Blagoevgrad Buffaloes	Bulgaria
Espoo Expos	Finland
Kiili Pantrid	Estonia
Oslo Pretenders	Norway
Riga Lions	Latvia

Countries covered: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Just a little bit of self-promotion on a Monday morning:

We have started a new series, called Ballparks in Europe. If you would like to introduce your ballpark, you’ll find more information here.

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You can also follow Mister-Baseball.com at Twitter. @MisterBaseball

Hello Baseball Fans and Mister-baseball readers,

the Mister-Baseball-Team is looking for an Assistant Webmaster/Editor to help put content on our website.

This is -as all jobs on mister-baseball- a volunteer position.
Our Assistant Editor / Assistant Webmaster should be interested in helping us on the following things:

- Establish new contacts within European baseball to obtain news for the website
- Enter news and information ion the WordPress-backend and put these news on the website
- Rewrite articles that have been sent in by correspondents which are no native English speakers
- Find photos for articles and publish them

Anybody that has good English language skills and is willing to invest at least 1 to 2 hours per day is welcome.

Internet HTML or PHP/SQL Knowledge is a plus but it is not mandatory for this position.

Mister-Baseball looking for Writers:

Mister-Baseball also would like to add some writers to its staff, which would be assigned to a European league and are going to provide weekly game day previews and recaps to our website. We are looking for people, which have knowledge of European Baseball and Softball and are comfortable in the English language. The position would be on a volunteer basis, financial compensation is not included. Writers would be able to cover most of the countries. If you want to know, which leagues are open, send us an email.

If you are interested or you’re having any questions let us know at news@mister-baseball.com

by Michal Hanus

Baseball club Tempo Titans Praha will prepare for autumn play-off series and fight for free spot in Extralegue at home. Titans will organize from August 2nd till August 5th senior invitation baseball tournament Titan Clash. This wood bat tournament is organized for a maximum of eight teams. Just now organizers have confirmation from 4 teams including host Titans. Organizers guarantee for 250 Euro to all participants four nine inning game, umpires as well as balls for tournament. Organizer also have agreement with close located hotel accomodation for teams for a price of 350 CZK (14 Euro) per bed / night including breakfest. More information are available here as well as head coach Joey Kamide will answer all your questions.

HSV Stealers – Solingen Alligators 3-17, 4-3

In just a span of eight days Antonio Peraza has made his name in the German Baseball-Bundesliga. After leading the HSV Stealers to a win over the Untouchables Paderborn, he out-pitched Shelby Robertson on Saturday to give Hamburg a 4-3 win over the Solingen Alligators. A RBI double by Brent Buffa in the bottom of the seventh inning decided the outcome and removed the champion from 2006 out of first place in the northern standings. In game one Solingen had routed Hamburg 17-3, highlighted by an eight-run ninth frame. Florian Goetze homered and scored four times. Travis Bass drove in four. Dominik Wulf collected four hits. Eric Krzysiak went deep for the Stealers.

Untouchables Paderborn – Cologne Cardinals 5-0, 4-1

The Untouchables Paderborn regained first place in the standings with a sweep over the Cologne Cardinals. In game one Eugen Heilmann and Daniel Rahn combined to allow just two hits in a 5-0 shutout. Jendrick Speer, Daniel Hinz and Michael Neuhaeuser led the offense with three hits apiece. In the second match Brian Fields struck out 14 in eight one-hit innings of a 4-1 victory. Matt Martin went deep. Josh Tamba took the loss despite punching out 12 Paderborn batters in eight innings.

Berlin Sluggers – Dortmund Wanderers 6-21, 1-11

The Dortmund Wanderers cruised to two lopsided wins in the German capital. In game one the team of head coach Rene Herlitzius crushed the Berlin Sluggers 21-6 in seven innings. They scored nine runs in the third. Trevor Howell went 3-for-5 with a homerun, three runs scored and three RBI. Jovert Bolze scored four times. All Dortmund players scored at least once in the game. Jeffrey Wolburg had two runs and two RBI for Berlin. In the second match Dortmund continued to score at will in an 11-1 rout. Aljosha Heller and again Howell hit homeruns. Daniel Groer scored four times. Joey Parigi struck out nine in seven three-hit innings for the win.

Bonn Capitals – Dohren Wild Farmers 7-0, 1-0

On Sunday the Bonn Capitals concluded the game day in the north with a pair of shutouts over the Dohren Wild Farmers. In game one Martin Amparo and Tim Henkenjohann held Dohren to seven hits in a 7-0 win. Bonn scored six runs in the first inning and didn’t have to do much after. The second game fulfilled expectations, as Charley Olson prevailed in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel against Mat Keplinger. Olson issued just a pair of singles in a complete game shutout. He struck out 12. Lennart Weller scored the lone run in the sixth inning on a RBI single by BJ Roper-Hubbert.

South:

Mainz Athletics – Stuttgart Reds 13-9, 1-3

The struggles for the Mainz Athletics continue, as they had to settle for the split against the promoted Stuttgart Reds. On Friday the A’s won 13-9 in the night game. Swedish outfielder Peter Johannessen reached base four times, scoring thrice and driving in three runs. Max Boldt also crossed the plate three times for Mainz in the slugfest. Markus Winkler homered for Stuttgart. Aaron Hornostaj and Joshua Little combined for four Reds RBI. Mainz needed to score four runs in the seventh inning to break up a 9-9 tie. On Saturday Richard Olson struck out 12 in a complete game victory, leading Stuttgart to a 3-1 win. They overcame 16 Pat Haugen strikeouts and scored twice in the eighth inning to prevail in another tight contest.

Haar Disciples – Mannheim Tornados 0-15, 5-4

The Haar Disciples and the Mannheim Tornados also settled for the split on Saturday. In game one Jan-Niclas Stoecklin pitched a seven-inning no-hitter in a 15-0 shutout for the Tornados. He struck out 11 and issued just four walks in the game. Mannheim’s offense scored in each of the seven innings, led by Luke Matthews who went 3-for-4 with a homerun and five RBI. Dominik Hoepfner and Jordan Dyer also went deep. In the second game the Disciples prevailed 5-4 thanks to a walk-off homerun by Michael Stephan in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mannheim had tied the game in the top of the frame with a Dyer RBI single. Josh Petersen stole home for Haar. Nick Renault beat Matt Kemp on the mound.

Bad Homburg Hornets – Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg 4-16, 2-15

The Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg crushed the Bad Homburg Hornets 16-4 and 15-2 on Sunday to conclude the game day in the south. They re-gained sole possession of first place, as the Heidenheim Heidekoepfe were off this weekend. In game one they scored five runs in the first and six in the eighth to blow things wide open. Petr Cech homered and drove in four. Matt Vance scored three runs and drove in three. In the second match Chris Howard went deep, combining with Evan LeBlanc for six RBI. Vance and Ludwig Glaser had three runs apiece.

Standings:
North:

1. Paderborn 13-3
2. Solingen 14-4
3. Bonn 12-6
4. Dortmund 8-8
5. Hamburg 7-8
6. Dohren 6-12
7. Cologne 5-10
8. Berlin 2-16

South:

1. Regensburg 13-3
2. Heidenheim 11-3
3. Haar 9-7
4. Mainz 9-7
5. Mannheim 6-6
6. Stuttgart 3-13
7. Bad Homburg 1-13

Results:
Halcones de Vigo – CD Pamplona 2-21
Halcones de Vigo – CD Pamplona 2-12
CB Sant Boi – Tenerife Marlins 1-9
CB Sant Boi – Tenerife Marlins 9-1
San Inazio Bilbao – El Llano 10-3
San Inazio Bilbao – El Llano 14-3
Astros Valencia – CB Viladecans 7-1
Astros Valencia – CB Viladecans 13-1
Baseball Navarra – CB Barcelona 1-7
Baseball Navarra – CB Barcelona ppd

Standings:

1. CB Barcelona 17-2
2. Astros Valencia 16-4
3. Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz 14-6
4. CB Viladecans 10-10
5. CB Sant Boi 10-10
6. Baseball Navarra 9-10
7. CD Pamplona 9-11
8. San Inazio Bilbao 9-11
9. El Llano 5-15
10. Halcones de Vigo 0-20

Results:
Saturday, May 19:
Lucerne Eagles – Bern Cardinals 1-18
Lucerne Eagles – Bern Cardinals 8-10
Wil Devils – Therwil Flyers 3-18
Wil Devils – Therwil Flyers 0-16
Sunday, May 20:
Zurich Lions – Embrach Mustangs 4-17
Zurich Lions – Embrach Mustangs 0-12

Standings:

1. Bern Cardinals 8-0
2. Therwil Flyers 4-1
3. Embrach Mustangs 6-2
4. Zurich Barracudas 3-2
5. Zurich Challengers 2-4
6. Wil Devils 2-4
7. Zurich Lions 1-7
8. Lucerne Eagles 1-7

Results:
Saturday, May 19:
Olympia Blansko – Technika Brno 4-12, 11-21
Arrows Ostrava – Draci Brno 9-7, 9-12
Hrosi Brno – Eagles Prague 3-4, 7-0
Skokani Olomouc – Kotlarka Prague 1-7, 3-5

Results:
Saturday, May 19:
Brasschaat Braves – Hoboken Pioneers 5-7
Borgerhout Squirrels – Royal Greys 2-1
Deurne Spartans – Namur Angels 3-6
Antwerp Eagles – Mortsel Stars 9-10
Sunday, May 20:
Hoboken Pioneers – Brasschaat Braves 14-4
Royal Greys – Borgerhout Squirrels 2-1
Deurne Spartans – Namur Angels 1-0
Mortsel Stars – Antwerp Eagles 3-4

The Stock City Cubs lost both games to the Vienna Neustadt Diving Ducks on Saturday and also lost first place in the standings in the process. Clemens Cichocki led the Diving Ducks to a 4-2 win in game one, their first of the season in a first match of a doubleheader. In the second part of the twin bill, the guests from Vienna Neustadt took a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning en route to a 5-1 victory.

GEI Athletics Attnang-Puchheim – Schwaz Tigers 12-4, 16-11

The GEI Athletics Attnang-Puchheim overpowered the Schwaz Tigers 12-4 and 16-11 to move into first place in the ABL standings. Jon Kashuba, Martin Rabengruber and Dave Burns went deep for the A’s in a 12-4 win in game one. Matthias Mayer and Adam Sowell hit homeruns for the Tigers. In the second match Attnang-Puchheim overcame an early 0-5 deficit to prevail 16-11 in another slugfest. Paul Astl homered twice for Schwaz. Rabengruber (2) and Burns hit homeruns for the host.

Dornbirn Indians – Union Kufstein Vikings 7-12, 2-1

The Dornbirn Indians and the Union Kufstein Vikings split their doubleheader on Saturday. In game one a three-run homerun by Mark Marelich turned out to be crucial, as Union Kufstein came back from a pair of deficits in a 12-7 victory. In the second contest Devery Van Dekeere and Danny Hall out-pitched Bubbie Buzachero to lead the Indians to a 2-1 nail-biter. A wild pitch in the eighth inning decided the outcome.

Vienna Metrostars – Vienna Wanderers 6-5, 5-7

The Vienna derby between the Metrostars and the Wanderers ended with a split. In game one the Mets prevailed 6-5, scoring the winning run in the tenth inning. In the second game the Wanderers held on to an early 4-0 lead en route to a 7-5 win.

Standings:

1. Athletics 9-3
2. Cubs 7-3
3. Diving Ducks 6-4
4. Metrostars 5-5
5. Indians 5-5
6. Wanderers 4-6
7. Tigers 2-6
8. Vikings 2-8

Results:
Thursday, May 17:
Unipol Bologna – Cariparma Parma 15-3
Danesi Nettuno – Telemarket Rimini 3-1
Friday, May 18:
Cariparma Parma – Unipol Bologna 7-3
De Angelis Godo Knights – Grosseto Baseball 2-3
T&A San Marino – Novara United 2-1
Danesi Nettuno – Telemarket Rimini 2-1
Saturday, May 19:
De Angelis Godo Knights – Grosseto Baseball 3-7
T&A San Marino – Novara United 2-1
Cariparma Parma – Unipol Bologna 3-6
De Angelis Godo Knights – Grosseto Baseball 8-2
T&A San Marino – Novara United 10-4
Danesi Nettuno – Telemarket Rimini 0-4

Standings:

1. Bologna 18-6
2. San Marino 17-7
3. Rimini 16-8
4. Nettuno 16-8
5. Parma 11-13
6. Godo 9-15
7. Grosseto 6-18
8. Novara 3-21

A RBI single by Joris Bert and an error gave Rouen an early 2-0 advantage in the third. Another error and a wild pitch allowed Boris Marche and Anthony Piquet to score in the eighth to make it a four-run game. Kazuki Iwamori was charged with the loss, issuing two hits, two runs (1 ER) and six base on balls in six innings.

The Huskies had reached the finals undefeated and winning all three preliminary round games against Savigny, Stade Toulousain and Paris UC, as well as the semi-final (8-1) against the Templiers Senart. The Lions had edged out PUC and the team from Toulouse to make it into the semis. They dispatched the Montpellier Barracudas (10-2) en route to the championship game. Montpellier won the game for third place against Senart.

Results:
Wednesday, May 16:
19:30 Templiers Senart – Montpellier Barracudas 4-13
Thursday, May 17:
10:00 Rouen Huskies – Stade Toulousain 3-1
11:00 Pessac Panthers – Beaucaire Chevaliers 6-0
14:00 Stade Toulousain – Savigny Lions 4-6
15:00 Montpellier Barracudas – Beaucaire Chevaliers 3-2
18:00 Savigny Lions – Paris UC 11-3
19:00 Templiers Senart – Pessac Panthers 11-1
Friday, May 18:
10:00 Paris UC – Stade Toulousain 9-2
14:00 Paris UC – Rouen Huskies 0-14
14:00 Montpellier Barracudas – Pessac Panthers 12-2
18:00 Rouen Huskies – Savigny Lions 11-8
19:00 Beaucaire Chevaliers – Templiers Senart 2-12
Saturday, May 19:
14:00 Rouen Huskies – Templiers Senart 8-1 (Semi-Finals)
19:00 Montpellier Barracudas – Savigny Lions 2-10 (Semi-Finals)
Sunday, May 20:
10:00 Templiers Senart – Montpellier Barracudas 0-2 (Bronze Medal Game)
14:00 Rouen Huskies – Savigny Lions 4-0 (Gold Medal Game)

L&D Amsterdam completed a sweep over Corendon Kinheim this weekend. On Saturday seven players had multiple hits in a 15-2 rout. Wesley Connor went 4-for-5 with a homerun, three runs scored and four RBI. Jos de Jong pitched seven innings for the easy win. Luke Sommer got hit hard to take the loss, allowing six runs on ten hits in 5 2/3 innings. On Sunday Ben Grover out-pitched Nick Veltkamp and the Pirates won 6-2. Bas de Jong had a homerun, a double and a couple of RBI.

UVV – Sparta/Feyenoord Rotterdam 10-0, 10-0

UVV celebrated a pair of 10-0 shutouts over Sparta/Feyenoord Rotterdam, completing a sweep in which they out-scored the opposition 34-2. On Saturday Duko Jansen allowed just two hits and two walks in seven innings. Shurty Tremus drove in three. Ryan Murphy had two runs and two RBI. Gregory Gustina took the loss. One day later Orlando Yntema and two relievers combined to issue just three hits and a walk in eight innings to lay the groundwork for the win. Elton Koeiman was charged with the loss. Austin Weymouth and Giovanni Samboe had four of the five UVV doubles.

DOOR Neptunus – Mr. Cocker HCAW 5-2, 18-1

DOOR Neptunus recovered from their Thursday to win the series against Mr. Cocker HCAW. On Saturday Diegomar Markwell pitched eight scoreless five-hit innings in a 5-2 win. Rien Vernooij went 2-for-4 with a homerun, a double and three RBI. Kyle Putnam took the loss. On Sunday the Rotterdam offense erupted in an 18-1 blowout. Rafael Jozefa and again Vernooij (Grand Slam) hit homeruns and combined for seven RBI. Four players scored three times in the game. They put ten runs on the board in the seventh frame.

AamigoO ADO Lakers – Vaessen Pioniers 7-8, 3-7

The AamigoO ADO Lakers also lost games two and three to the Vaessen Pioniers. On Saturday the Pioniers needed a bases loaded walk by Gyenuar Lopez in the tenth inning to prevail 8-7 in extra innings. It was his fourth free pass in the game. The ADO Lakers had tied the contest on a Enrrique Tromp two-run double in the eighth. Vaessen had blown a 5-0 lead in the process. On Sunday the Pioniers cruised to a 7-3 win, overcoming a 0-2 deficit after the opening period. Kevin Miner struck out eight in seven innings for the win. Zerzinho Croes scored three times.

Schedule:
Saturday, May 19:
11:00 Lucerne Eagles – Bern Cardinals (DH)
11:00 Wil Devils – Therwil Flyers (DH)
Sunday, May 20:
11:00 Zurich Lions – Embrach Mustangs (DH)

Schedule:
Saturday, May 19:
Brasschaat Braves – Hoboken Pioneers
Borgerhout Squirrels – Royal Greys
Deurne Spartans – Namur Angels
Antwerp Eagles – Mortsel Stars
Sunday, May 20:
Hoboken Pioneers – Brasschaat Braves
Royal Greys – Borgerhout Squirrels
Deurne Spartans – Namur Angels
Mortsel Stars – Antwerp Eagles

Schedule:
Saturday, May 19:
13:00 Indians – Vikings (DH)
13:00 Athletics – Tigers (DH)
13:00 Cubs – Diving Ducks (DH)
Sunday, May 20:
13:00 Metrostars – Wanderers (DH)

In the north leader Solingen Alligators hope to avoid any surprises while traveling to the HSV Stealers, which stunned the Untouchables Paderborn last week. The U’s host the Cologne Cardinals, trying to solidify second place in the standings. Both teams will meet again next week, making up an earlier rainout. Also the Berlin Sluggers take on the Dortmund Wanderers and on Sunday the Bonn Capitals square off with the Dohren Wild Farmers.

Schedule:
Friday, May 18:
19:00 Mainz – Stuttgart
Saturday, May 19:
13:00 Hamburg – Solingen (DH)
13:00 Berlin – Dortmund (DH)
13:00 Paderborn – Cologne (DH)
13:00 Haar – Mannheim (DH)
14:00 Mainz – Stuttgart
Sunday, May 20:
13:00 Bonn – Dohren (DH)
13:00 Bad Homburg – Regensburg (DH)

Schedule:
Saturday, May 19:
13:00 Olympia Blansko – Technika Brno (DH)
13:00 Arrows Ostrava – Draci Brno (DH)
13:00 Hrosi Brno – Eagles Prague (DH)
13:00 Skokani Olomouc – Kotlarka Prague (DH)

Mr. Cocker HCAW has handed DOOR Neptunus a second loss in three days, stunning the team from Rotterdam 5-4 on Thursday afternoon. A fifth-inning error by shortstop Dwayne Kemp turned out to be crucial, allowing it HCAW to score the fifth run. Mr. Cocker led since a three-run fourth, highlighted by a two-run single of Dylan De Mello. Sander Helmendach picked up the win, allowing six hits, four runs (3 ER) and six walks in 6 1/3 innings. Tim Roodenburg took the loss, issuing eight hits, five runs (3 ER) and two bb in 4 2/3 innings.

Sparta/Feyenoord – UVV 2-14

UVV crushed Sparta/Feyenoord 14-2 on Thursday. They scored eight runs in the last two frames of the game. The top three in the batting order Austin Weymouth, Stijn van der Meer and Danny Rombley scored three runs apiece. Ryan Murphy had three RBI. Jurjen van Zijl took advantage of the run support and cruised through seven innings for the win. Reynaldo Claro received the loss.

Vaessen Pioniers – AamigoO ADO Lakers 4-3

The Vaessen Pioniers needed to rally from a 1-3 deficit in the last two innings to down the AamigoO ADO Lakers 4-3. Mark Duursma ended the game with a walk-off RBI single with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Zerzinho Croes had tied the contest with a two-run single in the eighth. Rudy van Heydoorn homered for the ADO Lakers.

L&D Amsterdam – Corendon Kinheim 4-2

In the top matchup of the week L&D Amsterdam celebrated a 4-2 win over Corendon Kinheim. Rob Cordemans held Kinheim to six hits in eight scoreless innings. The club from Haarlem already trailed 0-4, when they made things interesting in the ninth, scoring twice against closer Jurrian Koks. But with one out and the tying run at the plate, Rachid Engelhardt and Remco Draijer went down to end the rally and the game. Kenny Berkenbosch led the Pirates offense, going 3-for-4 with a triple shy of the cycle. David Bergman took the loss.

Danesi Nettuno, which didn’t start well into the 2012 campaign, is continuing to make up ground in the Italian Baseball League. On Thursday they defeated Telemarket Rimini 3-1 in front of 400 people at Steno Borghese stadium. The decisive three runs were scored in the sixth inning, where Nettuno took advantage of a bases loaded situation. Chris Crescenzi got hit by pitch to push the first run over the plate, Renato Imperiali followed with a sac fly to right and Giuseppe Mazzanti scored through a passed ball. The Pirates only were able to answer with a RBI single by Mario Chiarini in the eighth. Juan Figueroa pitched seven three-hit, three-walk innings for the win. Francisco Cruceta took the loss.

Unipol Bologna – Cariparma Parma 15-3 (7)

Unipol Bologna dispatched Cariparma Parma 15-3 in seven innings in the second IBL game on Thursday. Six runs in the fourth and eight in the sixth blew the contest wide open. Claudio Liverziani (homerun) and Juan Carlos Infante drove in three runs apiece. Marco Sabbatani went 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBI. Jesus Matos got the easy win. Jose Sanchez was charged with the loss.

Results:
Tuesday, May 15:
Leksand – Academy 8-12
Wednesday, May 16:
Leksand – Academy 20-10 (8)
Thursday, May 17:
Karlskoga – Sundbyberg 9-5
Karlskoga – Sundbyberg 4-3 (10)
Gefle – Goteborg 2-7
Gefle – Goteborg 7-11
Stockholm – Alby 17-7 (8)
Stockholm – Alby 15-11

Results week 5, May 12:

Slovan Bratislava vs Apollo Bratislava 0:8, 14:1 (5) – HR: Robert SETNICKA, Michal SKULTETY (Slovan) – in the same inn.

Warriors Obuda vs Sleepwalkers Szentendre 17:11,  7:4

Fighting Flies vs Angels Trnava 8:13, 5:10

Rascals Janossomorja vs Aeros Erd 17:0 (7), 7:6 – HR: Justin PRINSTEIN (Rascals), Alex MANSFIELD (Aeros)

The first game was won by strong pitching by Justin PRINSTEIN (10 Ks) and great hitting by the Rascals.  Aeros did not have a chance. The second game was a close game coming down to the last inning.  Early on, Aeros could not put points on the board despite having 7 runners in scoring position during the first 4 innings.  Once they started hitting the game was with in reach but Jánossomorja held on.

Schedule for May 19

11:00 Fighting Flies vs Slovan Bratislava at Bratislava

11:00 Sleepwalkers Szentendre vs Rascals Janossomorja at Janossomorja

11:00 Apollo Bratislava vs Angels Trnava at Trnava

11:00 Aeros Erd vs Warriors Obuda at Budapest

Doubleheader games

Press Release Spanish Baseball and Softball Federation

Recovery Matchday Spanish League of Honor’s Division (13/05/2012)

This weekend, May 12 and 13, there were played the suspended games during the first round. In the series between last ones classified, El Llano de Gijón and Halcones de Vigo, the Asturians won as locals both games, 12 to 1 (KO, 7 inn) and 7 to 1. In the first match El Llano there attacked from the first inning with six runs against the starter Jose R. Marte (0-5), who lost the game and he only could pitch the first inning. Carlos J. Beaujon (1-0) only allowed it one run, enough to win the match. In another one game Ernesto I. Pino (1-1) worked seven innings to win the game. Jose D. Cabral (0-6) he was the loser pitcher.

In El Fango, Bilbao, the Astros de Valencia gained his two games, 2 to 9 and 5 to 7. In the first match Trevor Caughey (6-1) pitched eight innings and he had the support of the bats of Infante and Ochoa on-fire bats, Ochoa home-run included, great combination to win. Juan J. López (3-4) lost the game. The second match Pedro P. Belmonte (7-3) worked complete and only allowed a earned run of five that scored the opposite line-up to win the game. Infante completed his great weekend offensive performance with two-runs homer. Alberto Magallón (3-4) lost the game.

Once completed the first half League’s the CB Barcelona is leading, two advantage games on the Astros de Valencia (the first two places playing the final play-off). The current King’s Cup champion, Marlins de Tenerife, is the third classified, three disadvantage games from leader and the fourth position, which is the last one to playing the next season King’s Cup, occupies nowadays the CB Viladecans six games disadvantage of first classified. On the low standing places there is no mathematically eliminated teams though the Halcones de Vigo are the only team that still hasn’t won a match (0-18).

CB Barcelona has the best League collective batting average, .309; the best pitching team performance, 16 wins, 1.86 ERA and 5 save; and the best collective fielding percentage .975.

As for the individual stats Miguel Valdés (Viladecans) is a leading bat .478 AVE and there are nine batters over 400 AVE. Marc Carrillo (Sant Boi) and Dewis Navarro (Tenerife) are the best clutch’s with 25 RBI’s and Larry Infante (Valencia) is the homer’s men, he has given till now four HR’s. Jose L. Hernández (Barcelona) has the best won-lost record, 7-2; Trevor Caughey (Valencia) is the most effective, 1.23 ERA; and Leslie Nácar is the strikeouts leader with 90 K’s. In defense performance Emmanuel Febles (Navarre) is the best defensive player: 104 chances 0 errrors and 64 assistances.

With these collective and individual actions it will begin next weekend (19 and 20/05/2012) the second half of season with the following series: In Bembrive, Halcones de Vigo host to Pamplona; in the Municipal of Sant Boi de Llobregat, CBS Sant Boi receives Marlins de Tenerife; in El Fango, San Inazio Bilbao Bizcaia host to El Llano; in the Campo Federativo of El Turia, Astros de Valencia receives CB Viladecans and in Burlada, Béisbol Navarra host to CB Barcelona.

You can consult the box score and complete statistics in:
http://www.rfebeisbolsofbol.com/estadisticas/2012/Liga/LNB_res.asp

Reporter: Luis Martínez

Photo by Diego Lazaro

Also on hand will be Davide Dallospedale (infielder, retired after 14 seasons in Italian baseball, lives in US), Fabio Betto (pitcher, 19 seasons in Italian baseball), Jorge Miqueleiz (current manager CB Barcelona), Oscar Roman (captain CB Barcelona), Jordi Valles (Technical Director Catalan Baseball and Softball Federation) and Andrew D’Auria (general manager USSSA) will be on hand as well.

The clinic is organized in cooperation of USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association), ABR (Amateur Baseball Report), Buysball, the Catalan Baseball and Softball Federation (FCBS) and the Royal Spanish Baseball and Softball Federation (RFEBS).

Live Play by Play Senart
Live Play by Play Montigny

Schedule:
Wednesday, May 16:
19:30 Templiers Senart – Montpellier Barracudas (Senart)
Thursday, May 17:
10:00 Rouen Huskies – Stade Toulousain (Montigny)
11:00 Pessac Panthers – Beaucaire Chevaliers (Senart)
14:00 Stade Toulousain – Savigny Lions (Montigny)
15:00 Montpellier Barracudas – Beaucaire Chevaliers (Senart)
18:00 Savigny Lions – Paris UC (Montigny)
19:00 Templiers Senart – Pessac Panthers (Senart)
Friday, May 18:
10:00 Paris UC – Stade Toulousain (Montigny)
14:00 Paris UC – Rouen Huskies (Montigny)
14:00 Montpellier Barracudas – Pessac Panthers (Senart)
18:00 Rouen Huskies – Savigny Lions (Montigny)
19:00 Beaucaire Chevaliers – Templiers Senart (Senart)
Saturday, May 19:
14:00 Semi-Final 1 (Senart)
19:00 Semi-Final 2 (Senart)
Sunday, May 20:
10:00 Game for Third Place (Senart)
14:00 Championship Game (Senart)

Results
Stats

Corendon Kinheim traveled to The Hague on Tuesday for a make-up game. They returned from the hosting AamigoO ADO Lakers with a 7-3 victory. Four runs in the first inning put them on the winning track. Nick Veltkamp pitched six two-hit innings to pick up the win. Remco Draijer had a two-run triple during the opening rally and drove in three runs overall. Rene Cremer, Mervin Gario and Quintin de Cuba scored twice. Reggie Bomberg took the loss, issuing three hits, six runs (5 ER) and a whopping eight walks in five-plus innings.

DOOR Neptunus – L&D Amsterdam 1-3

DOOR Neptunus and L&D Amsterdam met in Rotterdam for their make-up affair. The Pirates prevailed 3-1, receiving 5 1/3 strong innings of Ian Delemarre. He gave up just four hits, a run and a walk, striking out just one. Wesley Connor scored twice for Amsterdam. Bas de Jong had three hits. Rafael Jozefa crossed the plate for the lone Neptunus run in the game. Bobby Carrington was charged with the loss, allowing five hits, two runs (1 ER) and two walks in five innings. An error helped Amsterdam breaking a 1-1 tie in the fifth.

GB Baseball has announced changes to its structure ahead of the team’s European Championship and World Baseball Classic Qualifier appearances in September, including a new General Manager.

The Great Britain Baseball staff has announced changes to its structure ahead of the team’s European Championship and World Baseball Classic Qualifier appearances in September. New volunteer roles have been added to the GB Operations team while other jobs are being reshaped to better cope with the 2012 workload and make best use of staff skills.

New General Manager

The biggest change will see the current GB Cadet Coach, Brendan Cunliffe, also assume the responsibilities of Senior Team General Manager, replacing Jason Greenberg.

Greenberg served as Senior GM for the past two years as well as Great Britain Baseball’s Director of Operations. Going forward, Cunliffe will assume charge of the programme’s top team and Greenberg will focus more broadly on the operational structure and logistical processes of all four GB squads.

“This is the most challenging summer of Great Britain Baseball to date,” said Greenberg. “We have four teams heading in separate directions around the globe, more rostered players than ever before in the history of our national teams, and of course, with our appearance in the World Baseball Classic qualifier, the eyes of the world will be upon us. We felt it was imperative to get more volunteers involved and shake up our management system from the top down to ensure we’re fully equipped for the work ahead.”

Brendan Cunliffe, who comes from Ontario, Canada and is currently living and working in London as a Senior Development Manager at BaseballSoftballUK, will take over as Senior General Manager with immediate effect. Brendan was part of the Team GB pitching staff the last two seasons for European tournaments in Stuttgart, Germany and Tel Aviv, Israel. He played baseball for four years at Montreat College in North Carolina and won national championships in Britain with the Bracknell Blazers (2009) and Southern Nationals (2011). He is the current Head Coach of the GB Cadet National Team and will continue to fulfil that role this July when he leads the Cadets to a challenging series of games across eastern Canada.

“Brendan [Cunliffe] will be a terrific General Manager,” Jason Greenberg said. “He is stepping up in a big way, giving even more time and energy to the programme and assuming a critical role in a relentless summer of GB competition.”

Additional changes

Supporting Brendan Cunliffe as Assistant General Manager and new Media Director for the GB Senior Team will be Trevor Clissold.

Clissold was born and raised in London and studied in Edinburgh and Nottingham before attending the University of Exeter, where he focused on Politics and International Relations. He began his career working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office before moving into the area of Human Resources, specialising in Employee Relations, and he now works full time for BaseballSoftballUK.

Clissold was a part of the youth programme for the world’s oldest rugby club, Blackheath RFC, and from 2008-2010 was the club secretary for one of the South East’s longest-running Sunday football clubs. He is now a member of the Kent Mariners Baseball Club.

BBF National Teams Programme Director Marty Cullen said: “It is high time we carved up our growing responsibilities as a national teams programme and got more hands on deck. As with any volunteer organisation, we need a lot of good people working hard to get the job done and I believe all of these revised roles and new faces will help us move forward in 2012 and beyond.”

The GB programme is still looking for additional volunteers, including a Treasurer and Finance Director, an Equipment and Merchandising Coordinator, individual facilitators for GB Baseball fundraisers, and further Assistant General Managers to oversee finite areas of operational work. Some staff will have the opportunity to join the national teams on trips abroad, including at the European Championships and at the World Baseball Classic qualifier.

Rick van den Hurk (Pittsburgh Pirates): Dutch right-handed pitcher Rick van den Hurk has left extended spring training for a couple of days and is back in minor league action for his Pittsburgh Pirates. He had his best game so far on Monday, pitching five innings of five-hit ball for the Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis. He struck out four.

Roger Bernadina (Washington Nationals): Outfielder Roger Bernadina continues to see good playing time with the Washington Nationals after Jayson Werth went down with an injury and despite the emergence of top prospect Bryce Harper. Bernadina has a modest six-game hitting streak. He is batting .246/.333/.420 with two homeruns, seven runs and eight RBI in 28 games.

Loek van Mil (Cleveland Indians): After beginning the season with the Triple-A team of the Los Angeles Angels in Salt Lake City, where he was 1-0 with an ERA of 6.30 in eight appearances, Loek van Mil got traded to the Cleveland Indians for future considerations. His new team assigned him to Double-A Akron Aeros in the Eastern League. He already appeared in three games for his new club, allowing five hits, a run and two walks in five innings, while striking out seven. It is his third organization after the Minnesota Twins and the Angels.

Mariekson Gregorius (Cincinnati Reds): Dutch shortstop Mariekson Gregorius has cooled off a little bit in recent weeks. But he still flashes a great glove and puts up solid numbers at the plate in Double-A. He is batting .286/.355/.331 with two triples, two doubles, 19 runs and 10 RBI in 35 games for Pensacola.

Alex Liddi (Seattle Mariners): After seeing regular playing time, Alex Liddi is back in a somewhat extended bench role, usually getting appearances once a series. On Sunday he was part of a Seattle Mariners win at Yankee Stadium spoiling Andy Pettitte’s return, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run. He played again on Monday in Boston, losing to Jon Lester and the Red Sox. The Italian corner infielder is batting .293/.349/.431 with two homeruns, two doubles, four runs and five RBI in 17 games.

Results:
Sunday, May 13:
Essex Arrows – London Mets 9-17, 12-2
Lakenheath Diamondbacks – Herts Falcons 5-17, 14-13
Southampton Mustangs – Bracknell Blazers 7-0, 7-0 (forfeits)
Croydon Pirates – Harlow Nationals 2-9, 2-7

Fifth Inning Fireworks in Namur Win

The Namur Angels collected 16 hits and capitalized on 14 walks issued by the Antwerp Eagles on their way to their seventh victory of the season Saturday afternoon. After a back and forth game for four innings, Namur would rally ahead to post a 27-11 victory to stay atop the league standings.

In the top of the first inning, second baseman Greg Van Sickler hit a one out double to lead things off for Namur. Starting pitcher Jake Hummel then singled to left, and an error by the Eagles left fielder allowed Van Sickler to score the first run of the game. Williams Rosario, the singled to move Hummel over to third base. Vincent King stepped to the plate and delivered a single through the left side to plate Hummel. Shortstop Jerome Sana plated King with a single to right. The Angels scored three in the first and added another in the second inning as catcher Tom Gerard and centerfielder Thomas Vandenabeele drew back-to-back walks to leadoff the inning. Unfortunately, Van Sickler grounded into a 6-3 double play, although advancing Gerard to third. After Hummel walked to put runners on the corners with two outs, Rosario hit what looked to be an inning ending groundball to the left side of the infield. However, Eagles third baseman Kenneth Overmeire could not make a clean throw to first and Gerard was able to score from third.

Although Namur jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, the Eagles were able to answer in the bottom of the first with one run off starter Jake Hummel. Joren De Smet singled to left to leadoff the inning. After two consecutive 1-3 groundouts, De Smet was able to advance to third base with two outs. Mikk Uten then hit a groundball up the middle that Van Sickler could not handle and De Smet scored on the error. Hummel was able to retire the next batter on a 1-3 groundout to prevent any further damage in the inning. He made all three outs in the inning himself, including a web gem nominee on a hotshot groundball he barehanded and threw to first base. The Eagles would scratch two more runs across the board in the bottom of the second.

Kevin Reyns hit a one out single to left, followed by a Dennis Nicles single to right. A pass ball moved both runners into scoring position. Steve Selis then grounded out to second base, scoring Reyns and advancing Nicles to third. Another pass ball allowed Nicles to score. Through the first two innings, the score was in favor of Namur 4-3.

Neither team scored in the third and fourth innings, but the game burst wide open in the top of the fifth when Namur sent 18 men to the plate in the frame. Jerome Sana hit a beautiful one out drag bunt just inside the third base line to get things started for the Angels. After Ludovic Geuquet walked, Tom Gerard attempted to lay down another drag to the left side, but was thrown out at first base. With two outs the lineup turned over and Thomas Vandenabeele walked to load the bases for Van Sickler. The second baseman delivered with a bases clearing double to left field and put Namur up 7-3. However, they were far from finished in the inning. Hummel and Rosario both walked to load the bases for Vincent King, who hit a screaming one hopper just inside the third base line to plate two more runs. Namur would take advantage of nine walks in the inning to push across 13 runs in the top of the fifth. All nine starters saw two at bats in the frame. The Angels scored all 13 runs with two outs. Namur would tack on another run in the sixth inning.

The angels took a commanding 18-3 heading into the last third of the baseball game. Hummel was taken out after five complete innings of work. He gave up six hits, three runs (two earned), struck out five, and did not walk a batter on his way to his fifth victory of the season. The Angels brought in left-hander Stephane Daspremont, who worked a perfect 1-2-3 sixth inning. However, the wheels came off, as Daspremont could not find the strike zone to start the seventh inning. The Eagles would score eight runs in the bottom half of the seventh, capitalizing on eight walks issued by Daspremont. After failing to record an out in the seventh, Namur turned to Greg Van Sickler, who gave up a single and then struck out the next three batters to end the dismal seventh.

With the lead cut to seven, Namur responded in the eighth by adding nine more runs to seal the victory. Van Sickler finished the eighth inning, striking out the first two batters and a groundout to third to end the game. He finished 4-7 with two doubles and four RBI. Hummel reached base safely five times, as he was 2-4 with three walks. Jerome Sana reached base safely in all of his seven at bats. He finished the day 3-3 with four walks. With the win, the Angels improve to 7-2 on the season and will look to complete the weekend series on Sunday.

Angels Give Eagles First Win of Season

After a great offensive day on Saturday, the Angels were yet again unable to produce much offense in a Sunday contest as Namur fell to the Antwerp Eagles 4-3. It is the first win of the season for the Eagles.

The first runs for both clubs came in the third inning. For Namur, Jake Hummel delivered a two out single to center, followed by a Williams Rosario walk. With runners at first and second, Vincent King hit a single through the right side, and a fielding error by right fielder Yan Carlos Martinez allowed Hummel to score from second and advanced Rosario to third. Theodore De Bellefroid drew a walk to load the bases, but the threat was ended when Adrien Geuquet flew out to left field. The Eagles answered with a run in the bottom of the frame when Steve Selis singled to left field. Desmedt struck out the next batter. With one out and a runner at first, the Eagles executed a perfect hit and run through the right side that advanced Selis to third and put runners on the corners. Before center fielder Zeno Dewoyer could put the ball in play, Desmedt was called for a balk and the first run for the Eagles crossed the plate. Desmedt was able to get out of the inning with a fly out to first and a groundout to second base.

Namur scored again in the top of the fourth. Ludovic Geuquet hit a groundball to third base, but an errant throw to first allowed him to reach safely. Tom Gerard then grounded out to second base, but the only play was Gerard at first. With a runner at second, Thomas Vandenabeele hit a groundball through the right side, advancing Geuquet to third base. With Van Sickler at the plate, Vandenabeele took off on the first pitch and stole second base safely. With runners now at second and third, Van Sickler hit a high fly ball to center field, deep enough to plate Geuquet for the Angels second run. Hummel then walked to put runners on first and second, but Rosario grounded out to third base to end the inning.

Trailing 2-1 heading into the fifth inning, the Eagles tied the game when Steve Selis drew a one out walk and advanced to second on a passed ball. After a fly out to first base, Desmedt issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. With two outs and bases loaded, four-hole hitter Kevin Reyns slapped a single to left to plate one run. Yan Carlos Martinez flew out to second base to end the inning without any further damage. Desmedt was relieved after five complete innings of work. He allowed two runs on six hits, three walks, and struck out three. His reliever was right hander Nicolas Migeot, who would stay in to pitch the remainder of the game for the Angels.

In the top of the sixth, with the score tied 2-2, Van Sickler stepped to the plate and laced a one out line drive solo home run over the left field fence to put the Angels up by one. His efforts would be spoiled, as the Eagles were able to plate two runs in the seventh inning to take a 4-3 lead. Joren Desmet led off after being hit by a pitch. He then stole second base shortly thereafter. Mikka Uten then hit a one hopper right back to Migeot, who checked Desmet at second to stop him from advancing to third, but took too long to do so, and tried to make a quick throw to first, but was not in time and Uten was called safe. With no outs and runners at first and second, Zeno Dewoyer executed a perfect slash and run, as he laced a line drive over the head of left fielder Adrien Geuquet to plate two runs.

The Angels did make it stressful in the last two innings for the Eagles. In the eighth, pinch hitter Jerome Sana stepped to the plate with bases loaded and two outs. He laced an outside fastball line drive into right field, but it stayed up too long and was caught to end the threat. In the ninth, Theodore De Bellefroid hit a one out single into right to put the tying run aboard. After Adrien Geuquet flew out to deep left center for the second out, Ludovic Geuquet hit a groundball to shortstop for what appeared to be the game ending out. However, the throw could not be handled by the Eagles first baseman and Geuquet and Bellefroid were safely aboard. Tom Gerard stepped to the plate with the go ahead run on first, but grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

With the loss, the Angels fall to 7-3 on the season. They are back in action on Thursday against the Stars.

On Saturday the Stars were in pursuit early, as the Spartans took a 0-1 lead. This situation took a turn in the 3rd inning, with some help of the Spartans’ center fielder. Rafael Duran Garcia got on base with a hit, and the fly ball of next batter Kevin Vandeperre was nonchalantly missed. Nguyen ‘Papi’ Boulet pitched for the Stars and never really had any trouble due to a decent defensive field. A hit by  Christophe Van Braecken, an error on Alain Meseure plus base-on-balls for Lieven Buerms loaded the bases in the 4^th. The first “balk” by the Spartans pitcher put a 2-1 lead on the board. Sebas Vandesompele hit a standup triple to a 4-1, and a second “balk” brought in the 5th run for Mortsel.

In the 5^th another run was added due to 2 base-on-balls, a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly by Nguyen Boulet. The Deurne defense got into trouble even more, and a combination of several base-on-balls, an error, and a hit by Sebas Vandesompele made a 9-1 score. A triple by Rafael Duran Garcia brought in the 10th run for the Stars, and a crushed ball by Papi in center field was enough to make the loaded bases turn and score the game ending run after 7 innings. Final score 11-1.

The Spartans clearly weren’t getting their act together yet on Sunday, because they were looking at a 0-5 trail already in the 1st inning. Weak pitching with lots of walks, an error and one hit by Christophe Van Braecken was enough to create this lead for the Stars. Steve De Saedeleer pitched a good game for Mortsel, and kept the 0 on the board during the first 5 innings. A double by Papi in the 3rd was the start of the next series of runs. Again a number of base-on-balls, and this time a hit by Kenny D’Hondt made Mortsel jump ahead to 0-9. Same story in the 4^th.This time Cedric Vandesompele opened with a double, followed by more walks. In this inning Alain Meseure punished with a hit and the score went 0-11.

In the 5^th, pitcher Steve De Saedeleer was relieved by Christophe Van Braecken, who had to allow a run. Once warmed up, Christophe de Spartanen kept the Spartans quiet, but also Mortsel fainted at bat. At a 1-11 score in the 7th, the Stars failed to finish the game early by allowing another run. A home run took the score to 4-11 which meant the end for Christophe Van Braecken. Mathias De Clipeleir came on and managed to hold the Spartans for a while. The pressure in the 9th allowed the home team to close in with a 7-11 score. Mortsel had to make a last call, by putting Kevin Vandeperre on the mound. With bases loaded he made the last out himself, and so helping the Stars to their first double victory of the season. Final score 7-11.

Riccardo Fraccari’s statement:

I write here to help set the record straight with regard to some unfounded statements within the article, “Martin Miller in a Q&A after his resignation as CEB president.”

A few months ago, when I was heading to NYC for a meeting with MLB, I met with Martin (upon his request) at the Munich airport during a stopover. He asked me what I thought about his candidacy for re-election. I told him very clearly that he shouldn’t be asking me what I think, but that he should be addressing this to the CEB National Federations and especially those that represent the driving force of European Baseball. I did, however, offer an opinion on the matter, expressing that CEB in recent years has basically limited itself to the organization of championships, all the while, nothing has been done in terms of development, or in terms of consolidating the high level of baseball, in order for it to become a locomotive that takes the entire European baseball movement to a higher level.

Martin acknowledged this feedback, and so I suggested that he set up a meeting with the top-tier European baseball NFs, in order to discuss and obtain these valued opinions and weigh possible solutions to this stagnation.

In response to this, Martin attempted to convene the said meeting in Rotterdam prior to the Congress. He ultimately was unable to coordinate this meeting with the NF delegates—a meeting that I had planned to attend, as I flew into Amsterdam a few hours earlier.

The next day during the Congress, he resigned unexpectedly and excused himself from the Congress after he had presented several delicate statute amendment proposals en bloc.

And that has led us to the current situation where the elected 1st Vice President, Petr Ditrich from the Czech Republic, is now acting president.

Riccardo Fraccari

President

Results:
Saturday, May 12:
Hoboken Pioneers – Borgerhout Squirrels 3-4
Royal Greys – Brasschaat Braves 8-1
Antwerp Eagles – Namur Angels 11-27
Mortsel Stars – Deurne Spartans 11-1
Sunday, May 13:
Antwerp Eagles – Namur Angels 4-3
Borgerhout Squirrels – Hoboken Pioneers 3-7
Brasschaat Braves – Royal Greys 6-5
Deurne Spartans – Mortsel Stars 7-11

Nada SSM – Split vs Beograd 96 11:0, 16:1 [5]

BK Zagreb vs Olimpija Karlovac 4:6, 13:0 [7]

Vindija Varazdin vs Blagoevgrad Buffaloes 0:11 [7], 2:6

Schedule for May 19th & 20th:

Nada SSM – Split vs Vindija Varazdin

Blagoevgrad Buffaloes vs Olimpija Karlovac

BK Zagreb vs Beograd 96

Standings:

1. Blagoevgrad Buffaloes 96 4-0
2. Nada SSM – Split 3-1
3. Olimpija Karlovac 2-2
4. Beograd 96 2-2
5. BK Zagreb 1-3
6. Vindija Varazdin 0-4

Results & standings Group “North”

Dortmund Wanderers – Cologne Cardinals 14-11, 5-3

The Dortmund Wanderers swept the Cologne Cardinals 14-11 and 5-3 on Saturday to improve to 6-8 in the standings. Game one turned out to be a true slugfest, with a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning putting the Wanderers ahead for good. Kevin Moeller and Stefan Scholz were the key players for Dortmund. In game two Trevor Howell hit a three-run homerun to deliver the Wanderers a 5-3 win. Joey Parigi struck out 13 in a complete game win.

Dohren Wild Farmers – Berlin Sluggers 4-3, 10-3

The Dohren Wild Farmers won twice against the Berlin Sluggers, getting payback for the two lopsided losses on opening day. In game one Dohren erased a 0-3 deficit to win 4-3 on a Sebastian Loewenau run in the bottom of the ninth. Steven Wolburg homered for Berlin. In the second match Jeff Rustico belted a grand slam and drove in five of a 10-3 win. Jan Hassenpflug scored four times. Mat Keplinger struck out 15 in seven one-hit innings.

Untouchables Paderborn – HSV Stealers 12-0, 1-3

The Untouchables Paderborn had to settle for the split against the HSV Stealers. Paderborn crushed the Stealers 12-0 in game one. Eugen Heilmann and Rene Franke combined to allow just four hits in eight innings. Daniel Hinz and Sascha Brockmeyer hit a pair of three-run homeruns. In game two the U’s offense couldn’t do much against Hamburg’s new American starter Antonio Peraza. He allowed just six hits, a run and two walks in nine innings, striking out nine. Eric Krysiak drove in two of the three HSV runs. Brian Fields struck out 13 in seven innings, but still got charged with the loss.

Solingen Alligators – Bonn Capitals 11-1, 2-3

On Sunday the Solingen Alligators and Bonn Capitals met for a showdown. Game one turned out to be an 11-1 blowout win for the Alligators. Andre Hughes gave up ten hits in seven innings, but kept Bonn to one run in seven innings. Florian Goetze scored three times. Moritz Buttgereit drove in three. BJ Roper-Hubbert had four hits for the Caps. The guests won game two 3-2. Michael Kratz drove in the winning run with a RBI single in the eighth. Charley Olson went the distance to pick up the win. Solingen had erased a 0-2 deficit, but couldn’t do much else.

South:

Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg – Mainz Athletics 12-4, 5-2

The Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg swept a two-game set against the Mainz Athletics to win the season series 3-1. On Friday evening Petr Cech and Ludwig Glaser hit back-to-back homeruns to lead Regensburg to a 12-4 win. Matt Vance and Evan LeBlanc combined for five RBI. Mike Larson and Martin Kipphan went deep for the Athletics, which arrived late due to a traffic jam. Mike Bolsenbroek struck out 11 in eight innings. In game two on Saturday afternoon Regensburg erased a two-run single by Andreas Lastinger and prevailed 5-2. Ludwig Glaser had the go-ahead two-run double in the fifth.

Stuttgart Reds – Haar Disciples 3-11, 1-10

The Haar Disciples celebrated a pair of blowout wins at the expense of the Stuttgart Reds on Saturday. In game one Ty Eriksen had four hits, missing the cycle by a homerun. Johannes Jung went deep. Paco Garcia pitched seven strong two-hit innings for the win. In game two Christoph Ziegler and David Selsemeyer had three RBI apiece to lead Haar to the victory. Nick Renault struck out nine in eight innings for the win. Josh Little homered for Stuttgart. Richard Olson had kept the Reds in the game before Haar put five runs on the board in the ninth.

Heidenheim Heidekoepfe – Bad Homburg Hornets 19-1, 10-3

The Heidenheim Heidekoepfe dispatched the Bad Homburg Hornets 19-1 and 10-3 on Sunday. In game one Heidenheim scored in each of the first five frames, highlighted by a nine-run spot in the third. Andrew Smith went 4-for-5 with a walk, a homerun, five runs scored and four RBI. In the second match Martin Dewald had the go-ahead RBI double and pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-hit relief to lead the Heidekoepfe to the victory. Bad Homburg had kept things close early on, but couldn’t complete the upset.

The Stock City Cubs suffered their first loss of the season this weekend in the Austrian Baseball League. In game one against the previous winless Union Kufstein Vikings the guests scored twice on a ninth-inning double to win 6-4. Bubbie Buzachero hit a two-run homerun earlier in the game. In the second match Buzachero lost the duel on the mound, as the Cubs prevailed 3-2 in a thrilling contest.

Vienna Wanderers – GEI Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 1-3, 12-0

The Vienna Wanderers and GEI Athletics Attnang-Puchheim settled for the split as well. In game one the A’s won 3-1 thanks to a two-run single by Raphael Mayr. Walter Strasser and Wolfgang Strini combined to keep the Wanderers offense in check. In the second match Jeff Reeves led Vienna to a 12-0 shutout. He struck out ten in four innings. Meanwhile the Wanderers scored at will against Kris Edwards, building an 8-0 advantage through the first four frames.

Diving Ducks Vienna Neustadt – Dornbirn Indians 4-7, 14-4

The Diving Ducks Vienna Neustadt and the Dornbirn Indians also shared wins on Sunday. The Indians prevailed 7-4 in game one. Dornbirn took a quick 3-1 lead, added three runs in the eighth and celebrated their fourth victory of the season. In the second match the Diving Ducks offense wasn’t stoppable early on, taking a 9-0 lead after two innings en route to a mercy rule shortened 14-4 blowout.

Tigers Schwaz – Vienna Metrostars ppd

The doubleheader between the Tigers Schwaz and the Vienna Metrostars got postponed in the fourth inning of game one, when a gust of wind damaged the backstop fence of the Tigers ballpark heavily. The twin bill will be re-scheduled.

Standings:

1. Stock City Cubs 7-1
2. GEI Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 7-3
3. Diving Ducks Vienna Neustadt 4-4
4. Vienna Metrostars 4-4
5. Dornbirn Indians 4-4
6. Vienna Wanderers 3-5
7. Schwaz Tigers 2-5
8. Union Kufstein Vikings 1-7

Results:
Saturday, May 12:
El Llano – Halcones de Vigo 12-1, 7-1
Sunday, May 13:
San Inazio Bilbao – Astros Valencia 2-9, 5-7

Standings:

1. CB Barcelona 16-2
2. Astros Valencia 14-4
3. Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz 13-5
4. CB Viladecans 10-8
5. Baseball Navarra 9-9
6. CB Sant Boi 9-9
7. CD Pamplona 7-11
8. San Inazio Bilbao 7-11
9. El Llano 5-13
10. Halcones de Vigo 0-18

Results:
Saturday, May 12:
Olympia Blansko – Hrosi Brno ppd
Kotlarka Prague – Arrows Ostrava 14-2
Kotlarka Prague – Arrows Ostrava 4-8
Skokani Olomouc – Eagles Prague ppd
Technika Brno – Draci Brno 8-4
Technika Brno – Draci Brno ppd

The Karlskoga Bats recovered from their two losses to Stockholm with a pair of home wins over the Leksand Lumberjacks on Saturday in the Swedish Elitserien. Karlskoga is now 4-2, slotted into fifth place in the standings. Leksand dropped to 2-4 and sixth.

Sundbyberg Heat – Goteborg Hajarna 5-7, 4-2

Sundbyberg Heat and Goteborg Hajarna settled for the split on Saturday. In game one Goteborg scored all seven runs between the sixth and eighth of a 7-5 victory, erasing a 0-5 deficit in the process. Karl Knutsson was key to the win, pitching five scoreless innings of relief. In game two Sundbyberg held on to the lead for a 4-2 win and the split. Cameron Penney had three hits and a pair of RBI. Nicklas Melin struck out eight in seven innings for his second win of the season.

Alby Stars – Gefle 8-13, 0-17 (5)

Gefle showed its muscles, over-powering the Alby Stars 13-8 and 17-0. In game one Gefle scored nine runs in the first en route to the victory. Number one and two in the batting order, Johan Hoeglund and Gustav Westerholm combined for seven runs. In game two Gefle again scored nine times in the first. Eight more in the fourth and fifth made it a 17-0 blowout in five. Hoeglund, Simon Olefalk and Peter Jansson had three runs apiece. Mikael Bostroem pitched five scoreless three-hit innings for his second win.

Results:
Saturday, May 12:
Senart – Pessac 10-0
Sunday, May 13:
Rouen – Montpellier 9-4, 8-4
Paris – Beaucaire 14-1, 5-2
Savigny – Toulouse 9-2, 11-1
Senart – Pessac 8-6

Standings:

1. Rouen 15-1
2. Senart 12-4
3. Paris 10-4
4. Savigny 6-7
5. Toulouse 6-10
6. Montpellier 5-11
7. Pessac 4-10
8. Beaucaire 2-13

Corendon Kinheim defeated the AamigoO ADO Lakers twice this weekend. On Saturday David Bergman pitched seven two-hit innings to lead the club from Haarlem to a 5-1 victory. Niels van Weert and Dirk van’t Klooster had two RBI apiece. On Sunday Kinheim prevailed 6-4. Mervin Gario and van Weert again drove in two each. Luke Sommer pitched seven strong innings. The ADO Lakers made things interesting in the ninth, when Enrique Tromp cut the deficit to 4-6 with a two-run single. But Aldrich Isenia flied out to end the game.

Vaessen Pioniers – DOOR Neptunus 0-1, 2-3

DOOR Neptunus had a couple of great pitching performances against the Vaessen Pioniers. On Saturday Diegomar Markwell and two relievers combined in a six-hit shutout. Jeffrey Arends drove in the lone run of the day with a single in the sixth. Joey Evans war the unlucky loser on the mound. On Sunday Neptunus used a Raily Legito RBI single in the eighth to win 3-2. Jefferson Muzo and Michael Duursma had erased a 0-2 deficit for the Pioniers with back-to-back RBI singles in the fifth.

Mr. Cocker HCAW – UVV 3-8, 0-4

UVV took both games from Mr. Cocker HCAW. On Saturday it was all offense, as they won 8-3. Shurty Tremus drove in three without getting a hit. Giovanni Samboe scored three runs, reaching base four times. On Sunday Kyle Ward, Sedley Karel and Derek Tarapacki four-hit HCAW in a 4-0 shutout. Ryan Murphy drove in two in a three-run first inning.

Sparta/Feyenoord Rotterdam – L&D Amsterdam 0-10 (7), 0-12 (7)

L&D Amsterdam crushed Sparta/Feyenoord with a pair of lopsided shutouts. On Saturday Jos de Jong pitched seven scoreless innings in a 10-0 shutout. Wesley Connor and Kenny Berkenbosch combined for five RBI on offense. On Sunday eight runs in the sixth inning lifted the Pirates to a 12-0 blowout in seven innings. Sidney de Jong hit a solo homerun. Percy Isenia had three hits and three RBI. Ben Grover issued just one hit and a walk in six scoreless innings for the win. Rik Geestman completed the one-hitter.

Unipol Bologna has won the rubber match of the big-time series against T&A San Marino by a score of 8-5 on Saturday evening. After the Titans took a 4-2 lead after three innings, they went ahead with a three-run fourth and never looked back. Takahiko Sato went 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Leonardo De Donno drove in three for Fortitudo. Jairo Ramos had three hits and a pair of RBI for San Marino.

Cariparma Parma – Telemarket Rimini 1-6, 15-14 (11)

Cariparma Parma and Telemarket Rimini split a doubleheader on Saturday. The Pirates took game one 6-1 behind a strong pitching performance by Enorbel Marquez-Ramirez, Carlos Pezzullo and Mark De Felice. Joe Persichina collected three RBI. Stefano Desimoni reached base four times for Parma.

Game two turned out to be a thrilling slugfest. It was decided by a walk-off two-run double of Osman Marval, which gave Cariparma a 15-14 win in eleven innings. Rimini had taken a 14-13 lead in the top of the frame on a bases loaded walk of Mario Chiarini. In the ninth inning the Pirates had scored five times to turn a three-run deficit into a two-run advantage. But RBI singles by Desimoni and Leonardo Zileri tied the contest in the bottom half of the frame.

Novara United – Grosseto Baseball 4-3, 3-2

After starting the season winless in their first 18 games, Novara United broke out in a big way this weekend. Following winning the series opener on Friday, they completed the sweep over Grosseto Baseball with a pair of one-run wins on Saturday. In the afternoon game Franklin Tavarez singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give Novara a 4-3 walk-off win. Tavarez was in the middle of the action again in the night game, when Novara turned a 1-2 deficit into a 3-2 victory in the ninth. The center fielder and Ramos scored on a single by Conrado Silva, which turned out to be crucial thanks to a throwing error by the catcher.

Danesi Nettuno – De Angelis Godo Knights 9-0, 5-2

Danesi Nettuno completed a three-game sweep with two wins on Saturday. In game one Ricardo Hernandez, Yovany D’Amico and Remigio Leal combined for five hits and four walks in nine scoreless innings of a 9-0 shutout. In game two Nettuno needed three runs in the eighth inning to win 5-2. Ray Sadler had a key two-run single to plate the go ahead runs. Sadler already had scored the tying run in the seventh inning on a double play groundball.

500 BOYS AND GIRLS ENJOY BASEBALL IN SCHOOLS TOURNAMENT IN NAVARRA (SPAIN)

During Easter holidays, the Navarra Baseball and Softball Federation organized the Sixth edition of the Baseball Schools Tournament, in which more than 500 boys and girls enjoy playing baseball in a fantastic baseball event.

39 teams, and 30 coaches and 500 kids divided in 2 categories played during 4 days in the Burlada Baseball facilities, increasing these numbers from past editions, showing to all Sport community in our region that this Tournament has already become in the Spring Classic of sports in Navarra.

During Tournament, the players also took part in baseball games to show their skills, and received short technical explanations.

This School Tournament means the second part of a huge School Program in our Federation, with Javier Arilla leading a good coaching staff, who had worked in Ph. Ed. lessons at these schools during previous months.

Thanks to this School Program we can spread our sport in Navarra and develop baseball from the base. For next years, we will invite sponsors and more institutions to collaborate and keep on improving this great baseball event for our kids.

A great baseball friend, Miguel Pozueta, who is currently the Chairman of Sports in Navarra Government, led the prize ceremony, showing his satisfaction for this baseball initiative.

All info in www.fenabs.com