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

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

The Leicester Blue Sox celebrated a “Grand Opening” in style on Sunday, 22 April at Western Park when the club brought youth baseball and a “proper” baseball diamond to Leicester.

The day began with the newest and youngest members of the Blue Sox playing an exciting exhibition baseball game in front of parents, coaches and local baseball fans.

The “Blue Sox Juniors” were split into two competitive teams for the club’s inaugural youth baseball event and went on to play their hearts out in close game, which ended with a 10-8 scoreline. Longtime Leicester baseball player Shaun Hill said, “It has been nearly 28 years since my last involvement with youth baseball in Leicester. It was a real honour and privilege to be asked to manage one of the junior teams on the day and I am really looking forward to this great sport growing in our community.”

Ceremony

A ribbon-cutting ceremony followed the youth game, celebrating the new baseball backstop fence erected at Western Park this spring. The pageantry featured Denny Walker and club founder Mark Meredith, recent inductees to the Blue Sox Hall of Fame, alongside junior team captains Phil Green and Jack Lee.

Funding for the new facilities and youth scheme has been provided by BaseballSoftballUK, Sport England, Hancock’s Cash and Carry, Charles Street Buildings Group, Leicester City Council, Lafarge and The Co-Operative.

Club Chairman Matt Crawshaw said, “We have begun to build facilities that give both children and adults in the area a positive social and physical outlet in the form of baseball. I would especially like to thank the parents who have been tremendous in their support for us. With their help, we have built up a compelling youth baseball programme in less than three months and with our revamped ballpark now officially opened, the future for youth baseball here in Leicester looks very bright.”

Home triumph

The day ended with the Leicester Blue Sox adult team piling up a comprehensive 26-9 victory over newcomers Stourbridge Titans in the BBF’s AA Midlands Division. In doing so, Leicester took an early lead at the top of the division with 2-0 record.

Head Coach Giovanni Ciotti said, “While adult teams have been here in Leicester for a few years, the positive energy and perspective that kids’ baseball has brought to this club is nothing short of amazing. We’re proud to be a part of their growth and to be offering kids in and around Leicester a chance to experience this great game.”

The Blue Sox adult team will next be in action on Sunday, April 29, away to last season’s Midlands Division champions Milton Keynes Bucks.

The next Blue Sox Juniors fixture is penciled in for Saturday, May 12 and the club would like to hear from any youngsters aged 8-16 who want to get involved.

The BBF Board has released the “Road to the NBC”, a document detailing the post-season structure and schedules for adult and youth teams vying for spots in the 2012 National Baseball Championships.

The British Baseball Federation has announced the post-season format and schedule for the 2012 National Baseball Championship (NBC), to be held over the late summer bank holiday weekend, August 25-27. The adult NBC will include a double-elimination NBL bracket, semi-finals and finals for AAA and AA and a Single-A final, with the potential for 14 games played over three days at a single venue.

The NBC qualifications will take place on August 12 and/or 19, with 26 teams vying for spots in the finals.

The playoffs and NBC are earlier this year to take advantage of the three-day bank holiday weekend and a return to extended finals competition for the adult leagues, as well as to allow the GB Baseball programme to prepare and fundraise for the European Baseball Championships and World Baseball Classic qualifier in September.

Input and feedback

The “Road to the NBC” was drafted with input from commissioners and league representatives as well as feedback from the teams themselves following last year’s highly successful Championship weekend. The BBF is hopeful that the adjustments made to the qualification process, structure and schedule — as well as the shift to a three-day event — will make the post-season experience even more exciting than in previous years.

Planning for the NBC is already in progress and the venue will be announced as soon as possible. As in 2011, the Great Britain Baseball National Teams programme will serve as event organisers, facilitating the staffing, catering, sponsorship and grounds maintenance for the NBC on behalf of the British baseball community. The NBC represents one of Team GB’s major fundraisers, and 100% of catering and merchandising profit from the weekend goes to support our national team players in overseas competition.

The Bronco and Pony post-season details, along with the 2012 Youth National Baseball Championships (YNBC) schedule will be announced later in May.

One day after losing in walk-off style, T&A San Marino won in its last at-bat against Unipol Bologna. Mattia Reginato plated the winning run in a 2-1 victory in the bottom of the ninth inning. Bologna had erased a 0-1 deficit with a RBI single by Takahiko Sato in the eighth. San Marino led since Reginato’s RBI single in the fifth.

Cariparma Parma – Telemarket Rimini 8-11

Telemarket Rimini remains among the top three in the standings, defeating Cariparma Parma 11-8 in a slugfest. In a back and forth battle the Pirates led throughout the entire contest. Max DeBiase and Riccardo Suardi combined for four Rimini RBI. Anderson Machado homered for the Angels. Osman Marval drove in three. Marcos Tabata struck out five in four scoreless innings of one-hit relief for the win.

Danesi Nettuno – De Angelis Godo Knights 10-4

Danesi Nettuno beat the De Angelis Godo Knights 10-4. Four runs in the first and five in the seventh blew the game wide open. Ray Sadler and Christophe Crescenzi went deep. Crescenzi collected four RBI overall. Santo Hernandez pitched five scoreless innings for the win. He struck out nine.

Novara United – Grosseto Baseball 5-1

Renny Duarte pitched seven innings of one-run ball to lead Novara United to a 5-1 win over Grosseto Baseball, their first of the 2012 season. Three runs in the fourth broke a 1-1 tie and decided the outcome. Ramos Martin homered for Novara. Riccardo Tavarnelli had a pair of RBI. Michael Smith got charged with the loss.

Olimpija Karlovac vs Nada SSM – Split 3:9, 6:10

Beograd 96 vs Vindija Varaždin 8:7, 10:0 [7]

Blagoevgrad Buffaloes vs BK Zagreb 10:5, 5:2

Schedule for May 12th & 13th:

Nada SSM – Split vs Beograd 96

BK Zagreb vs Olimpija Beograd

Vindija Varazdin vs Blagoevgrad Buffaloes

Standings:

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

Results & standings Group “North”

Schedule:
Saturday, May 12:
11:00 Therwil Flyers – Wil Devils (DH)
11:00 Zurich Challengers – Bern Cardinals (DH)

Schedule:
Saturday, May 12:
13:00 Karlskoga – Leksand (DH)
13:00 Sundbyberg – Goteborg (DH)
13:00 Alby – Gefle (DH)
Monday, May 14:
19:00 Stockholm – Swedish Academy

Schedule:
Saturday, May 12:
12:00 El Llano – Halcones de Vigo
Sunday, May 13:
11:30 San Inazio Bilbao – Astros Valencia

In the south the Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg and Heidenheim Heidekoepfe are in first place, thanks to 9-3 records. The Mainz Athletics follow one game behind with the Haar Disciples and Mannheim Tornados looking to grab fourth right now. On Friday the Buchbinder Legionaere open week eight with a night game against the A’s. It starts at 7pm CET and will be live at Legionaere-TV. Also the promoted Stuttgart Reds try to stun the Disciples at home in Bad Cannstatt and the Heidekoepfe try to solidify their position in the standings against the Bad Homburg Hornets.

Schedule:
Friday, May 11:
19:00 Regensburg – Mainz
Saturday, May 12:
13:00 Dortmund – Cologne (DH)
13:00 Paderborn – Hamburg (DH)
13:00 Dohren – Berlin (DH)
13:00 Stuttgart – Haar (DH)
14:00 Regensburg – Mainz
Sunday, May 13:
13:00 Solingen – Bonn (DH)
13:00 Heidenheim – Bad Homburg (DH)

Schedule:
Saturday, May 12:
19:00 Senart – Pessac
Sunday, May 13:
11:00 Rouen – Montpellier (DH)
11:00 Paris – Beaucaire (DH)
11:00 Savigny – Toulouse (DH)
12:00 Senart – Pessac

Result:
Thursday, May 10:
Draci Brno – Technika Brno 3-13

Schedule:
Saturday, May 12:
13:00 Olympia Blansko – Hrosi Brno (DH)
13:00 Kotlarka Prague – Arrows Ostrava (DH)
13:00 Skokani Olomouc – Eagles Prague (DH)
13:00 Technika Brno – Draci Brno (DH)

Schedule:
Saturday, May 12:
Hoboken Pioneers – Borgerhout Squirrels
Royal Greys – Brasschaat Braves
Antwerp Eagles – Namur Angels
Mortsel Stars – Deurne Spartans
Sunday, May 13:
Antwerp Eagles – Namur Angels
Borgerhout Squirrels – Hoboken Pioneers
Brasschaat Braves – Royal Greys
Deurne Spartans – Mortsel Stars
(all games scheduled to start at 15:30)

The junior championships began with a resounding victory for the White Sharks club, who defeated the Bravos junior team in the first game of the junior championships. Bravos juniors showed resolve, but difficulties on the mound, and costly fielding errors led to defeat for the Espinho team. White Sharks juniors look to continue their run for the title this weekend at home in Almada.

Senior games followed the junior opener with White Sharks Almada routing the Bravos of Espinho in both matches. The first match began with Sharks plating 5 in the first. Almada offense continued to strike in the 3rd and 5th, totaling 11 runs through 6-innings. Bravos bats fell relatively silent, plating 2 runs in the 2nd. Bravos pitcher Eduardo Molina was able to sit down 6 in 6-innings of work, giving up 6 H and 8 BB. Sharks catcher Tiago Fonseca drove in 2 RBIs and outfielder Heslen Rodriguez went 2 for 4, with 1 RBI. Final score WS 11-2 CSLV

The second matchup between the two senior teams ended in 5-innings with a final score of 25-0. Almada pitching silenced the Bravos and combined to give up 1H, with 9K, 0BB. Starter Joao Alves went 3-innings with 4K and showed great command his first start of the regular season. Almada hitters combined for 19 hits with notable performances from Rodriguez, Fonseca, Espirito Santo, and Alves.
On May 5, 2012 the Portuguese National Academy held a workout in Abrantes with pre-selection members of the PNT. Assistant NT coaches Petr Stříbrcký and Jeffrey Darrion Siler II continue to develop and evaluate players for NT selection through these academy sessions.

Saturday, May 12, 2012, the National Championship goes to Almada, Portugal where the White Sharks will host the Bravos of Espinho in the second round of competition. More news and information to come.

Schedule:

L&D Amsterdam shut out Sparta/Feyenoord Rotterdam 13-0 in seven innings on Thursday evening in the Dutch Hoofdklasse. Rob Cordemans allowed just six hits and a walk in seven scoreless innings for the win. He struck out 11. Roeland Henrique and Kenny Berkenbosch led the way with homeruns and a combined five runs and six RBI.

Mr. Cocker HCAW – UVV 0-8 (7)

Orlando Yntema issued only three hits and three walks in seven scoreless innings to lead UVV to an 8-0 shutout over Mr. Cocker HCAW. He struck out eight. Ryan Murphy drove in three on offense, as seven different Utrecht players crossed the plate for runs. Leon Elshof took the loss, allowing seven hits, five runs (3 ER) and three base on balls in 4 2/3 innings.

The scheduled games between DOOR Neptunus and the Vaessen Pioniers as well as the AamigoO ADO Lakers and Corendon Kinheim were postponed due to rain.

A walk-off RBI single by Marco Sabbatani in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Unipol Bologna to a 6-5 victory over T&A San Marino on Thursday evening. After blowing a 4-0 lead and getting behind 4-5, Fortitudo had tied the contest in the bottom of the eighth on a RBI fielder’s choice by Mark Castellitto. Joe Mazzuca homered for the Titans. Daniel Bittar drove in three. Romero got the win for Bologna, while Yulman Ribeiro got charged with the loss.

Schedule:
Thursday, May 10:
20:00 Unipol Bologna – T&A San Marino
Friday, May 11:
20:00 T&A San Marino – Unipol Bologna
20:00 Cariparma Parma – Telemarket Rimini
20:00 Novara United – Grosseto Baseball
20:00 Danesi Nettuno – De Angelis Godo Knights
Saturday, May 12:
15:30 Cariparma Parma – Telemarket Rimini
15:30 Novara United – Grosseto Baseball
15:30 Danesi Nettuno – De Angelis Godo Knights
19:30 T&A San Marino – Unipol Bologna
19:30 Cariparma Parma – Telemarket Rimini
19:30 Novara United – Grosseto Baseball
19:30 Danesi Nettuno – De Angelis Godo Knights

Schedule:
Thursday, May 10:
19:30 ADO Lakers – Kinheim
19:30 Neptunus – Pioniers
19:30 Pirates – Sparta/Feyenoord
19:30 HCAW – UVV
Saturday, May 12:
14:00 Kinheim – ADO Lakers
14:00 Pioniers – Neptunus
14:00 Sparta/Feyenoord – Pirates
14:00 UVV – HCAW
Sunday, May 13:
14:00 ADO Lakers – Kinheim
14:00 Neptunus – Pioniers
14:00 Pirates – Sparta/Feyenoord
14:00 HCAW – UVV

Stockholm celebrated its fourth win of the season on Wednesday evening, defeating the Swedish Baseball Academy 12-3. They scored in each frame between the third and the eighth. Daniel Wood reached base in all six of his plate appearances, scoring three times. Matt Merrifield drove in three. Johan Höglund had two hits for the Academy. Joakim Claesson struck out six in three scoreless innings of one-hit relief to pick up the win. Andreas Matspers took the loss, issuing six hits, three runs (2 ER) and three walks in four innings.

Results Week 4, May 5:

Warriors Obuda vs Apollo Bratislava 6:18 (8), 6:12

Slovan Bratislava vs Sleepwalkers Szentendre 10:0 (7), 11:2

Aeros Erd vs Fighting Flies 25:22, 9:8, HR – Jakub MELLO (Fighting Flies)

Rascals Janossomorja vs Angels Trnava 1:4, 0:6

Schedule for May 12

11:00 Slovan Bratislava vs Apollo Bratislava at Bratislava

11:00 Warriors Obuda vs Sleepwalkers Szentendre at Szentendre

11:00 Fighting Flies vs Angels Trnava at Trnava

11:00 Rascals Janossomorja vs Aeros Erd at Erd

Doubleheader games

Cariparma Parma has signed a new pitcher for game one. The Venezuelan Jose Sanchez is supposed to give some quality in the game for foreign pitchers. The 27-year-old, who turns 28 on Saturday, can look back at nine seasons of professional baseball in North America. From 2004 to 2009 he played for the New York Mets organization reaching Triple-A. Last and this year he pitched in the Mexican League. He has a career ERA of 4.57 with 629 strikeouts and 308 walks in 938 innings.

Grosseto Baseball

The Italian-American Jim Buccheri is back in Italian Baseball. Born in 1968 he returns to the Apennine, playing for Grosseto Baseball. He previously wore the jerseys of Rimini, San Marino and Nettuno in the Italian Baseball League. The outfielder will give manager Mike Hartley a little bit more depth and should help the team with his experience.

The Czech All-Star Game ended with a 11-3 victory for the Czech All-Stars versus reigning Czech champion Technika Brno. A nice crowd watched the festivities, which included kids events and a home run derby won by Pavel Budsky over Jakub Malik in the finals.

The All-Stars jumped out to a 6-0 lead off starting pitcher Leos Kubat in the first inning. Lead-off batter Martin Veseley and #2 hitter Martin Drong hit back-to-back home runs to start the game. Malik, Jan Drabek, and Matej Hejma also had hits in the first inning. Budsky blasted his first of of two home runs on the day to give the All-Stars a 6-0 lead.

The All-Stars scored four more runs in the 2nd inning to gain a commanding 10-0 lead. Technika Brno scored three runs on a Richard Sazavsky three-run home run to make it 10-3 after two.

On the day, the All-Stars used nine pitchers, starting with Jan Blazek. Petr Minarik, Marek Cervenka, Marian Gajdos, Jan Tomek, Martin Drong, Michael Kral, Jan Homolka and Radim Chroust limited Technika Brno to just five hits on the day. The defense did not make an error in the game.

The All-Stars got quality at bats from Vesely, Drong, Malik, Martin Schneider, Drabek, Hejma, Budsky and Basilio Hernandez. Drong had three hits on the day, Budsky had two home runs.

Technika Brno played host to a great event and a great day of baseball for the fans of Czech baseball.