After the convincing performance last week against the Jülich Duchess, the Senators ladies had to take the momentum with them to the Ennepe-Ruhr district. The newly formed Ennepetal Raccoons team was waiting for the Düsseldorf ladies there last Saturday.
The Raccoons had to defend their almost flawless record of four wins and just one loss, and at best extend it against the Düsseldorf Senators. The team around the coaching trio Simon, Patrick and Frank naturally wanted to prevent this.
It quickly became clear during the week that this would not be an easy task: the two pitchers who had impressed in Jülich had to be left out; the pitchers who were scheduled for this game were not 100 percent fit.
So the motto was once again: make a lot out of little or nothing.
“Mathematics tells us how to do this,” said the head coach, “you can make anything out of an empty set.” Then he adds with a smile: “At least in theory.”
And in practice it finally worked. On the remaining practice days before the game, they worked hard to prepare the pitchers, who were not due to make their first appearances until the second half of the season, for a possible game scenario.
“The mechanics are good and the girls have control over their pitches. It looked very good in practice, so why not just try it.”
During the warm-up, shortly before the game, however, it didn’t look bad at all and the Senators were able to go into the game with the planned starter.
“We had agreed that the two pitchers should eat as many innings as possible and grit their teeth, but should signal to me in good time when they couldn’t go on any longer. I’d rather give away a game than have someone seriously injured.”
A good decision, as the game turned out.
As in previous games, the Senators Ladies set the tone first and gained a more than comfortable lead of 8 runs in the first three innings.
For a short time, it even looked as if the Senators would get by without a relief pitcher, but the Raccoons fought their way back into the game, which ultimately went the full distance of seven innings. In the last inning, it was finally time for the rookie in this position.
But what could go wrong with a lead of 12 runs?
“Everything,” Frank Mohr explained to us. “We have really experienced a lot. So we were warned. But the team stood behind Nina like a wall and helped her to make the necessary 3 outs.”
“I knew that even if things went wrong, the team would be fully behind me,” said Nina shortly after the game ended. “That made pitching easier for me with every throw.”
It is really impressive how the ladies have developed in this position. The coaches can now draw on a full roster, which makes them less predictable for the opponents.
We don’t want to forget the offense and the many newcomers, who all made a name for themselves with their base hits and are a great asset to this team.
“The bottom line is that you can really create anything from an empty set. During the week it looked as if we didn’t have a pitcher at all, and then we ended up with three. With this team, almost anything is possible.” Frank Mohr, visibly satisfied, concludes the day’s game. The Senators won 20:11.
