An expected hard game

“Before we get to the actual analysis, I would like to congratulate the ladies of the Aachen Greyhounds on their victory.” Head coach Frank Mohr starts to summarize the game.

“Our own performance shouldn’t reduce the clear and well-deserved winner of the game. Nevertheless, at this point a little clarity must be created about how the result came about. Anyone who relies solely on statistics will get a somewhat distorted picture of what happened at Brandner Wall.”

Changed at five positions, without a substitute, a rookie and two infielders who had just recovered from illness, a win that day was not to be expected.

“We can’t play a game like the one we conjured up in Verl every week, so I have to compliment my girls despite the many mistakes they made. They always give it their all.”

The Senators Ladies were able to keep the game tide up into the fourth inning and were even in front up to that point, but somehow the thread suddenly broke and concentration seemed lost. The easy plays were not made and so the bases filled up again and again.

“Keeping the lid on a can of worms, the arms become heavy and the throws inaccurate.” Frank Mohr tries to find a explanation. “Then there are doubts and the urge to help your pitcher out of the mess. A bad combination.”

After a convincing performance, the coaches had to take their starter out of the game after only 3 1/3 innings and replace them with a position player.

A decision that the coaches were reluctant to make. On the one hand they wanted to protect their starter and on the other hand they threw an unprepared player into the circle.

“Katja took one for the team and got us out of the inning. Mentally, that was a great success.”

In the end, however, she was unable to prevent the clear defeat of 14:24.

“Even though it may sound like it, I’m not trying to sugarcoat the result. It was and remains a deserved victory for Aachen. But the statistics don’t say anything about the unconditional dedication with which the girls fought back against this defeat.

When asked how he intends to play against Neunkirchen next week, he answers with a smile.

“I am an incorrigible optimist. If we can play at full strength and without injury, anything is possible in Neunkirchen.”

Late Comeback not enough

After the two regional softball leagues were merged, the softball ladies of the Verl/Gütersloh Yaks met again on Saturday, April 29, 2023. For the Yaks, who defeated the Aachen Greyhounds 22:10 on a foreign pitch the week before, it was already the second game, whereas the Senators Ladies were just starting their season.

“At the beginning you never know exactly where you stand,” shared head coach Frank Mohr shortly before the game, according to his thoughts. “Despite good preparation, the first game of the season is often full of surprises.”

To make matters worse, the ladies had to cope with short-term cancelation of sick players and so they started the journey to Verl with only one substitute.

“The game plan was completely different, but somehow we are used to having to rethink at short notice. Making a virtue out of necessity is not just an empty phrase for us, we live it.”

Despite the many changes, the Senators’ ladies came into play well and were able to achieve a comfortable lead of 7 runs in the first inning, which took some of the burden off the starting pitcher’s shoulders. New to this role, she is playing her first season in this immensely important position.

“As excited as we are about her tremendous progress during the off-season, we mustn’t forget that Vanessa only made the move from 3rd base to circle last season,” emphasizes head coach Frank Mohr.

A step that could not have been taken so quickly without the new pitching coach, Courtney Oliva from Plus Ultra Pitching. Her analyzes and assistance are also indispensable during the season and so the coaches are in constant contact when it comes to improving the team’s performance.

It was clear to everyone that the lead would not be a calming cushion, as the Yaks responded with solid contacts in the next inings and also benefited from some defensive deficiencies.

After the fourth inning it was 11:11 in an exciting and balanced game. There were swaps in the circle and some position changes were also made in the field, but this shouldn’t lead to a crack in the game.

However, a preliminary decision in favor of the Yaks seemed to have been made in the 6th inning when they were able to pull away to 18:14. In the 7th inning, the Yaks pitcher, who was in a good mood, also caused euphoria in the opponent’s dugout with two quick outs. But the senators didn’t give up and came back brave. With their backs to the wall, they started a two out rally, tied the game and forced the Yaks back on the offensive.

If there was a tie in softball, that would have been a fair result, but of course it didn’t turn out that way. The senators small Lineup couldn’t hold up and so it was not surprising that the Yaks managed the walk off with a single into the CF, with a runner in scoring position.

“We’re always impressed by the comeback qualities our girls have.”, the coaches sum up in unison. “We are a team that never gives up. The batting practice over the winter continues to improve the bats. We have hard contacts, a good 42% of our AB are Quality AB and no matter what circumstances we are into, we find an answer. If we can minimize the errors in the field and play at full strength, we’re a serious opponent for any team.”

We congratulate the Verl/Güterloh Yaks on a great game and look forward to seeing you again in Düsseldorf. 

A big thank you goes to our supporters Caro and Janine from Beer Kong, who also cater for us on away trips.

#kongostark

Next week the ladies will travel to Aachen. Here, too, we expect a game at eye level.

Proud of our youngsters

Our 15U team, led by head coach David Boll, won 1st place in the 2023 Fielders Choice winter league last Sunday. And in quite an unopposed manner.

Already on the 1st game day of this tournament on February 5th in Cologne, our motivated ballers had created a good cushion with a record of 5 W and just 1 loss.

Good hopes for a place on the podium. Both first round games on Sunday in Wuppertal were won and the way into the final was secured. In the final game against the Cologne Cardinals, our youngsters burned off a real firework, which ended in a tournament victory.

Thanks to all the parents who have once again supported us in an exemplary manner.

Small steps

Take a few eleven-year-olds, some relatively new 15U players and a manageable number of experienced players and form an additional U15 team from them, to compete with Cologne, Bonn and Paderborn in the NRW league. Sounds doomed? Maybe… or just great games with very good opponents and baseball at a high level.

All the players and parents were spoken to beforehand to see if the children in particular could imagine that, knowing that in the worst case scenario they could loose all games. And the approval was unanimous.

And what can we say, looking back? It was incredible to watch these children play. They were not just a team on the field, they learned more and more and implemented things that the coaches passed on to them and showed them. Sure, mistakes were and are still being made, but that’s ok too, considering that the average age is about 2 years younger than the other teams.

As the season progressed, the team grew to include even more children. A mix of Japanese, American, English, Ecuadorian and German children not only made the training more lively, but also more varied. Language barrier… never heard of it. Head coach David Boll and his team simply held the training sessions in two languages ​​and the children did the same. Yes ok, our foreign children were also taught a few harmless swear words in German, but that is part of it! A wonderful side effect with our foreign players was that the dads of these children are now an incredible help in practice and games. They show tremendous dedication, are respectful towards each kid and the coaches, and always show us their love for baseball. What the entire coaching team has achieved this season was indescribable and you have to tip your cap to them, that every single practice session was carried out with a lot of love, discipline and organization.

A big thank you goes to the parents who helped out with the catering. Be it with delicious snacks (cheers to the cheesecake that is always available ) or with quick help with assembly and disassembly. And thank you for a great parent-kids game, which caused some mums and dads to ache, but was great fun.

No kid needs to be singled out on this team. You win as a team and you lose as a team. And these guys are a team of different backgrounds, different ages and different skill levels. They’ve shown what they’re capable of and that’s not all. We don’t know what next year will hold in store for us, but they proved their presence and are taking small steps toward serious competition within the next few seasons.

And by the way… our children won three games out of twelve double headers.