SOFTBALL | MOVING FORWARD
Senators challenge league leaders Krefeld
It was meant to be two pivotal games. The result just didn’t go the way they’d hoped. Facing league leaders Krefeld Crows, nothing less than top spot in the Landesliga was on the line — exactly the kind of showdown a team works toward all season. Despite several absences, Head Coach Frank Mohr fielded a lineup that was more than competitive and fully committed to winning. At home, in front of their own crowd, the stage was set exactly as you’d want it for a game like this.
“We prepared intensely for these games and today, unfortunately, weren’t able to bring out our full potential,” said Mohr.
The Senators had studied Krefeld’s strong offense closely, and that preparation paid off, at least defensively: in the first game especially, the defense stood rock solid, holding the league leaders to just 4 runs — a real statement against the best team in the league. What was missing that day was their own offense. Across both games, the team never found its usual rhythm, and especially at the plate, the decisions often weren’t right. For Mohr, that’s no cause for concern but simply the next step in the team’s development: “Games like this show us most clearly what we need to work on. Against a team as well-drilled as Krefeld, you immediately see where we still have room to grow — and we’re taking those lessons straight into training.” The coaching staff doesn’t exempt itself from that either: “We didn’t deliver our best work today either. That’s part of the truth too,” Mohr added. In the coming training sessions, the focus will be squarely on decision-making at the plate.
More important than the result of any single game day is the direction the Senators have followed consistently for years. At the center of it all isn’t quick success but development: youth work and the targeted development of young players remain the club’s clear priority. Every game against a team like Krefeld gives the young talents on the roster a chance to gain experience against the league’s best — experience that pays off in the long run and shapes exactly the players of tomorrow the club is building toward.
“We still have 10 games left, and every one of them feels like a final for us,” said Mohr. With plenty of confidence behind them, the outlook is clearly forward-looking, without forgetting where the team came from. The season so far remains one the Senators can rightly be proud of, and that confidence is exactly what carries into the remaining weeks.
Alongside all this, the Senators’ youth program keeps growing — the foundation on which softball in Düsseldorf stands for the long term. And there’s news that shows just how serious the club is about this path: a major project, in the works for months, is nearing completion. More on that will follow soon — for now, this much can be said: it’s another important building block on the path the Senators are walking with full conviction.
