Split in Krefeld
The softball women of the Düsseldorf Senators and the Krefeld Crows delivered two games on Sunday that could hardly have been more different. The game day also took place on Mother’s Day, which is why the Senators wore their pink jerseys.
The team from the state capital wanted to build on the strong performances of the past few weeks and extend its winning streak. However, it was already clear before the first pitch that this would not be an easy task. Over the past years, the Crows had become something of a bogey team for the Senators, who had managed to win only two of their eleven matchups.
“The Crows are a well-established team that has been playing together for many years. Sometimes it feels like the balls are magically drawn to their defense, and they are always dangerous at the plate,” the coaches warned before the game.
And indeed, the Senators fell behind early while struggling offensively at first. But already in the second inning, the offense found an answer to the home team’s strong pitcher and managed to tie the game.
“We hit the ball really well and played solid defense behind our strong pitchers.”
The Senators then took a comfortable 13–5 lead into the fifth inning. After recording two quick outs, everything seemed to point toward a convincing victory.
“When someone asks me what the hardest out is, I always answer: the last one. And that was exactly the case again this time. It could have been a perfect inning if we hadn’t made that one crucial mistake.”
Krefeld refused to give up and fought its way back into the game run by run. A hard comebacker eventually forced the Senators to replace their pitcher at the decisive moment.
“Fortunately, we are well positioned at that spot and still had enough options available, which allowed us to pull out the win in the end.”
However, the hosts’ big comeback left its mark.
“In my opinion, it’s easy to explain why we couldn’t build on the strong performance from game one. Even though we had clearly been the better team for most of the first game, we almost let it slip away in the end. That’s why, after the win, there was more relief than pure joy. The momentum was clearly on Krefeld’s side.”
Especially the final inning of the first game cost the Senators a lot of mental energy. Offensively in particular, the decisive spark was often missing in game two. Nevertheless, the Düsseldorf team kept the game close for a long time and trailed only 1–3 through four innings.
But then the Crows increasingly found their rhythm, stringing together hit after hit and consistently capitalizing on small defensive lapses by the Senators.
“The loss was deserved, although in my opinion the final score of 1–7 was a little too high in the end.”
In the end, the teams settled for a fair split after delivering gripping games from start to finish.
“They were two fast-paced and great games, and we’re already looking forward to seeing them again — next time in Düsseldorf.”
