Without a Pitcher, but with a lot of heart
Seeing consistently happy faces after a loss is rare. However, for the Senators Ladies, good spirits are always part of the program, and they never bury their heads in the sand after a defeat.
“Of course, we would have liked a better season finale, but I still think we put up a great fight. Let’s not forget that we didn’t have a pitcher. Three starters were out at the last minute, and two couldn’t make it due to the rescheduled game, which completely threw all our plans out the window.”
“So, the rescheduled game against the Nightmares wasn’t exactly played under a lucky star, was it?
“The stars are always there, and they’re the same for everyone. There’s no such thing as good or bad luck. The only thing that matters is what you make of the circumstances. And we’re pretty good at that.”
This statement hits the truth pretty squarely. Because if the Düsseldorf Senators Ladies deserved any title this year, it would certainly be for the best improvisation.
“What the girls pulled off on the field yesterday makes us coaches incredibly proud. When we told the team that we wouldn’t have a starting pitcher available for the game against the Neunkirchen Nightmares, there wasn’t any sign of discouragement. On the contrary: the willingness to fill any possible gap for the team is the strength of this fantastic squad. In the end, only one player was actually playing in her usual position.”
When asked what he thought when he saw Neunkirchen’s starting lineup, the head coach gave us the following response:
“When we saw the Nightmares’ lineup, it was clear what this was about. I take it as a huge compliment when they field two players with Bundesliga experience against us. One of them is even a national player and pitched in the semifinals of the German Championship, as well as the day before against Regensburg in the German Cup. In the state league, that’s maybe a bit of overkill, but so what.”
Was the team aware of this?
“Of course. We always communicate openly and honestly with the girls. They should know what to expect from us and the opponent. They have to go into the game with the right mindset, because once it’s time for ‘Play Ball,’ we as coaches only have limited influence. There’s no point in beating around the bush. The team dynamic is strong enough—everyone supports each other, cheers each other on, and is always there for one another. And because we as coaches know that, we can speak openly with them.”
And in fact, there was no sign of nervousness. Quite the opposite! The Ladies gave it their all from the start and were able to use the element of surprise to their advantage. Long at-bats and bold base running were the keys to success. After three innings, they were still within striking distance (2:6) and put up a determined fight. The turning point came in the fourth inning when the starter began to tire.
“We didn’t pull Sarah T. out of the game because she was doing a poor job.”
And there was no reason to either, as her 4 strikeouts were more than impressive, keeping the Nightmares’ offense under control up to that point.
“Sarah T. isn’t a pitcher and had already thrown over 120 pitches by then. It was our job to protect her, not to win the game at any cost. Nothing is more important than the health of our players. That should always be the first duty of a coach. We take that very seriously.”
The team gathered together in the circle, and after a quick discussion, the ball was handed over to Sarah S., who had been filling the gap at shortstop after starting the game in the outfield.
“Sarah S. is a phenomenon. She’s never too proud to step into any position where there’s a vacancy, no questions asked.”
However, she couldn’t prevent the loss either, and by the end of the fourth inning, the score stood at 17:2 for Neunkirchen.
“If you only look at the bare numbers, you might say we got a pretty big beating here today, right? But that’s far from the truth. We know the circumstances under which we played and understand that we delivered a fantastic performance. We didn’t make it easy for the Neunkirchen Nightmares, and they had to fight hard for their win.”
With a record of 7:7, the season ends with a fifth-place finish in the state softball league. How do you evaluate this position?
“I never judge the league standings; I always evaluate how we present ourselves on the field, how we progress from training to training and from game to game. That’s more important to us as coaches than the standings. We had an excellent season, with ups and downs, as is normal in sports. We have a fantastic team that clearly has a bright future. The addition of five new players this year speaks for itself. More new players will follow and will be announced soon. Our team is getting stronger season by season, and softball in Düsseldorf is becoming more and more the embodiment of a club sport that people love to spend their free time on. What more could we ask for?”
