The games were moved to Paderborn because the place in Hamburg was blocked. As a result, the U’s currently have two more home games, although the association could swap triangles with Dohren.
Even if head coach Jendrick Speer’s U’s troop entered the regular team training with a considerable delay, anything but two opening wins would be a disappointment for Speer. The U’s used last weekend to play two friendly matches against Dortmund Wanderers, both of which were clearly won (8: 2, 6: 1).
The annual minimum goal of the team from the Ahorn-Ballpark is traditionally to reach the play-off round, thus places one to four in the Bundesliga northern relay. Last year Marco Cardoso and Co. finished as “runner-up” behind the Bonn Capitals before the quarter-finals ended. This time it can be a little more. The championship race is completely open to Speer. Heidenheim, Regensburg and Stuttgart are safe play-off aspirants for him in the south, in the north he rates Bonn, Hamburg, Solingen and his team as top 4 candidates.
It shouldn’t be because of the necessary team spirit. The continuity in the squad speaks for the Untouchables, even if the loss of outfielder Maik Ehmcke (playing assistant coach at Dohren Wild Farmers) weighs heavily. Infielder Nadir Ljatifi is also out at least at the start of the season. The 23-year-old, who had played four years for the Cincinnati Reds in the minor leagues before his return in 2019 and was named Most Valuable U’s Player of the Preseason, is struggling with the consequences of a herniated disc.
New arrival from South Africa
Even if Marcel Vockel is not considered a real departure, the coach will not be able to fall back on the outfielder this season. Vockel is concentrating on his studies and is currently doing an internship in Hamburg. In addition, assistant coach Octavio Medina (Fielding) has to be replaced this weekend. He looks after the U12 national team at the Alpe Adria Cup in Staranzano (Italy). Pitcher Nick Göbert, who has been studying at Bay College in Michigan (USA) since summer 2019, is available for the entire season this time. There is also a short-term newcomer in the person of the South African Christiaan Beyers. The infielder comes on the recommendation of his compatriot Bles Kemp, once in the service of the Untouchables.
Speer sees his team well armed, but there could still be short-term additional commitments. Because: “We are set up pretty thin.” There is a need for action in the outfield and on the mound. Basically, the coach is willing to fill the gaps with his own offspring, whereby outfielder Ian Eberhardt (20) currently has good cards for a permanent place in the “First”. Whether it’s enough for league one for talents like Ladislaus Landwehr, Luca Rammelmann, Luca Kloppenburg or boarding school student Florian Herwig, remains to be seen. Speer: “We’re testing. But it is not always beneficial for development to be thrown into the deep end. ”
Head coach Speer no longer plays
According to his own statement, the head coach himself no longer wants to intervene in the action. “I’m not on the squad list for the first time this year.” As a 40-year-old with ideas of a “certain standard”, Germany’s record national team is no longer able to live up to this claim due to time constraints. “I prefer to play baseball myself rather than coaching baseball,” he admits, with a smile to point out a considerably smaller ball that “doesn’t move” and that he now likes to hit. As a member of the Paderborn Golf Club, Jendrick Speer has already achieved a respectable handicap of 12. Even if there should be a personnel bottleneck, Speer ruled out as a possible firefighter. “That is no longer an issue.”
The actually well-positioned Hamburg Stealers, German champions in 2000, suffered two defeats (5:12, 5:10) at the Solingen Alligators. In both matches, the team was not very efficient on the offensive, plus a total of seven errors in field defense. Stealers head coach David Wohlgemut admitted frankly: “We have rightly lost both games.” The best offensive player was newcomer Marlon Jimenez Chayanne with four hits.
As things stand, the second Untouchables team around head coach Alper Bozkurt will start the season of the 2. Bundesliga Northwest on June 12th in the Ahorn-Ballpark. The first opponents are the Ennepetal Raccoons.
The squad overview
Christiaan Beyers, Ladislaus Landwehr, Luca Rammelmann, Marco Cardoso, Daniel Hinz, Maurice Bendrien, Phildrick Llewellyn, Patrick Harrison, Florian Seidel, Florian Herwig, Benjamin Thaqi, Finn Bergmann, Matt Kemp, Mark Harrison, Ian Eberhardt, Sean Payne, Nick Göbert , Nadir Ljatifi, Bjarne Reinhardt, Luca Kloppenburg, Steffen Dembowski.
