Baseball: Füssen Royal Bavarians again on play-off course – news from Füssen

With a surprising double success against the München Caribes advance the Füssen Royal Bavarians to a play-off rank in the 2. Baseball Bundesliga for the first time this season. It was the seventh straight win for the Royals. The signs before the game against the Munich Caribes were not really good for the Füssener. They had to record several failures. Above all, the absence of player trainer Mitch Stephan and the other offensive players Bastian Zaharia and Christian Brunner tore a large gap. The two youngsters Philipp Kanat and Loris Härtl were missing on the defensive. In addition, top performer Johannes Krumm will be out for a longer period of time with a shoulder injury, but has at least taken over the coaching position on an interim basis. “We knew it was going to be a difficult match day and wanted to take at least one win with us,” said coach Stephan, who was unable to play.

Baseball: Füssen Royal Bavarians win twice against the Munich Caribes

The highly motivated hosts got off to a better start in the game. Already in the first inning (round) there were punches from Kleber, Zacek, Nicolici, Aman and Malconian, which gave the Füssener a 4-0 lead. However, the Caribes knew how to shorten the lead to 3:4 in the second round after a field error by the Royals. It was not until the fourth inning that the home side managed to pull away a bit. A treble by Zacek and a base hit by Nicolici made the Royal Bavarians 8:4. In the sixth round, Füssen increased it again to 9:4. Pitcher James Starek and his defense kept the Caribes in check for the rest of the game and brought home the important win. “We played surprisingly well offensively with a few additions,” says interim coach Johannes Krumm.

In the second game of the day, the spectators at King’s Field in Füssen could expect a duel between the probably best pitchers in the league. In the dress of the guests it was the Japanese newcomer, Yoshitaka Nanmuko, and in the dress of the Füssener the strong Californian Matt Malconian.

This time, however, the Munich team landed the first trick. After that, both pitchers and their defensive lines showed their class and kept the opposing batsmen in check. It was not until the sixth inning that the Füssener brought something countable to the scoreboard for the first time. And how. Malconian finally closed the sack and needed just 64 pitches for seven innings.

Coach of the Füssen Royal Bavarians: “That was probably one of the best games of the year”

“That was probably the best game of the year. Flawless defence, strong pitching from Matt Malconian and a patient offensive with hits at the right moment,” said Krumm happily.

After a good half of the regular season and a winning streak of seven games, the Füssen Royal Bavarians are third in the table with a record of eight wins and four losses. Only the four best-placed teams from the 12-league qualify for the play-offs.

For the Füssener baseball team, the next game in two weeks is to face last year’s runners-up, the Baldham Boars, and the week after that, again away to the newly promoted team in Freising.