The Augsburg Gators have had a successful season. She has to pay some lessons in the play-off games. The overall structure of the baseball club is correct.
The Augsburg Gators can look back on an all-round successful season. After relegation from the second Bundesliga, the baseball team reached second place in the Bayernliga South and thus qualified for the play-offs for direct promotion. “The goal was to consolidate ourselves in the league and play at a good level in the top half of the table,” says Andreas Rucker, coach of the Gators, speaking of a successful season.
And this despite the fact that the team experienced a real upheaval in terms of personnel. “Unfortunately, we had to record one or two departures. That’s why it was even more important to get young players used to leadership positions,” says Rucker, explaining the tricky situation before the season. According to the 44-year-old coach, an immediate return to the second highest division was not desirable from the start. “If we move up, then it has to happen with our new players,” says Rucker, focusing on sustainability: “We don’t want to become an elevator team that constantly goes up and down.”
Augsburg Gators will probably not advance through the play-offs
It seems to be an unlikely scenario that promotion will be achieved via the play-off games currently taking place. In a group of four with the Ingolstadt Schanzer, the Laufer Wölfe and the Schwaig Red Lions, the Gators are still in last place without a win after the third match day. Rucker therefore remains realistic. “There are a few favorites for promotion that we looked bad against during the season,” he says.
After the team clearly lost out against the Schwaig Red Lions on the first match day, the game against the Laufer Wölfe on the first weekend in September had to be canceled due to a lack of players. In addition to a few injuries and illnesses, there was great concern around one player in particular around the Gators. The night before the clash, an Augsburg player was found unconscious by his roommate and taken to hospital by ambulance. The player only had brain surgery last winter – the Gators’ fears were therefore great. For Rucker, too, it was a weekend in which sport quickly became a secondary role. “Of course the incident overshadowed everything. Luckily, he’s feeling a little better and has been released from the hospital,” says Rucker, giving the all-clear.
Ingolstadt Schanzer win the home game
Last Sunday the Gators hosted the Ingolstadt Schanzer for the next play-off encounter – a very special game, especially for Rucker. The 44-year-old engineer began playing baseball in Ingolstadt at the age of 13. Nine years ago he moved to Augsburg and has been coaching the Gators’ first team for two years. In the game against the Schanzer, Rucker also met his two brothers, with whom he learned the sport. One works there as a department head, the other still plays himself. “It’s a game where the whole family comes together,” said the coach happily in advance. However, the reunion was not crowned with success: the Gators had to admit defeat in Ingolstadt by a narrow margin of 13:14.
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Regardless of the sporting results, Rucker is completely satisfied with the current season and the structure in the club. It is the first time that six teams will actively participate in the game. There are even three youth teams represented: the U15, the U12 and the U10. The Corona phase was also survived without a major decline in membership. “We are very pleased that we have a broad foundation. Unfortunately, there are many other clubs that are disappearing into obscurity,” said Rucker.
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2023-09-12 15:35:02
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