The Guggenberg Legionnaires confidently beat Mainz Athletics in their first game in the Armin Wolf Arena. Cedano de Leon strong, Torres in top form.
This was pretty much exactly how the Legionnaires had imagined their Family Day at the home start of the new Bundesliga season. A well-filled stadium, a family photo and then a confident victory for your own team. In the end it was 12:4 for the Guggenberg Legionnaires against Mainz Athletics, who had come to Regensburg as league leaders with the recommendation of two wins.
The fact that Regensburg started the game really well had a lot to do with Joe Cedano de Leon. The national player had a badly botched start to the season against Heidenheim last weekend. Nevertheless, head coach Martin Helmig and pitching coach Michael Wäller also trusted him as a starter against Mainz. Cedano de Leon repaid the trust with a strong performance.
Joe Cedano de Leon always had insight against Mainz Athletics. (Photo: Walter Keller)
In five innings he only allowed three hits and one walk with ten strikeouts; the Mainz team was unable to score any runs against the starting pitcher. A sparkling clean record for Cedano de Leon, which will certainly give him self-confidence for his future tasks.
Torres with a home run and RBI package
Regensburg baseball fans have really enjoyed Antonio Torres right from the start. The catcher came back from Heidenheim with an impressive 0.667 average and really upped the ante in his home debut. In the end, Torres had three hits, four RBI and two runs.
The highlight came in the second inning. His home run sent the ball to the neighboring softball field, co-worker Devon Ramirez and, of course, Torres himself over home plate. Overall, the hosts had an early 4-0 lead on the scoreboard.
The Legionnaires’ offense was in good form with 13 hits, two of which each belonged to Devon Ramirez and Alex Schmidt. The latter had already shone as a defensive wizard against Heidenheim, this time it also worked really well on offense. But Schmidt still didn’t miss the most spectacular play of the evening and sent a Mainz player out of bounds with a barehanded play.
Micelli slows down Athletics
Despite the overall confident performance, the Guggenberg Legionnaires had to survive a few very difficult situations. This was primarily due to the fact that neither Gerimi Jimenez da Silva nor Konsta Kurikka brought their pitches under control that evening and delivered a lot of balls with the associated walks. With bases loaded, Mainz suddenly even had the chance to equalize.
From first pitch to family photo: successful evening in the Armin Wolf Arena (Photos: Walter Keller)
Helmig reacted quickly and relied on the calmness of Nick Micelli, as he did against Heidenheim. He conceded a solo home run, but otherwise had things under control. At the same time, their colleagues were busy collecting runs for Regensburg, there were five in the seventh inning alone – including after a double by ex-Mainz player Marlon Jimenez Ramos.
In the ninth inning, Helmig brought the reliable Micelli off the mound again to rest his arm. The work was done, Abraham was allowed to put the lid on. He was strongly supported by Edoardo Cornelli. The young Italian initiated a double play that ended the game.
Harkin before home debut
The Guggenberg Legionnaires want to take their drive with them on Saturday from 2 p.m. and win the second home game of the season. Scott “The Shark” Harkin is likely to play his first Bundesliga game in front of his own audience.
2024-04-12 21:42:07
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