Wednesday 31 May 2017

Baseball for the Blind growing in Cuba

Baseball, Cuba’s national sport, is now reaching and serving more of Cuba’s population with one of the newest forms of the game, baseball for the blind.
Introduced by the Italian Association of Baseball for the Blind (AIBXC), which collaborates with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), baseball for the blind in Cuba has been growing steadily. Blind baseball teams have been launching in Havana, with the players dreaming to one day be able to compete against other blind baseball players around the world and eventually have the event included in the Paralympic Games.
“Anybody who can do it…should do it…because it’s going to help them both physically with their health, but also to liberate those feelings people sometimes have like when one feels separated,” told one visually impaired player.
Other nations in the baseball-crazed Americas, such as Guatemala, are also working to include and establish blind baseball teams as part of their overall development plans.

Results Euro Interleague Baseball

The Euro Interleague Baseball continued.
In Pool A Olimpija Karlovac and Nada SM Split won twice against Angels Trnava respective Apollo Bratislava. Beograd 96 and Zajcki Ljubljana shared wins during their twin bill.
In Pool B BK Zagreb swept the Budapest Reds, Jezica Ljubljana and BC Vojvodina split, as well as Rascals Janossomorja against BSK Medvednica.

Standings:
Group A:
Pos      Team   W         L          Pct       Home  Road    L10      Strk
1          OLI      14        2          0.875   9-1       5-1       8-2       W3
2          NAD     10        4          0.714   4-1       6-3       7-3       W6
3          APB     11        5          0.688   10-4     1-1       6-4       L3
4          B96      5          11        0.313   1-4       4-7       5-5       L1
5          ZAJ      5          11        0.313   1-2       4-9       3-7       W1
6          WAT    1          13        0.071   1-8       0-5       1-9       L9
Group B:
Pos      Team   W         L          Pct       Home  Road    L10      Strk
1          BKZ      9          1          0.900   1-1       8-0       9-1       W8
2          RED     6          3          0.667   4-2       2-1       6-3       L2
3          JSR       4          4          0.500   1-3       3-1       4-4       W1
4          MED    4          4          0.500   0-0       4-4       4-4       L1
5          VIN      3          4          0.429   3-4       0-0       3-4       L2
6          VOJ      1          5          0.167   1-4       0-1       1-5       L1
7          JEZ       1          7          0.125   0-4       1-3       1-7       W1
http://baseballua.com/2017/05/31/results-euro-interleague-baseball/ 

Austria announces Roster for U15 European Championship

The Austrian Baseball Federation released their roster for the U15 European Championship in Wiener Neustadt.
David Koerber, Markus Schiller and Manfred Heiser selected 16 players plus five substitutes. Club Diving Ducks is represented with six players (plus one).
Austria faces the Netherlands, Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic during first-round play.
Roster:
Amon Florian – Wr. Neustadt Diving Ducks
Bickel Moritz – Feldkirch Cardinals
Filarowski Lenny – Wr. Neustadt Diving Ducks
Fischer Elias – Vienna Wanderers
Fitz Phillip – Dornbirn Indians
Fürböck Brian – Baldham Boars (GER)
Harrer Max – Hard Bulls
Hoffmann Jan – Wr. Neustadt Diving Ducks
Kienberger Alexander – Wr. Neustadt Diving Ducks
Mariette Marcel – Kufstein Vikings
Mc Garry Eoghan – Wr. Neustadt Diving Ducks
Pförtner Benjamin – Vienna Wanderers
Ress Björn – Vienna Wanderers
Seidenberger Alex – Wr. Neustadt Diving Ducks
Taxacher David – Attnang-Puchheim Athletics
Werner Tobias – Vienna Wanderers
Coaches
David Körber
Markus Schiller
Manfred Heisler

Results German Baseball-Bundesliga May 24 to 28, 2017

28 games were played overall in the Baseball-Bundesliga during last week.
In the north the Bonn Capitals completed a four-game sweep over the Cologne Cardinals to remain on top of the standings. The Solingen Alligators follow after winning three of four against the Untouchables Paderborn.
In the south the Heidenheim Heidekoepfe ended their four-game losing streak with two wins over the Stuttgart Reds. They remain in first place, but only due to their better tiebreaker over defending champion Mainz Athletics. The A’s won all four games against the Bad Homburg Hornets. Also, the Mannheim Tornados celebrated four wins over the Saarlouis Hornets. The Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg and the Munich-Haar Disciples split their four-game set.

Standings:
1. Bundesliga Nord
#          Team                W        L            .pct
1          Bonn                 12        2          .857
2          Solingen           11         5          .688
3          Dohren              8          6          .571
4          Paderborn         7          7          .500
5          Hamburg           6          8          .429
6          Dortmund          5          9          .357
7          Köln                  1          13        .071
1. Bundesliga Süd
#          Team                W         L          .pct
1          Heidenheim     14        4          .778
2          Mainz               14        4          .778
3          Mannheim       13        5          .722
4          Haar                 11        7          .611
5          Stuttgart           8          10        .444
6          Regensburg      8          10        .444
7          Saarlouis          3          15        .167
8          Bad Homburg   1          17        .056

Assaf Lowengart in Czech Republic

Assaf Lowengart, 19, is a sportsman for baseball in the IDF and a member of the Israel Baseball Senior National Team.
In May, he traveled to Prague to play in the Tempo Titans baseball club, thanks to joint cooperation between Israel and Czech baseball.
What is the background to your trip to Czech Republic?
I heard about the opportunity from Tal Erel who had traveled to Czech Republic last year to play at the Tempo Titans baseball club in Prague for two months. I asked him about his experience and he highly recommended spending time there. So I spoke to Richard Kania, a Tempo coach and the coach of the Israel Senior National Team, and we planned for me to join the club for the month of May.
What are you doing in Czech Republic?
I joined the Tempo Titans, a team that plays in the Czech Extra league (the top league in Czech, comprised of 10 teams spread throughout the country. Each team plays the other five times and the top four teams meet in the playoffs and competes for the championship. The bottom four play each other and the lowest placed team drops a league.) In addition, I also play in two other Tempo teams. The Extraleague games take place on the weekends, and the other two teams play during the week. In addition, I have three practices per week.
What is the advantage of you playing in Prague?
I am practicing on a very high level. I play in league games on a high level as well. I’ve seen players who were professional in the past, and I am playing against them, batting against them, and this improves my game every day.
How have you been received in Prague?
They’re received me very well. The players are really nice. They immediately got me up to speed about the team and explained the routines to me. They also invite me to come and practice with them beyond the regular practice hours for the teams.
What are your plans for after you return home to Israel?
I plan on getting ready for the Senior National Team tournament – the European Championship B Pool taking place in Belgrade, Serbia in July. In addition, I am coaching the Under 12 Israel National Team that will be traveling to Italy in the summer, and we start our training camp soon.
Where do you see yourself in five year’s time?
In five year I hope to be finishing my college studies in the US and making it into the MLB draft.
http://baseballua.com/2017/05/31/assaf-lowengart-in-czech-republic/ 

Team UK (U10) ready to fly the flag at Prague SuperCup Tournament

The United Kingdom u10 coach-pitch baseball team have completed final preparations for their upcoming trip to the Czech Republic.
Players have been active in their club setting for the past three months, as well as attending Team UK practices at Finsbury Park for the last three bank holiday Monday’s.
Head Coach Josh Mills-Knutsen will have a squad of fourteen talented youngsters at his disposal as Team UK embark on their first-ever overseas tournament.
Now in its seventh year, the Super Cup tournament is organised by the Czech Institute for Baseball Development (IBD), and will see 24 teams from across Europe playing three days of tournament baseball at the Tempo Titans Complex in Prague.
Team UK flies out to the Czech Republic on Thursday 1 June, with three days of baseball action between Friday 2 June and Sunday 4 June.
In addition to the top teams from the Czech Republic they will be joining teams from countries such as Austria, Belarus, China, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia and Spain.
Team UK has been drawn in Group C, alongside the Belarus national team and four Czech Republic teams. In order to progress further in the tournament they will need to finish in the top two places in their group after the first couple of days’ play.
Team UK’s first game is against Klasik Frydek-Mistek from the Czech Republic at 10am (UK time) on Friday 2 June.

Tuesday 30 May 2017

Results Belgian BBG May 27 & 28, 2017

In the Belgian BBG the Deurne Spartans won both ends of a home and away series against the Royal Greys.
The Borgerhout Squirrels defeated the Brasschaat Braves on the road. The Mortsel Stars and Louvain La Neuve Phoenix split a doubleheader.
Results:
Saturday 27/05/2017

Mortsel Stars – Louvain La Neuve Phoenix 01-12
Brasschaat Braves – K. Borgerhout Squirrels 02-04
Deurne Spartans – Royal Greys 09-05
Mortsel Stars – Louvain La Neuve Phoenix 07-06
Brasschaat Braves – Borgerhout Squirrels 07-19
Sunday 28/05/2017
Royal Greys – K. Deurne Spartans 04-07
http://baseballua.com/2017/05/30/results-belgian-bbg-may-27-28-2017/ 

Dutch Hoofdklasse: Curacao Neptunus, L&D Amsterdam complete Sweeps

The Dutch Hoofdklasse closed its game day with three games.
Curacao Neptunus downed DSS 6-5. A solo home run by Ruar Verkerk was needed in the tenth inning to lift Curacao Neptunus to the win. Gianision Boekhoudt also went deep for Rotterdam.
L&D Amsterdam completed their three-game sweep against Pickles UVV with a 5-0 shutout. Robin Scheel and two relievers combined in a six-hitter. Patrick Bok highlighted Amsterdam’s offense with a two-run home run in the fifth. Zerzinho Croes had two hits, a run and a RBI for the Pirates. Gilian van Lith got charged with the loss.
The Hoofddorp Pioniers avoided their third loss against De Glaskoning Twins with a 14-9 slugfest. Both teams scored six runs in an inning, but in the end Hoofddorp had scored five more runs compared to the Twins. Mervin Gario had four hits for the Pioniers. Mark Smit drove in four. Chris Ge collected four RBI for the Twins. Melvin Perdue hit a home run.
Results:
Standings:
#          Team                           GW      W        G         V          MIN     Pnt       RV       RT
1          L&D Amsterdam         18        16        0          2          0          32        140       47
2          Curaçao Neptunus       18        13        1          4          0          27        147       62
3          HCAW                         18        10        0          8          0          20         94        69
4          Hoofddorp Pioniers     18        9          0          9          0          18         89        94
5          DSS                              17        6          0          11        0          12         83        146
6          Pickles UVV                 17        4          1          12        2          7          60        105
7          De Glaskoning Twins   18        3          0          15        0          6          70        160

http://baseballua.com/2017/05/30/dutch-hoofdklasse-curacao-neptunus-ld-amsterdam-complete-sweeps/ 


Results Swedish Elitserien

Three doubleheaders were played in the Swedish Elitserien. The Sölvesborg Firehawks and the Leksand Lumberjacks celebrated sweeps over the Stockholm Monarchs respective Sundsvall.
The Rättvik Butchers and Sundbyberg Heat split their twin bill. In game one Rättvik prevailed 14-13 in 12 innings. During the week the Academy had split two games against Sundsvall and Leksand.
Results:
Standings:



Dutch Hoofdklasse: De Glaskoning Twins win in 11 Innings

The Dutch Hoofdklasse continued with three games. The big victory was accomplished by the De Glaskoning Twins with a 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Hoofddorp Pioniers.
With another win the Twins can sweep the series. The Pioniers tied the game in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings, but a RBI single by Jamie Verheyleweghen two frames later lifted Oosterhout to the victory.
In the other games Curacao Neptunus Rotterdam blew by DSS 21-5, scoring 11 runs in the second inning alone. Dwayne Kemp and Gianison Boekhoudt combined for nine RBI. Stijn van der Meer scored four runs.
Also L&D Amsterdam beat Pickles UVV 8-2. A pair of three-run rallies in the first four innings provided the foundation for the road win. Danny Rombley went deep and drove in four runs for the Pirates.
http://baseballua.com/2017/05/30/dutch-hoofdklasse-de-glaskoning-twins-win-in-11-innings/ 

Ernesto Martinez signs with Milwaukee Brewers

The 17-year-old Ernesto Martinez has signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The graduate of the Baseball Academy in Toulouse becomes the sixth French player to sign a contract with a MLB organization after Rene Leveret, Joris Bert, Frederic Hanvi, Andy Paz and Alexandre Roy.
Martinez won the 2014 U15 Baseball World Cup with Cuba. One year later he joined the academy in Toulouse and played for the Templiers Senart in the Challenge de France. He played for France in the WBC Qualifier in Panama, the U18 European Championship and the European Championship 2016.
http://baseballua.com/2017/05/30/ernesto-martinez-signs-with-milwaukee-brewers/  

Results Swiss Nationalliga A May 27 & 28, 2017

In the Swiss Nationalliga A three doubleheaders were played this past weekend. On Saturday the Zurich Challengers blew out the Sissach Frogs.
On Sunday the Therwil Flyers celebrated lopsided wins over the Lucerne Eagles. The Zurich Barracudas and Bern Cardinals split their twin bill on Sunday.
Results:
Zürich Challengers -Sissach Frogs 19-4
Zürich Challengers -Sissach Frogs 20-0
Therwil Flyers -Luzern Eagles 23-3
Therwil Flyers -Luzern Eagles 15-2
Zürich Barracudas -Bern Cardinals 3-6
Zürich Barracudas -Bern Cardinals 15-4

Results Spanish Division de Honor May 27 & 28, 2017

In the Spanish Division de Honor CBS Sant Boi remains on top of the standings after week nine. Sant Boi beat San Inazio Bilbao 5-0 and 12-8 for their wins number 13 and 14.
The Tenerife Marlins have the same win total after victories against CB Viladecans, but they have four losses compared to two by Sant Boi. The Astros Valencia solidified third place in the standings with a sweep against CB Barcelona. CD Pamplona won the local derby against Baseball Navarra.

Challenge de France Templiers Senart claim French League Cup Title

The Templiers Senart has won the Challenge de France 2017. In the championship game on Sunday afternoon in Rouen they defeated the Montpellier Barracudas 4-2.
A two-run home run by Florian Peyrichou in the top of the fifth broke a 1-1 tie en route to the victory. Matthieu Brelle-Andrade pitched 8 1/3 innings of one-run ball for the win. Thomas Meley got charged with the loss.
While Montpellier reached the final undefeated, Senart lost their opening match against the Montigny Cougars on Thursday. However, they then beat the Savigny Lions and again Montigny to reach the semi-final, where they eliminated defending champion Rouen Huskies 9-4. Montpellier cruised past the Clermont-Ferrand Arvernes in the semis.
By winning the Challenge de France, the Templiers already have secured a ticket in next year’s European Cups. Senart has won the Challenge de France for the third time overall and the first since 2014 in Toulouse.

The 20th “Finkstonball” tournament in Attnang- Puhheim

The Trinity Sunday is coming soon. It means “Finkstonball” will be held in Attnang-Puhheim.
It will be the 20th time when teams will compete for the champion title. Baseball teams of the Austrian Baseball Federation (ABF) will meet on the field with the National Team.
Tournament is going to start on 2 June. “Attnang-Puchheim Athletics” and the National Team will play the first match. Moreover, the “Budapest Reds” team and “Whippets” will also play. Eight teams have already prepared for the competition. The name of the winner will be known in Sunday.
The “Finkstonball” tournament is considered to be an important event in European baseball life. Every year, this tournament gathers fans and teams from all over Europe where one can enjoy the game and support favorites. At the same time, the “Pfingstspektakel” festival will also take place.

Latest results of Austrian Baseball League

The six round of the Austrian Baseball League was held last Saturday. The “Metrostars “got two victories in the away game which was held in Attnang. There was also a match between “Vikings” and “Grasshoppers”.
The “Athletics” team twice defended the champions “Vienna Metrostars”. Alex Hilliard hit the ball out of the field and made the grand slam home-run with loaded bases during the last inning. Paul Astl played on the starter`s position for “Athletics” in the second game. The “Metrostars” got the second victory during the day and “Athletics” lost for the first time with the score 9:14.
One more doubleheader was held between “Hoppers” and “Vikings” (BLA league). The “Traiskirchnern” team and visiting team have risen from the second baseball league. Thus, it was apparently expected match to be spectacular. The teams led the game in turn during the first game. But Phillip Eckel made the crucial hit for the “Hoppers” and the team won with the score 17:16. Mack Boon from the “Vikings” team and JD Little from “Grasshoppers” met in the pitcher`s duel. The host of the field “Triskirchen Grasshoppers” got the victory with the score 8:4.

Monday 29 May 2017

Ukrainian Championship 2017, Major League

Division “A”
Teams
G
W
D
Stats
R
Standings
BioTexCom - KNTU
Kropyvnytskyi city
6
6
0
70-8
12
1
Zahidnyy Vohon
Rivne city
6
5
1
54-15
11
2
BioTexCom - SDUSHOR
Kropyvnytskyi city
6
1
5
21-42
7
3
Sokoly
Chernivtsi city
6
0
6
2-82
6
4
Division “B”
North Group



Teams
G
W
D
Stats
R
Standings
Vorony
Sumy city
2
2
0
36-9
4
1
East Vikings
Kharkiv
city
2
1
1
16-29
3
2
BC Poltava
Poltava region
2
0
2
12-26
2
3

South Group
Teams
G
W
D
Stats
R
Standings
West Side
Rivne city
2
1
1
19-18
3
1
Sea Devils
Odesa city
2
1
1
18-19
3
2
CCYSS – Komunarivets
Mykolaiv
city
0
0
0
-
0
-