By Bruce Baskin

The Mazatlan Venados have strengthened their bullpen for the upcoming Mexican Pacific League season by adding Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Leo Rosales to their roster.

A 29-year-old Los Angeles native, the right-handed Rosales was a 20th Round Padres draft pick in 2003 out of Cal State-Northridge but was sent to the Diamondbacks organization during the 2007 season for infielder Scott Hairston. He made his MLB debut with Arizona that year, and in three truncated seasons with the D-Backs has earned a 5-2 record with a 4.98 earned-run average in 74 appearances. Rosales pitched last winter for Hermosillo, going 3-1 with four saves and a 4.50 ERA.

Rosales becomes the fifth Venados import for 2010-11, joining Ruben Rivera, Jon Weber, Matt Clark and Elliott Johnson. He’s expected to be the team’s closer.

Bruce Baskin is the Editor/Producer at the BASEBALL MEXICO

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The game is truly becoming international, and it remains a way for kids to achieve a better life. This game can teach so much, and for some young kids in South Africa they are getting that chance. With baseball comes greater responsibilities like school, and through baseball they can be reached. It’s not only a great game, but a great tool to inspire kids to be great in other areas of life.

This is a touching look at baseball in South Africa from CNN.

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Lotte Giants slugger Lee Dae-ho finished the season winning the triple crown in the KBO. He finished the season with a batting average of .364, 44 home runs, and 133 RBIs. This was the second time that the slugger has won the triple crown. Lee did it first in 2006

Lee will lead the Lotte Giants in the KBO playoffs after finishing 4th in the season standings. The Giants will face the Doosan Bears in the best-of-5 first round. The winner of that series will go on to face the 2nd place Samsung Lions.

For more information on the Lotte Giants run at the KBO title, check out Matthew Dewoskin’s article in the magazine Busan Haps.

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The defending champion Therwil Flyers earned a return trip to the Swiss Finals with a victory over the Zurich Challengers in the semifinals. The victory in the semifinals sets up a rematch from last years final versus Bern.

The Flyers cruised to 2 victories in Games 3 and 4 winning by a combined score of 31 to 8.

Swiss Semifinals, Game 3:

(2-1) Therwil Flyers 16, Zurich Challengers 3

Box Score

The Flyers jumped out to a 4-0 lead after 3 innings and never looked back. With a 7-run 5th and a 5-run 6th, the Flyers put the game away. Lukas Croton went 7 strong innings for Therwil giving up 3 runs (2 earned), 5 hits, 3 walks, while striking out 2 to pick up the victory. Offensively Therwil pounded out 19 hits. Reto Siegel (4-6), Daniel Eichenberger (2-5), and Stefan Koller (3-5) all wend deep in the victory.

Swiss Semifinals, Game 4:

(3-1) Therwil Flyers 15, Zurich Challengers 5

Box Score

In Game 4, Therwil didn’t let up on the offensive end. The Flyers pounded out 16 hits en route to the victory and a trip back to the Finals. The Challengers started off good with a 4 run bottom of the 1st, but it didn’t take the Flyers long to catch up. Scoring 8 runs in the 3rd inning put the Flyers up 9-4, and they just continued to add runs as the game went on. The Challengers didn’t help themselves committing 5 errors and allowing 7 unearned runs. Chris Blackbee picked up the victory going 7 innings. Reto Siegal (4-7) and Stefan Koller (3-6) led the charge offensively again for Therwil.

Playoff Results:

Saturday, September 4: Embrach Mustangs 4, Bern Cardinals 3
Sunday, September 5: Bern Cardinals 5, Embrach Mustangs 2
Saturday, September 11: Bern Cardinals 7, Embrach Mustangs 6
Sunday, September 12:
Embrach Mustangs 7, Bern Cardinals 5
Zurich Challengers 6, Therwil Flyers 5

Saturday, September 18:
Bern Cardinals 4, Embrach Mustangs 0 (Cardinals win Series 3-2)
Therwil Flyers 14, Zurich Challengers 5 (Series tied 1-1)

Schedule Playoffs
Saturday, September 25: Therwil Flyers 16, Zurich Challengers 3
Sunday, September 26: Zurich Challengers 5, Therwil Flyers 15 (Flyers win Series 3-1)

Photo courtesy of Tino Keller/Therwil Flyers

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Swedish Finals, Game 3:

(1-2) Stockholm 6, Karlskoga Bats 7

Box Score

The Karlskoga Bats won Game 3 of the Finals 7-6 coming back from being down 4-2 late in the game. With a 4-run 7th inning, Karlskoga took the lead, and what looked like an insurance run in the 9th to go up 7-4 in the end proved critical. Olle Öijen and Stefan Fahlin both had 3 hits and 2 RBIs for Karlskoga to lead the way offensively. Eimantas Zickus (3-0) went the distance to pick up the win. Stockholm was led by Magnus Pilegård, Peter Johannessen, and Kevin Santiago offensively as all had 3 hits.

Swedish Finals, Game 4:

(2-2) Stockholm 7, Karlskoga Bats 0

Box Score

Stockholm bounced back in Game 4 with a 2-hit shutout by Joakim Claesson. Claesson (2-1) gave up only 1 walk in addition to the 2 hits while striking out 9. Magnus Pilegård led the way offensively going 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs on the day. Stockholm was also aided by 8 errors on the side of Karlskoga. Of the 7 Stockholm runs, only 1 was earned.

Swedish Finals, Game 5:

(2-3) Stockholm 2, Karlskoga Bats 3

Stockholm looked to make it a 3-peat, but Karlskoga would deny them winning 3-2 in the decisive Game 5. The bats quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back holding off Stockholm for their first title since 2007. Christoffer Johansson was named Most Valuable Player.

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Two teams have separated themselves in week 2 of the French playoffs. Rouen swept 3 games from Templiers Senart, outscoring them 34-1. This puts the Huskies at 3-0 in the round robin. Also with a sweep over the weekend was the Savigny Lions who took 3 games from the Montpellier Barracudas to improve their record to 5-1. In the playdowns, UC Paris took 2-of-3 from Stade Toulousain to improve their record to 7-23 on the season.

Playoff Results
September 18/19 Senart vs Savigny 4-15, 4-10, 5-4
(Savingny 2-1)

September 25/26 Savigny vs. Montpellier 5-1, 3-0, 5-4
September 25/26 Rouen vs Sénart 10-0, 15-0, 9-1

October 2/3 Savigny vs Rouen
October 2/3 Montpellier vs Sénart

October 9/10 Montpellier vs Rouen

Standings:

Rouen Huskies 3-0
Savigny Lions 5-1
Templiers Senart 1-5
Montpellier Barracudas 0-3
The Championship Finals France Elite will take place on 16/17 and 23/24 October 2010.

Play-down Results:

September 18/19 Montigny vs. PUC 9-3, 9-14, 12-16

September 25/26 PUC vs. Toulouse 4-10, 7-5, 6-5

October 2/3 Toulouse vs Montigny

Standings:

Stade Toulousain 10-17
Montigny Cougars 6-21
Paris UC 7-23

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The Athletics Attnang-Puchheim and the Schwaz Tigers both won their way into the finals of the Austrian Baseball League. The Athletics finished their sweep of the Union Kufstein Vikings on Saturday with a 9-8 comeback win. After winning the first two games easily, the Athletics had to come back from a 0-6 deficit.

In the other semifinal match, the Schwaz Tigers defeated the Vienna Wanderers 3 games to 1 to advance to face the Athletics in the finals. In Game 3 of the series, the Tigers scored 4 runs in the 7th inning to win 4-2. In Game 4, the Tigers cruised to a 11-5 victory en route to the finals.

The Finals will start on October 2nd in Schwaz.

Austrian Baseball League Playoff Results
Saturday, September 18:
Union Kufstein Vikings – Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 1-5
Union Kufstein Vikings – Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 1-7
Sunday, September 19:
Schwaz Tigers – Vienna Wanderers 3-7
Schwaz Tigers – Vienna Wanderers 17-3
Saturday, September 25:
Athletics Attnang-Puchheim – Union Kufstein Vikings 9-8
Vienna Wanderers – Schwaz Tigers 2-4
Vienna Wanderers – Schwaz Tigers 5-11
(Athletics win Series 3-0, Tigers win Series 3-1)

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UGF Fortitudo Bologna 2, Heidenheim Heidekoepfe 1 (10)

In what has to be one of the most memorable and exciting games in recent memory, UGF Bologna defeated Heidenheim 2-1 in 10 innings. Both starters pitched outstanding games. Bologna starter Cody Cillo went 8 innings giving up 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Markus Winkler pitched 9 2/3 innings before giving up the winning run, but it took the game going into extra innings and the IBAF Extra-Inning Tiebreaker for either team to score.

Heidenheim got on the board first with a single run in the top of the 10th on a Chris Beck RBI single. They failed to capitalize any more even after loading the bases with no outs. Victor Moreno came in and shut the door on Heidenheim to earn the win.

The bottom half of the inning started off promising for the defensive team, and then the defense would give away the lead. With runners at 1st and 2nd and 1 out, Jairo Ramos Gizzi hit a ground ball to first base. First baseman Robert Gruber forced the runner at 2nd, but the throw back to first, by shortshop Ryan Lilly, for the game ending double play go away. This allowed the tying run to score, and Bologna wasn’t finished. After a walk to Eddy Garabito, Juan Angrisano singled in the game winning run.

T&A San Marino 3, Telemarket Rimini 4

In the 3rd place game, Rimini defeated San Marino 4-3. Trailing 3-1 in the 7th inning, Rimini came back to score 3 runs to take the lead and win the game. Mario Chiarini lead the charge going 4-for-5 with an RBI double in the 7th inning. Maximiliano De Biase led the offensive attack for San Marino going 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 doubles.

Photo courtesy of Ferrini/FIBS

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The European Champions Cup 2010 Final Four is being held this weekend in Barcelona. Competing are 3 Italian teams (UGF Bologna, T&A San Marino and Telemarket Rimini) and 1 German squad (Heidenheim Heidekoepfe).

Bologna and Heidenheim qualified by finishing 1-2 in the European Cup Tournament this summer in Brno. Rimini and San Marino finished 1-2 in the European Cup Tournament in Rotterdam to qualify. The Final Four shapes up with the winners of the earlier tournaments taking on the runner ups as Bologna takes on San Marino and Rimini faces off with Heidenheim.

UGF Bologna 3, T&A San Marino 2

Game 1 of the tournament featured UGF Bologna, fresh off a Coppa Italia victory, squaring off with T&A San Marino. Bologna continued their winning ways with a 3-2 victory over San Marino. Jesus Matos went 7 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 12 to pick up the victory. Victor Morena finished out the game for the save.

San Marino got on the board first with a single run in the top of the 4th inning on a double to left by Ardley Jansen. Bologna quickly tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Juan Carlos Infante started the inning off with walk and was advanced to 3rd on a single. With 1 out, Eddy Garabito tied the game with a sacrifice fly to right field. The game wouldn’t stay tied for long.

In the bottom of the 5th, Bologna went on top for good. Francesco Alaimo got the inning going with a walk. Riccardo Fornasari quickly followed with a bunt single to first base. After a Livinston Santaniello ground out, the runners moved up to 2nd and 3rd. Infante was then intentionally walked to set up the double play. So with 1 out and the bases loaded, up stepped the hero of the day Daniele Malengo with the big 2-run single to right field to put Bologna up for good.

San Marino would try to make a late inning comeback, but the Bologna pitching staff would not allow it. San Marino got 1 run in the top of the 8th on a Giovanni Pantaleoni RBI single, but it would not be enough as Bologna would advance.

Heidenheim Heidekopf 4, Telemarket Rimini 1

Game 2 would feature the lone non-Italian team, Heidenheim. Currently trailing in the German Series 0-2, Heidenheim was looking for a win and some momentum. That got just that. With a 4-1 victory over Rimini, Heidenheim advanced to the finals to face Bologna.

Heidenheim got a great outing from starter Martin Dewald. Dewald went the distance giving up only 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 5 and walking 4. His counterpart Enorbel Marquez pitched well goign 8 innings giving up 4 runs ( 3 earned), but it wasn’t enough.

Heidenheim was led offensively by Matt Pali who went 2-for-4 with a homerun, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs. Catcher Simon Guehring added 2 hits and scored a run for Heidenheim in the victory. Laidel Chapelli collected 2 of the 4 hits for Rimini in the losing cause.

This sets up a final match of Heidenheim against Bologna with San Marino facing off against Rimini for the consolation game.

We will bring you the results of the finals and consolation tomorrow.

Photo courtesy of Ferrini/FIBS

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Today was the last day of the regular season for the KBO, but the playoff matches have been set for awhile. The playoffs in Korea run a little different than you might be used to. With eight teams in the league, four teams advance to the playoff round. However, they all do not play in the first round. The playoffs are set up as follows:

Semi-playoff: 3rd vs. 4th; best 3 out of 5 games
Playoff: 2nd vs. winner Semi-playoff; best 3 out of 5 games
Korean Series: 1st vs. winner Playoff; best 4 out of 7 games

So the first round will be the Lotte Giants vs. the Doosan Bears. Games 1,2, and possibly 5 will be held in Seoul at Jamsil stadium, home of the Bears. Games 3 and possibly 4 will be held in Busan at Sajik Stadium, home of the Giants.

The winner of this series will face the Samsung Lions for a chance to play in the Korean Series vs. the SK Wyverns.

KBO Playoffs
Wednesday September 29th – Lotte @ Doosan
Thursday September 30th – Lotte @ Doosan
Saturday October 2nd – Doosan @ Lotte
*Sunday October 3rd – Doosan @ Lotte
*Tuesday October 5th – Lotte @ Doosan
*if necessary

Thursday October 7th – Winner Doosan/Lotte @ Samsung Lions
Friday October 8th – Winner Doosan/Lotte @ Samsung Lions
Sunday October 10th – Samsung Lions @ Winner Doosan/Lotte
*Monday October 11th – Samsung Lions @ Winner Doosan/Lotte
*Wednesday October 13th – Winner Doosan/Lotte @ Samsung Lions

Korean Series starts October 15th.

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By Bruce Baskin

The 25-year-old Clark was a Pittsburgh draft pick out of LSU, where he tied for the NCAA lead in homers with 17 in 2008, but was dealt to the Padres before ever playing a game in the Pirates’ system. He split the 2009 season playing for the Padres’ Class A affiliates in Fort Wayne and Lake Elsinore, belting 25 homers and driving in 101 runs over 131 games, then spent this season with San Antonio of the Class AA Texas League, where he hit .269 with 28 homers and 97 RBIs. MadFriars.com’s Denis Savage was quoted in Scout.com as saying the 6’5” 235-pound Clark has “light-tower power.”

Bruce Baskin is the Editor/Producer at the BASEBALL MEXICO website.

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USA Baseball Announces Final Roster for Pan American Qualifying Team

DURHAM, N.C. — USA Baseball has made three changes to its Pan American Qualifying Team roster and has learned who it will face in the first round of the COPABE Pan American Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico.

Brian Bocock, Brian Jeroloman and Royce Ring have been replaced on the roster by Andrew Romine, Erik Kratz and Nick Hill. Romine and Kratz will be making their first appearance in a Team USA uniform, while Hill is a veteran of the 2006 Collegiate National Team.

The team is comprised of 24 Minor League players not currently on Major League 40-man rosters. The club includes seven USA Baseball alums (Brian Barden, Todd Frazier, Hill, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Jordan Pacheco, and Todd Redmond), four 2010 All-Star XM Futures Game participants (Hosmer, Brett Jackson, Moustakas, and Mike Trout), and four players on Baseball America’s 2010 Mid-Season Top-25 Prospects list (Hosmer, Mike Montgomery, Moustakas, and Trout). The Kansas City Royals led all Major League teams with six players on the roster – a record for the most players from one organization on a USA Baseball professional team.

COPABE has also released the preliminary schedule for the Pan Am Qualifier. Team USA is a member of Group A, and it will begin opening round play against Panama on Oct. 1, at 1:00 p.m. EDT, at Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

The U.S. team will report to Cary, N.C. on Friday for a series of practices and games against Canada and Puerto Rico before departing for San Juan on Sept. 29.

Source: Press Release USA Baseball

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UGF Fortitudo Bologna wasn’t able to bring home the big prize of the Italian League Championship, but they won the next best thing in the Coppa Italia. It was their 7th Coppa Italia in team history.

After being defeated by Parma, Bologna took on Danesi Nettuno in a best-of-three series. The series didn’t start of great for Bologna as Nettuno took Game 1 in 10 innings 4-3. Bologna bounced back quickly by winning Game 2 in 8 innings under the mercy rule 10-0. In Game 3 Bologna continued its winning ways taking down Nettuno 5-2.

With the victory in the Italian Cup, Bologna earns its way into the 2011 European Tournament of Champions.

Photo courtesy of Ferrini/FIBS

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24^th European Baseball Coaching Clinic set for December 11-12 in Holland

Experienced coaches will share their knowledge at the 24th European Baseball Coaching Clinic in Rotterdam, Holland on December 11-12, with 18 sessions on fundamentals of throwing, hitting, pitching, catching, outfield play, situational hitting, teamforming, practice organisation, coaching and coaching third base.

Participants will receive an Official Certificate at the end of the course.

Logistics

Hotel: The clinic will be held in the Novotel Brainpark in Rotterdam, a comfortable and modern hotel situated only 10 minutes from downtown Rotterdam. The price for a shared double room is 46 euros per person per night and 70 euros for a single room. Breakfast buffet is included.

Travel: Participants can travel to Rotterdam by car, train or plane, with Easyjet flying to Rotterdam from different locations in Europe Travelling to Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport is also possible. The train ride from Amsterdam to Rotterdam takes 25 minutes and costs 20 euros for the round trip.

Clinic Fee: Registration fee for the clinic is 149 euros, including clinic programme, lunch and dinner on Saturday, lunch on Sunday, coffee and tea and a Happy Hour on Saturday evening.

Registration: You can register for the clinic via the official website (www.europeancoachclinic.nl) or by sending an email to harumi.ueda@knbsb.nl. For more information or answers to questions, e-mail: gijs.selderijk@knbsb.nl.

Clinic Leader

JIM JONES has over 45 years of baseball coaching experience at the youth, high school, college, semi-pro and international level. Jim served as assistant coach at Stanford University before becoming Head Coach at the University of Wyoming and then St Mary’s College in California. He is presently retired from teaching and serves as President of International Sports Group Inc. Jim was the European Baseball Coaching Clinic leader in 2001, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and he has helped the development of baseball in the Czech Republic, France, Spain, Portugal, Slovakia and Holland.

Speakers

REGGIE SMITH played for 17 years in the Major Leagues for the Red Sox, Dodgers, Cardinals and Giants. During his seven years with Boston Red Sox he hit 149 home runs and drove in 536 runs, both team records for a switch hitter. He hit 314 career home runs, won a Gold Glove as an outfielder, appeared in seven All-Star Games and played in four World Series, winning in 1981. Reggie was voted to the Dodgers’ All-Time Best Team by the fans in 2008. After retiring, Reggie became the Minor League Coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers and later became the Dodgers’ hitting instructor and first base coach. Reggie was named the hitting instructor for the United States baseball team for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where Team USA won Gold. More recently, Reggie was a Team USA coach for the 2007 Baseball World Cup, the 2008 Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

ANDY MCKAY begins his 13th year as Head Coach and 18th season overall as a coach at Sacramento Community College. In Andy’s first season as the Panthers’ skipper in 1999, his team were California State Champions and he has won the Bay Valley Conference title five times. Before joining the SCC coaching staff, Andy spent one year as a player/coach at the University of Tampa, where he helped guide the Spartans to the Division II National Championship. Coach McKay spends the majority of his time on the field working with his pitching staff and catchers.

STEVE JANSSEN started his coaching career in Belgium as the Head Coach for the national team. From 2000-2006 he was the pitching coach for DOOR Neptunus in Holland, helping the team win national titles in 2003-2005. From 2002-2005, Steve was the pitching coach for the Dutch national team. In 2006, he was an Honorary Coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ AAA team, in 2007 he became Technical Director for the Belgian Baseball Federation and in 2008 he was Head Coach for Sparta/Feyenoord. In 2009, Steve served as Head Coach for DOOR Neptunus as the team won its first title since 2005. Steve won the EBCA Coach of the Year Award and Dutch Coach of the Year Award in 2009 and is now the pitching coach for the Dutch National Team.

CHARLIE URBANUS played 131 games for the Dutch National Team between 1972 and 1986 and as a youth player won the Roel de Mon Award in 1970 and the Ron Fraser Award in 1971. Charlie won club championships in 1979, 1980 and 1986 with Amstel Tijgers. He was Pitcher of the Year in 1973, 1975 and 1980, won the league batting title in 1979 and 1981 and was MVP of the league in 1973 and 1986. As a coach of DOOR Neptunus, Charlie was named Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1993 after championships in both years. In 1993 he won the European Cup II and in 1994 the European Cup I, and from 1989 until 1991 he was the pitching coach for the Dutch National Team. Charlie coached the Dutch Olympic team to a fifth place finish at the Sydney Olympics and in 1997 he was selected for the Dutch Hall of Fame. After coaching Amsterdam Pirates teams for 10 years, he became Head Coach of L&D Amsterdam in 2010.

BRIAN FARLEY played for the St Louis Cardinals as a pitcher at AA level. He also played for teams in both Australia and the Netherlands and in the Netherlands managed Twins Oosterhout and HCAW Bussum. With HCAW, he won the national title in 1998 and the European Cup in 2000 and was honoured as Coach of the Year in 1998. Brian was the pitching coach for the Dutch National Team in 1997 and from 2000-2002 and 2005-2008 and coached the team towards Olympic Games in Sydney and Beijing, World Championships in 2005 and 2007, the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and the Intercontinental Cup that same year. Since 2009, Brian has been a talent coach for the Dutch Federation and field manager for the Dutch Junior Team.

ROBERT EENHOORN is a former player with the Yankees and Angels. He played for the Netherlands in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and in 2000 in Sydney. Robert managed DOOR Neptunus in 1999 and 2001 and was honoured as Coach of the Year in both years. He managed the Netherlands to Gold Medals at the 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 European Championships and was the Team Manager at the Olympic Games in Athens and Beijing. Under his direction, the Dutch team finished fourth in the Baseball World Cup in 2005 in Holland and 2007 in Taiwan and won a Silver Medal at the Intercontinental Cup in 2006 in Taiwan. As of 2009, Robert has been Technical Manager for Dutch national teams.

Source: BaseballSoftballUK.com

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L&D Amsterdam Pirates 2, DOOR Neptunus 5

NEP 001 120 100  5 15 2
AMS 020 000 000  2  1 2

DOOR Neptunus defeated L&D Amsterdam 5-2 to win the 2010 Dutch Championship behind Diegomar Markwell and his 1 hit complete game. This was the 13th title for the DOOR Neptunus franchise the most in the history of baseball in Holland. This 13th title surpasses the 12 of the Haarlem Nicols who stand firmly in 2nd place in number of titles won.

For the 3rd time in the series, DOOR came from behind to defeat the Pirates. This time Amsterdam went up early 2-0 after 2 innings, but Markwell would not allow another hit in the game shutting down the Pirates offense the rest of the way. DOOR bounced back with a single run in the 3rd and tied the game in the 4th with another run. In the 5th DOOR would take the lead for good with 2 runs when Jeffrrey Arends had a 2 run double to put Neptunus up for good. They would tack on 1 more run in the 7th on Dwayne Kemp’s RBI single.

Australian pitcher Dushan Ruzic of Neptunus was the series MVP with 2 wins and 1 save in his 9 scoreless innings of relief. Over those 9 innings, Ruzic allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 10 Pirate hitters.

Photo courtesy of Eye of The Tiger Photoproductions BV

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Karlskoga Bats 2, Stockholm 6

STO 230 000 001  6 10 0
KAR 000 000 110  2  7 5

Stockholm, the defending Swedish champion, started strong by scoring five runs in the first two innings on their way to a 6-2 victory over the Karlskoga Bats in Game 1 of the Swedish Finals. Setting the table was lead off hitter Liam Hopkins who scored three times. Damon Lessler went 3-for-5 with a RBI. The Bats could not get going offensively score 2 runs on 7 hits and faired even worse in the field committing 5 errors. Jakob Claesson (W 2-0) picked up his second win of the postseason. He allowed only 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 8 innings.

Karlskoga Bats 5, Stockholm 3

STO 000 110 100  3 9 3
KAR 000 002 030  5 9 1

The Karlskoga Bats rebounded from the Game 1 loss to win 5-3 on Sunday in Game 2 to even the best-of-five championship series. The Bats were down twice but each time found a way to fight back and find a way to win. Down 2-0 after 5 innings, Karlskoga bounced back in the 6th inning with a Christoffer Johansson 2-run homerun. Stockholm then retook the lead in the next half inning, but again Karlskoga came roaring back. Karlskoga scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to win going away 5-3. Eimantas Zickus (W 2-0) went the distance allowing 9 hits, 3 runs and 3 walks while tossing a complete game victory striking out 9 along the way.

Swedish Finals Schedule:
Saturday, September 25:
13:00 Stockholm – Karlskoga Bats
16:00 Stockholm – Karlskoga Bats
Sunday, September 26:
*13:00 Stockholm – Karlskoga Bats
*if necessary

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For a sixth year in a row, the Bern Cardinals are in the Swiss Baseball Finals after defeating the Embrach Mustangs 4-0 in game 5 of the semifinals. Tobias Imboden shut down the Mustangs to the tune of 1 hit over 9 innings leading the Cardinals to the finals. Bern will now take on the winner of the Therwil Flyers – Zurich Challengers series for the Swiss Baseball Championship.

In the other semifinal match, the defending champion Therwil Flyers are tied with the Zurich Challengers at 1 game apiece. After a comeback win in the bottom of the 9th inning in Game 1, Zurich looked to continue their winning ways in Game 2 of the series. The Flyers, and their patience at the plate, had something else in mind however. After the Challengers took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning, the Flyers came back with 6 runs of their own. The Flyers drew 5 straight walks at one point plating 2 runs, but they were not done there. Catcher JB Tucker had the big blow of the game with a 3-run home run sparking the Flyers en route to a 14-5 victory.

The Challengers tried a comeback in the 4th inning down 7-1 when a 2 out, 2 RBI double by Ueli Von Burg made the score 7-4 as the Challengers got 3 runs in the inning. Flyers starter Chris Blackbee settled down the rest of the way allowing only 1 more run as he went the distance for the win. Daniel Eichenberger was a double shy of the cycle after going 3-6, and Reto Siegel went 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI to lead the Flyers on offense.

Playoff Results:

Saturday, September 4: Embrach Mustangs 4, Bern Cardinals 3
Sunday, September 5: Bern Cardinals 5, Embrach Mustangs 2
Saturday, September 11: Bern Cardinals 7, Embrach Mustangs 6
Sunday, September 12:
Embrach Mustangs 7, Bern Cardinals 5
Zurich Challengers 6, Therwil Flyers 5

Saturday, September 18:
Bern Cardinals 4, Embrach Mustangs 0 (Cardinals win Series 3-2)
Therwil Flyers 14, Zurich Challengers 5 (Series tied 1-1)

Schedule Playoffs
Saturday, September 25: Therwil Flyers – Zurich Challengers
Sunday, September 26: Zurich Challengers – Therwil Flyers
*Saturday, October 2: Therwil Flyers – Zurich Challengers
*if necessary

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Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg 7, Heidenheim Heidekoepfe 6

HEI 000 100 401  6 9 2
REG 230 100 001  7 8 1

Regensburg blew a 6-1 lead, but managed to win on a 9th inning error by Heidenheim third sacker Andy Janzen in front of 1,377 spectators.

Rebensburg jumped out to an early lead scoring 2 runs in the 1st and 3 runs in the 2nd inning to give them a commanding 5-0 lead. Heidenheim wouldn’t go quietly though. Scoring a run in the 4th, 4 runs in the 7th, and 1 run in the 9th Heidenheim came back to tie the game at 6. The game was tied on a 2-out clutch hit by former Regensburg player Michael Weigl in the top of the 9th inning.

The tie was short lived however, as in the bottom of the 9th Janzen’s error on a Klaus Hopfensperger ground ball allowed the winning run to score. The play of the game was turned in by Legionaere Rodney Gessmann who robbed Janzen of a 2-run home run earlier in the game. Matt Pali, for Heidenheim, and Klaus Hopfensperger, for Regensburg, both hit home runs.

Heidenheim will look to extend the series in game 3, or their season will be over.

10/02 Heidenheim Heidekoepfe – Buchbinder Legionnaires Regensburg
*10/03 Heidenheim Heidekoepfe – Buchbinder Legionnaires Regensburg
*09/10 Buchbinder Legionnaires Regensburg – Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
* If necessary

Photos courtesy Gregor Eisenhuth/Eisenhuth-Photographie

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Solingen Alligators 8, Olimpija Karlovac 0

Game 3 of the EC Playoff saw Solingen Alligators defteat Olimpija Karlovac 8-0. Dominik Wulf went 7 strong innings giving up only 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4 en route to the victory. Wulf also went 3-for-4 at the plate with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, and 1 run. The Alligators kept the offense going in game 2 of the day.

Solingen Alligators 16, Olimpija Karlovac 0

Game 4 of the EC Playoff got out of hand early as Solingen scored 6 runs in the top of the first to go up big early. Solingen would not stop there. They scored 4 more runs in the 2nd and 6 runs in the 4th to end the game early after 5 innings. Karlovac would commit 3 errors and allow 4 unearned runs, but it wouldn’t matter. Solingen pounded out 12 hits in the triumph. Moritz Buttgereit went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs. Dustin Hughes led the way going 2-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBIs. Sebastian Bernards went the distance for Solingen earning the win while only giving up 2 hits.

Solingen will now take on Rouen on Sunday to determine the winner of the Playoff. Both teams head into Sunday 2-0. The team with the best record in the playoff will secure a spot in the A-Pool for their federation. Olimpija Karlovac finished the Playoff 0-4.

European Cup Playoff Brno

In Game 1, North Stars Moscow defeated Technika Brno 6-2 on Saturday. Moscow starter Alexander Toropov went 5 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits but did not factor in the decision. Nikolay Lobanov pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief to pick up the victory. Ryan Murphy Lee led the way offensively going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and 2 RBI.

Games 2, and possibly 3, will be played on Sunday afternoon.

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Former first round-picks help Rainiers to title.

Dustin Ackley drew a walk in the 11th inning of Game 3 of the PCL Finals to start a 4-run rally leading Tacoma past Memphis 10-6. Tied 6-6, Ackley drew a walk and was followed by Greg Halman and Matt Mangini singles to break the tie. The bases were then loaded when David Winfree was hit by a pitch. Then Mike Carp extended the lead to 2 with an RBI single. Justin Smoak, a former first-round pick by Texas, capped the scoring with a 2-run single to end the scoring.

This is the first title since 2001 for Tacoma when they were crowned co-champions with New Orleans Zephyrs after the 9/11 attacks.

The entire championship was played in Memphis as Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium was undergoing renovations. This was only one of several things the Rainiers had to overcome during the course of the season. Tacoma finished 13-15 down the stretch, but they turned it around during the playoffs under interim manager, hitting coach Jose Castro. Castro took over after skipper Daren Brown was promoted to interim manager of the parent club Seattle Mariners.

Tacoma will now play in the Triple-A National Baseball Championship against the International League winner Columbus Clippers. The game will take place September 21 in Oklahoma City.

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Quebec 6, Pittsfield 1 (Quebec wins the championship, 3-1)

The Quebec Capitales scored two runs in the first inning and three more in the third to take a 5-0 lead and would cruise from there to a 6-1 victory and win their second consecutive Can-Am League championship. RF Sebastien Boucherr (Pictured) was the star for Quebec tonight as he went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, two runs scored, two home runs and five RBIs. Capitales SS Ivan Naccarata also chipped in with three hits, scored two runs and drove in one. Quebec starting pitcher Michel Simard notched his second win of the postseason going seven innings allowing only an earned run on three hits with five strikeouts.

Source: CanAmLeague.com

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Buchbinder Leionaere Regensburg 2, Heidenheim Heidekoepfe 0

Saturday at Armin-Wolf-Arena in front of 934 fans, Regensburg took game 1 against Heidenheim 2 to 0. Pitcher Philip Hoffschild threw a 2-hit shutout to lead the Legionnaires to victory. Hoffschild only faced 27 batters in route to the victory. He gave up only 2 hits, both to John Schäffler, and not a single walk. On the offensive side for Regensberg, Petr Cech went 4-for-4 for Regensburg. The Legionnaire scored a single run in the 3rd and 7th innings to win Game 1.

Game 2 will be Sunday afternoon again at Armin-Wold-Arena.

09/19 Buchbinder Legionnaires Regensburg – Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
10/02 Heidenheim Heidekoepfe – Buchbinder Legionnaires Regensburg
*10/03 Heidenheim Heidekoepfe – Buchbinder Legionnaires Regensburg
*09/10 Buchbinder Legionnaires Regensburg – Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
* If necessary

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By Bruce Baskin

The 2010 Mexican League Rookie of the Year is on the radar of two major league organizations. Hector Velazquez threw 25 pitches for scouts from the Texas Rangers on September 14 while attending training camp for the Obregon Yaquis, for whom Velazquez is slated to pitch this winter. The San Francisco Giants are also said to be interested in the 22-year-old right-hander from Sonora.

Velazquez began the Liga season in March as a reliever for the Campeche Piratas, but joined the starting rotation as the season progressed. He finished with a 6-4 record and came in second to Chihuahua’s Mac Suzuki with a 2.89 ERA and losing just two of his last nine starts.

After his workout for the Rangers, Velazquez said, “I felt well…during the session I worked straight, speed to change to slider to curve.” He added, “What follows is to give the maximum this winter and see if there is an invitation to a major league camp next year.”

Bruce Baskin is the Editor/Producer at the BASEBALL MEXICO website.

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Rouen Huskies 8, Olimpija Karlovac 4

OLI 002 100 100  4 12 1
ROU 100 300 04X  8 12 5

The Rouen Huskies started off with a bang in the European Cup Playoff on Friday sweeping a double header from Olimpija Karlovac. They will play Saturday vs Solingen Alligators for a chance to secure their spot in the 2011 European Cups. Game 1 saw Olimpija go up early on Rouen 3-1. Rouen got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, but Olimpija came roaring back in the 3rd with 2 runs, 1 was unearned. Rouen would take the lead 4-3 in the bottom of the 4th scoring 3 runs on 5 hits.

The game would g into the 8th tied at 4. Then Rouen would blow the game open with 4 runs. Aaron Hornostaj went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored to lead the way for Rouen. Keino Perez chipped in with 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 RBI, and 3 innings of solid relief to pick up the win. Nikola Sertic went 4-for-5 for Olimpija as they fell up short in game 1.

Olimpija Karlovac 15, Rouen Huskies 1 (7)

ROU 002 571 0  15 18 3
OLI 001 000 0   1  4 3

Game 2 didn’t go smoothly for Olimpija either. The game was close at 2-1 until the 4th inning when Rouen took a big lead scoring 5 runs on 5 hits. Then they blew the game open in the 5th inning as they scored 7 runs on 5 hits. The Olimpija defense didn’t give the pitching staff much help committing 3 errors and allowing 6 unearned runs in total. Joris Bert, David Gauthier, and Luc Piquet all had 3 hits to lead the attack for Rouen with Piquet and Gauthier each having 3 RBIs. In all, 7 players had a multi-hit game as Rouen pounded out 18 hits on the day.

European Cup Playoff Rouen Schedule:

Saturday, September 18:

12:00 Solingen Alligators – Loser of Friday Games
15:00 Loser of Friday Games – Solingen Alligators

Sunday, September 19:
11:00 Winner Friday Games – Solingen Alligators
14:00 Solingen Alligators – Winner Friday Games

European Cup Playoff Brno Schedule:

Saturday, September 18:
Technika Brno – North Stars Moscow
Sunday, September 19:
North Stars Moscow – Technika Brno
*Technika Brno – North Stars Moscow
*if necessary

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