Bericht von: Roland EidherrVIKINGS victimized by poor defense
Poor defense and pitching let down the SU Kufstein VIKINGS in their season opener against the Metrostars in Vienna last weekend. Unnecessary errors in the infield and unusual wildness by Bernie Eidherr and Werner Harrasser destroyed stellar efforts by Michael Chwalla and Markus Wurnig, who both showed strong outings on the mound for Kufstein. In a much-anticipated showdown with the new-founded team that is the result of a merger between Vienna Lions and Bulldogs, only the offense of the Vikes lived up to its expectations, producing numerous hits, even against American coach and experienced reliever Tim Patrick, a nemesis of old of the Vikings when pitching. The only Metrostars pitcher giving the Vikes a headache was Lukas Schneider, who stayed perfect for 5 innings before tiring and giving up a couple of hits and runs. Nevertheless coach Frank Gruber was not disappointed about the performance of his team as some players were missing and only two weeks of outdoor practice had taken place before due to the usual weather conditions in Tyrol in spring. On the other side the Metrostars showed a solid defensive effort that protected a steady offense, highlighted by a 3rd inning homerun of Heinz Amadei, the first HR hit with wooden bats in the Austrian Baseball League.
Most likely it will take the team from Kufstein another 2-3 weeks before they can regain their usual form on the field which will make next Saturday’s double-header against the strong Wr. Neustadt Diving Ducks a tough one. Though all 4 games against that team were won in 2001 the new Ducks can hardly be compared to the team they were last year as they have shown with an impressive sweep over reigning champions Hard Bulls last Saturday.
In the meanwhile the Vikings will have to focus on revamping their defense to become more competitive. The team is in good spirits and confident that this will happen with some time and there are no signs of panic after the 0-2 start into the season. The Vikes can promise their passionate fans that at their home-opener against the Wanderers in two weeks they will be ready to provide them with what they will come looking for and the Green Machine will start the engine...
in Wien, 11.00 Uhr
| GAME 1 |
|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
R | H | E |
| SU Kufstein VIKINGS | |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
10 | 15 | 5 |
| Vienna METROSTARS | |
0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | x | |
12 | 15 | 9 |
in Wien, 14.00 Uhr
| GAME 2 |
|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
R | H | E |
| SU Kufstein VIKINGS | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
7 | 7 | 5 |
| Vienna METROSTARS | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | x | |
10 | 9 | 1 |
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