An intra-division week helped Dornbirn and Attnang-Puchheim get back on the winning track, while the first Vienna derby of the year resulted in a new No 2 team in the East. Traiskirchen made it a sweep in all four series with a thumping of Schwechat, which had looked much improved in its last outing.
Schwechat Blue Bats at Traiskirchen Grasshoppers (6-16, 6-17)
Phenom Tobias Kiefer was unavailable due to illness, but Grasshoppers had no trouble dispatching Schwechat in a Saturday twinbill. With a total of 33 runs and 30 hits in 14 innings, the offensive delivered yet another exclamation point in a dominant season. In Game One, Philipp Eckel blasted two round-trippers in the onslaught.
Schwechat was able to plate two runs in the first inning of the second game, but the Grasshoppers’ offensive produced four runs as an immediate answer. In the second inning the hosts moved away to 8-2 on another dinger by Eckel. Eckel leads Austria with six home runs (as well in average, slugging, runs, and walks), and the sixth of those longballs would be more than enough in the 17-6 romp.
Hard Bulls at Attnang-Puchheim ASAK Athletics (5-9, 0-2)
Florian Wilhelm dominated for 7.1 innings in the opener and Raphael Mayr knocked four hits as the ASAK Athletics withstood a late rally from the visiting Bulls. In Game Two, Jimmy Jensen was unstoppable for Attnang-Puchheim, punching out 12 and scattering five hits in the shutout. In the first four innings, though, former Los Angeles Dodgers’ farmhand Sven Schuller proved a worth foe. The newly signed right-hander, who was pitching in Double-A less than two years ago, allowed only two hits and a walk. He struck out four in an abbreviated start as he gets up to speed.
It took most of the game for the home side to get on the board, but Mayr once again led the way, ripping a solo shot in the seventh before Jensen drove in a second marker himself an inning later. The insurance was unnecessary for Jensen (3-2) as A-P started a winning streak after four straight losses. “Those were two hard-earned games,” remarked Head Coach Andreas Lastinger afterwards.
Vienna Wanderers at Vienna MetroStars (2-3, 5-6)
The Wanderers had a seven-game winning streak coming into the weekend’s best matchup, and the quality of the capital’s two clubs shone through in a pair of nail-biting games. In the first game, the MetroStars took the lead early on, with Peter Ferak making the biggest contribution with two sac-flies, while the Wanderers were initially able to hold out with RBI-singles from Dominik Talir and Fabian Hirnschal. But Jakob Simonsen was in top form as the Stars’ starter and kept the tying run on second base in the ninth inning to win a complete game.
In the second game, Wanderers’ pitcher Christian Tomisch put his stamp on the game, starting with 5.2 perfect innings before conceding his first safety. A home run from Claus Seiser in the eighth inning would get the MetroStars on the board, but the Wanderers appeared to be cruising with a 5-0 lead into the penultimate frame. The recipe was similar to Game One, with runs from a double by Talir and RBIs from Hirnschal and Felix Zimmerle.
But the Wanderers’ bullpen could not preserve the 5-1 margin to the finish. Bases loaded with no out quickly came about in the final frame, and the MetroStars took advantage. The game suddenly switched to slow motion, and walk after walk led to a tie ballgame, with a single and an Alex Hilliard sacrifice fly producing the winning run. Tomsich had a no decision despite eight one-run innings.
Feldkirch Cardinals at Dornbirn Indians (0-17, 0-8)
Dornbirn won its 10th and 11th consecutive game against the Cardinals and Joachim Frick set the all-time career hits mark for the Austrian Bundesliga, recording hit No. 456 in Sunday’s opening win by the Indians. Ryan Rupp (4-2) was his usual dominant self, whiffing 14 in a two-hit shutout as Dornbirn piled up 17 runs in seven innings. The southpaw now has 63 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.
Game Two was a much closer affair at first. Up until the beginning of the fifth, the Indians led only 3-0. In the fifth inning, with the rain getting heavier, they were able to add five runs. The game was called shortly thereafter, yet the ever-excellent Lochlan Southee still posted double digit Ks for the fifth-straight contest. In addition to another 13 punchouts and no walks, the left-hander’s line included only two hits as he ran his scoreless innings streak to 21.2 innings. Incredibly, both season ERA (0.27) and consecutive shutout innings are second in Europe to the Czech Extraliga’s Jan Novák (0.19, 26.2).
The league now takes a one-week break before resuming.
By: Gabriel Fidler
Standings: East
Team | W-L | Div. | Pct. | GB | H | A | RF | RA | Str |
Traiskirchen GH | 9-1 | 4-0 | .900 | – | 7-0 | 2-1 | 156 | 31 | W4 |
Vienna MetroStars | 8-3 | 5-2 | .727 | 1.5 | 7-1 | 1-2 | 107 | 43 | W4 |
Vienna Wanderers | 7-3 | 3-3 | .700 | 2 | 7-0 | 0-3 | 113 | 42 | L2 |
W. Neustadt D. Ducks | 7-4 | 3-4 | .692 | 2.5 | 7-2 | 0-2 | 68 | 74 | W5 |
Schwechat Blue Bats | 2-8 | 0-6 | .250 | 7 | 0-0 | 2-8 | 98 | 114 | L2 |
Standings: West
Team | W-L | Div. | Pct. | GB | H | A | RF | RA | Str |
Dornbirn Indians | 9-3 | 6-0 | .750 | – | 6-0 | 3-3 | 82 | 36 | W2 |
Attnang-Puchheim A’s | 5-7 | 4-2 | .417 | 5 | 4-0 | 1-7 | 81 | 76 | W2 |
Hard Bulls | 1-9 | 1-5 | .100 | 6 | 0-4 | 1-5 | 40 | 135 | L9 |
Feldkirch Cardinals | 1-11 | 1-5 | .091 | 7 | 1-3 | 0-8 | 46 | 212 | L10 |
Week 6 Results (May 15-16)
Home team listed second.
Blue Bats 6 – Grasshoppers 16 (7) [Box]
Blue Bats 6 – Grasshoppers 17 (7) [Box]
Bulls 5 – Athletics 9 [Box]
Bulls 0 – Athletics 2 [Box]
Wanderers 2 – MetroStars 3 [Box] (May 16)
Cardinals 0 – Indians 17 (7) [Box] (May 16)
Wanderers 5 – MetroStars 6 [Box] (May 16)
Cardinals 0 – Indians 8 (5) [Box] (May 16)
Week 7 Schedule (May 28-30)
Diving Ducks – Wanderers (May 28)
Bulls – Blue Bats
Bulls – Blue Bats
Diving Ducks – Wanderers
Athletics – Cardinals (May 30)
Grasshoppers – MetroStars (May 30)
Athletics – Cardinals (May 30)
Grasshoppers – MetroStars (May 30)
Many thanks to the ABF for providing a weekly recap, portions of which have been translated and adapted herein.