The German Bundesliga South semifinals will continue Saturday, with the defending Bundesliga champion Heidenheim Heideköpfe travelling to Munich in need of just one win in order to advance in their best-of-five series against the Munich-Haar Disciples. In the second semifinal, the Stuttgart Reds will host the Guggenberger Legionäre Regensburg, with the series tied at one win apiece.
Heidenheim took a 2-0 series lead last weekend thanks to a dramatic 11-10 victory (box score) in Game One and a rain-shortened 8-3 victory (box score) in Game Two on Sunday.
Game One was decided in a wild seventh inning which began with the score tied at three apiece and ended with the two clubs having combined for 15 runs. The Disciples scored seven of those runs, and needed just hits two do so, with an error, two wild pitches, and three walks giving the Bavarians a helping hand. Trailing 10-3, the experienced Heideköpfe kept their cool and responded with eight runs for the final 11-10 tally. The power-hitting Heideköpfe did so without resorting to the long ball, instead stringing together four singles and a double, along with two walks and a hit batter, to fuel the rally. The recently signed Drew Janssen, who will become the first Belgian to play NCAA Division I baseball when he suits up for Gardner-Webb University next season, picked up the win.
Game Two was a less dramatic affair, with a strong pitching performance by Ross Vance (5.2IP, 3ER, 7K) and three Gary Owens extra-base hits, including two homers (4-for-4, four RBI), securing the 2-0 series lead for Heidenheim. The game was called due to rain after the visitors failed to score in the seventh.
Game One of the Regensburg-Stuttgart series was a tense affair, with the visiting Reds escaping with a 6-5 victory (box score) after the lead exchanged hands four times. Regensburg jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with one runner touching home in each of the first three innings. Stuttgart responded with four runs in the fourth, with a Kruno Gojkovic three-run homer the highlight. Not to be outdone, Regensburg’s Matt Vance hit a two-run blast, his second long ball of the day, in the fifth inning to give Regensburg the lead once again, but in the seventh it was Stuttgart’s William Germaine who launched a pitch over the fence. His two-run homer gave the Reds a 6-5 lead that Antonio Horvatic, who picked up the save, protected in the ninth inning. Regensburg got the tying run on base in its final turn at bat, and had the winning run on first after Matt Vance was intentionally walked, but the Croatian international kept the score at 6-5 to give the Reds the victory.
Game Two saw Regensburg coast to a 6-1 victory (box score). Starting pitcher Kaleb Bowman delivered another dominant performance, striking out 10 and allowing just five hits in eight innings of work.
The first pitch of Game Three in the Heidenheim-Haar semifinal series is scheduled for 14:00 (CEST) on Saturday. Should the Disciples take Game Three, then the clubs will meet again on Sunday afternoon for Game Four in the series, with a possible Game Five also scheduled for Sunday.
Stuttgart and Regensburg will meet Saturday night under the floodlights. The first pitch in Stuttgart is scheduled for 19:00 (CEST), with Game Four scheduled for 13:00 (CEST) on Sunday. A Game Five decider, if necessary, would follow Sunday’s scheduled Game Four.
SCHEDULE (with streaming links)
Heidenheim (2-0) at Munich-Haar (0-2)
Saturday, July 11, 14:00 (Game Three)
Sunday, July 12, 13:00 (Game Four – if necessary)
Sunday, July 12, 16:30 (Game Five – if necessary)
Regensburg (1-1) at Stuttgart (1-1)
Saturday, July 11, 19:00 (Game Three)
Sunday, July 12, 13:00 (Game Four)
Sunday, July 12, 16:30 (Game Five – if necessary)