Week 10 of action in the Bundesliga South saw Regensburg falter on the road in Mannheim, with the Tornados taking Game One of the weekend series 7-5 to secure their hold on the fourth playoff spot in the south. The victory was important for Mannheim as Munich-Haar swept the Mainz Athletics, with the sweep — and the Tornado victory over Regensburg — keeping the Bavarians one game out of the fourth and final playoff position.
In the North, meanwhile, the action is only now picking up momentum as pandemic restrictions, and poor weather last week, have hampered play. The Bonn Capitals put all of that behind them in their season debut, a sweep of Dortmund, and the Hamburg Stealers also celebrated two victories on the road in Paderborn, which like Bonn suited up for the first time in 2021.
Guggenberger Legionäre Regensburg at Mannheim Tornados (5-7, 10-0)
In the weekend’s big surprise, the Tornados took Game One from Regensburg, giving the tourists only their third loss of the season. Four runs on four hits in the fourth inning gave Mannheim a 6-1 lead they would manage to hold on to thanks to a solid relief effort by Ferlon Gijsbertha. He picked up the rare three-inning save, and his Dutch countryman Cerilo Soleana picked up the W for his efforts on the day (6IP, 3ER, 10K).
Game Two was decided in Regensburg’s favor, though the final score only tells half the story. Through six innings, Regensburg had scored the only run, which crossed the plate in the fifth inning when Matt Vance was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The dam would break in the seventh inning, however, when Regensburg scored five runs on three hits, one of them a Nico Sacasa two-run homer. It added another run in the eighth and three more in the ninth for the 10-0 final score, with the Mannheim zero the work of Regensburg starter Kaleb Bowman, who allowed just five hits and struck out 13 in a 126-pitch complete game.
ITsure Falcons Ulm at Heidenheim Heideköpfe (7-17, 1-12)
Heidenheim continues with just one blemish on its record this season after a weekend sweep of the winless Ulm Falcons. The defending Bundesliga champion scored 29 runs on 29 hits in the series, with the run support more than enough for Game One starter Mike Bolsenbroek (5IP, 3ER, 11K) and Game Two starter Ross Vance (6IP, 1ER, 9K). With Mannheim having taken a game off of Regensburg, Heidenheim’s lead atop the Bundesliga South standings has grown to a more comfortable two-game cushion.
Stuttgart Reds vs. Tübingen Hawks (17-0, 7-5)
The Stuttgart Reds swept the Tübingen Hawks in a home-and-away series, with the first game decided after just four innings by mercy rule. The sweep keeps the Reds firmly in third place in the standings, two games ahead of the Mannheim Tornados. Stuttgart’s William Germaine was named the Bundesliga South Player of the Week for his three homers and eight RBI in the series.
Munich-Haar Disciples at Mainz Athletics (8-5, 17-3)
The Bavarians continued their resurgence with a road sweep of the Mainz Athletics, with the two wins allowing the Disciples to claim the fifth spot in the standings all for themselves. The Disciples, who began the season with a 1-5 record, entered the weekend’s action 7-11 and tied with the Athletics for the fifth spot in the standings, and it was the Athletics who got off to the better start in Game One, with a 5-2 lead after two innings. The Disciples responded with a big sixth inning to turn the tide, however, and Game Two saw the Disciples aided by 14 bases on ball on their way to an easy victory that leaves them just one game behind the Tornados for the fourth and final playoff spot.
Dortmund Wanderers at Bonn Capitals (3-18, 0-9)
The Bonn Capitals finally got their 2021 campaign underway, and did so with style in a sweep of the Dortmund Wanderers. The Capitals, champions of the Bundesliga North in five of the past six seasons and the 2018 Bundesliga champion, led 14-0 after just two innings and never looked back in a six-inning mercy rule victory. The Capitals collected 17 hits in Game One, including five home runs, two of them by Daniel Lamb-Hunt, who drove in six RBI. Terrell Joyce added a homer of his own and four RBI in a 4-for-4 effort at the plate. Game Two saw the Capitals pitching staff shine, with three Capitals pitchers allowing just five hits while striking out 14 in a breezy, two-hour game that secured Bonn the sweep.
Hamburg Stealers at Untouchables Paderborn (7-6, 6-1)
The Stealers travelled to Paderborn and returned with two victories, with the Game One W secured despite a late Paderborn rally. Trailing 7-3 heading into the home half of the eighth, the Untouchables scored three runs on four hits to narrow the lead to one. Hamburg’s Simon Bäumer, who spent the spring playing baseball at Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers, Florida, was brought in to close out the ninth, however, and the big lefty did so in style, striking out the side to collect the save and give the Stealers their first win of the 2021 season. The Stealers made it two wins in the second leg of the doubleheader, with four runs in the first inning giving the Stealers all the runs they needed.
Bundesliga South — STANDINGS
| 1. | Heidenheim Heideköpfe | 19 | 1 | .950 | – |
| 2. | Guggenberger Legionäre Regensburg | 17 | 3 | .850 | 2 |
| 3. | Stuttgart Reds | 12 | 8 | .600 | 7 |
| 4. | Mannheim Tornados | 10 | 10 | .500 | 9 |
| 5. | Munich-Haar Disciples | 9 | 11 | ..450 | 10 |
| 6. | Mainz Athletics | 7 | 13 | .350 | 12 |
| 7. | Tübingen Hawks | 6 | 14 | .300 | 13 |
| 8. | ITsure Falcons Ulm | 0 | 20 | .000 | 20 |
Bundesliga North — STANDINGS
| 1. | Solingen Alligators | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | – |
| 2. | Bonn Capitals | 2 | 0 | .000 | 1 |
| 3. | Hamburg Stealers | 2 | 2 | .000 | 2 |
| 4. | Berlin Flamingos | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 |
| 5. | Cologne Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 |
| 6. | Dohren Wild Farmers | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 |
| 7. | Untouchables Paderborn | 0 | 2 | .000 | 3 |
| 8. | Dortmund Wanderers | 0 | 4 | .000 | 4 |