Tournament reports 2018

Barcelona, Nov. 10/11 2018: For the first time the Beasts entered a tournament in Spain, to be precise in Viladecans, right next to Barcelona. With the exception of the balls uses (indoor balls) it was one of the best tournaments the Beasts have entered so far. The home club CB Viladecans were really able to serve up great first international tournament. The fields were in great shape, the games were on schedule, the umpires were professionals, the beer was cheap and the weather excellent for November. 

The Beasts didn't know anything about all of their opponents, except for their Swiss rivals Toros of course. After the first few games the team realized that they had shot in this tournament. The first to games were won without any hassle, but in the third, the Beasts fell hard. The team wasn't able to score one run and eventually fell to the later tournament champions Hercules L'Hospitalet 2-0. After another victory, the Beasts had to face the Toros. The Beasts weren't able to do much in that game and lost fair and square. Thankfully, the team was able to rebound again and won the next to games to reach the Semis to face - guess who - the Toros. Yet again the team wasn't able to beat them and the Beasts' last game of 2018 was a loss. 

On a positive note, having lost only to the 1st and 2nd placed team, the Beasts finished the year with a strong third place. We will be back next year for sure and try to improve. Go Beasts!

Cindy, Mike M, Preedee, Don, Gabor, Selene, Alex, Mark, Chris, Mike Z, John

Enschede, Oct. 20/21 2018: Once again the Beasts made their way up to the Netherlands to play a tournament. This time, the Tex Town Tigers hosted their annual Fall Classic. The Beasts entered this tournament for the first time and didn't know much about the level of competition. Furthermore, the Beasts didn't know much about their own team, as six new players joined it for the first time.

On Saturday morning, the Beasts weren't awake yet in their first game against the hosts Eastpro/Stokes. It resulted in one of the worst losses – score-wise - the Beasts ever had, 22-2. Thankfully, the team was able to react right away to beat the Dutch Dragons 16-7. It was one of the most intense games of the weekend with a lot of controversy, arguments and yelling. But hey, it's softball and it happens. The third round robin game was against Orange Crush, a team the Beasts lost to fair and square two weeks ago in Italy. This time around, it wasn't any different. The Crush won in an atmosphere-wise fun game 17-9. Those three games completed the Round Robin stage of the tournament. The Beasts were seeded 11th out of 13 teams after RR (Orange Crush and Eastpro/Stokes were tied for the 1st seed!).

In the first round of the Double Elimination, the Beasts had to face the only other Swiss team that entered this tournament, the Orcas. The game was close for the first three innings but eventually, the Beastst started to pull ahead and eventually win the game 11-6. In the next round, the Beasts had to face Orange Crush again. It was by far the most interesting game of the weekend. The Beasts were trailing the Crush for almost the whole game. In the bottom of the fourth though, the Beasts put 5 runs on the board and played an awesome defence in the next inning. To the surprise of most people the Beasts prevailed 14-13. Thanks to this win, the Beasts advanced to the Semi-finals of the winners bracket. 

The team was not recognizable on Sunday morning compared to the previous morning. The Beasts, known for usually being slow starters, busted out with 16 runs against the Dutch National Team. If those runs weren't enough, the team didn't commit any errors in the field and held DNT to only three runs (all of them solo shots). This victory meant that the Beasts would at least end up in third place. The team Danger though, who the Beasts faced next, proved to be too strong. The Beasts fell to them 17-9. The last chance for the Beasts to get into the final would have been to beat the Monsters & Villains. Unfortunately, the team didn't accomplish the impossible. Monsters & Villains won the game 17-6.

Eventhough the team lost the two last games, it can be proud of the accomplishments of the weekend. On the way to third place, they eliminated two number 1 seeds and showed the softball world that Swiss teams are playing on a high level! On that note, the Beasts want to thank all the players that joined the team for the weekend and made that accomplishment possible!

The team will next travel to Barcelona on 10/11 of November to close out the season.

On a side note: The Beasts congratulate the Swiss Toros for winning the ESSL Supercup 2018 this weekend! Way to go!

Top left: Ian, Ben, John, Chris, Alex, Mike, Jeff

Bottom left: Paul, Angie, Connie, Wouter

Dulliken, Oct. 7 2018: The Beasts entered their last domestic tournament of the 2018 season on Saturday. TruckStar invited the Beasts to play in their annual Division II tournament in Dulliken. The Beasts had to face the Atomics, Flyers and the host TruckStar. The team started off pretty hot in the first game against the Atomics. Six Beasts recored a 3-hit game to get to a team total of 21 hits and a 17-10 victory. On a personal note: Mike Z. got his first W as a pitcher for the Beasts and Gabor hit is very first career homerun! Congrats to both! In the next game, the bats stayed cold for the Beasts. TruckStar scored immediately in the first two innings and didn't allow a run at the same time. By the bottom of the sixth inning, the Beasts came within one run of TruckStar, but it just wasn't enough. In the end, the Beasts fell to TruckStar 7-10. The last game of the day was against the Flyers. The Beasts owned them right away and won the game, also thanks to some stellar defense 10-6. 

With that last win, the Division II team ended the season with a 10-8 record. Overall, the team finished in 2nd place behind the Flyers and in front of the Atomics in Division II. The Beasts are looking forward to keep working and improve themselves to come back even stronger next year! Go Beasts!

Rachel, Steve, Mike Z, Alex, Mike M, Gabor, Melissa, Esteban

Zwingen, Aug. 11 2018: For the first time since the inception of the team the Basel Beasts are Swiss Champions! Playing in their home tournament the Beasts needed to either beat the Toros only or beat all other competitors. In the first game against the Toros the Beasts started out strong scoring four runs. Unfortunately, the Toros had already scored five runs to best the Beasts in the first inning. After that the Toros, playing for a slim chance to steal the championship from the Beasts were too strong and defeated the Beasts. This was only the Beasts second loss all season. The Beasts had only one shot for the crown, to sweep all of the other teams – which would mean that the Beasts would have to finish out the season without a single loss to the Orcas, Truckstar, Unicorns, and Frogs – something that has never been done before.

The Beasts second game saw the Unicorns jump out early on the Beasts, 4-0. However, with great resolve the Beasts fought back in the second inning. With two outs the girls Grace, Rachel, and Selene loaded the bases. This brought up Preedee who steadfastly stroked a hard shot to CF. As the players rounded the bases Preedee turned up the speed – the result an inside the park grand slam homerun! It was the spark the team needed. From then the Beasts were on a roll. A couple innings later Don stroked a homerun over the right field cones to give the Beasts some needed breathing room. It was in the fifth inning where the Beasts really pulled away. Preedee had another extra-base hit followed by singles from Mark and Chris which scored Preedee. John walked to load the bases. That brought up Mike M. who proceeded to slam the ball over the leftfield cones with a mighty sound – the Beasts’ second grand slam of the game! Still the Beasts were only up five runs which meant that the Unicorns and their freshly stocked team of out-of-town “ringers” could tie it up in one inning. However, in the sixth inning Juan, one of our newer Beasts stepped up to the plate. He crushed a homerun that still hasn’t landed giving the Beasts the needed six run advantage to secure a one-plus inning lead (teams can only score five runs per inning). With Alex pitching like a CY Young award candidate holding the Unicorns to only 2 runs in the final six innings the Beasts won.

The Orcas failed to show and forfeited their game, which meant the Beasts had only one game standing in their way of a championship. To start the game the Beasts picked up where they left off, thumping the ball. Mark doubled and Chris mashed a homerun. John singled, Mike M. singled, and then Juan just like he did before crushed his second homerun of the day over the cones. The Beasts lead 5-0! In the third inning with two outs and Selene once again on second base the Beasts had hits from Mark, Chris, John, Mike M., a walk by Juan, and a final hit by Don and the Beasts scored another five runs in one inning – all with two outs! The top of the sixth inning saw the Beasts do it again, scoring five runs on a double by Don, a walk by Alex, a double by Grace, singles by Preedee and Mark, and a double by Chris. The score was now 16-6 and the Beasts were doing well, but with plenty of time remaining and two innings of great ball from the Frogs it could be tied! One more run was needed to ensure a victory. John hit a double setting the table for yet again Juan whose line drive single sealed the victory for the Beasts! Final score: 17-8. And, the, Beasts, were, CHAMPIONS!

This was the fifth Division I Swiss tournament for the Beasts in 2018. Throughout the year many great players contributed to the 18-2 record and of course all the fun along the way! Although not everyone played in the final games, the team wouldn’t have won the Championship without the dedication and commitment, stellar play, great personalities, competitiveness, fun loving, positive, and team-minded spirit that everyone displayed. The following Beasts (in alphabetical order) were all part of the Division I Championship team playing in at least one tournament: Alex, Ben, Chris, Don, Grace, Hermine, Jason, John, Juan, Lucas, Mark, Melissa A., Mike M., Mike Z, Noemie, Preedee, Rachel, Selene, and a few add-in players totaling 21 players in all. Wow! Thank you all for such a great year. Congratulations and, Go Beasts!

Top left: Jan, Preedee, Steve, Daniel, Juan, Mark, John, Alex, Mike Z, Chris, Gabor, Ivan

Middle right: Ben, Lucas, Don

Bottom left: Othilia, Angie, Selene, Grace, Rachel, Noémie, Francesco

Ground: (Cooper), Jason

Hünenberg, June 24 2018: The Beasts had their first chance to win the Championship in Hünenberg on Sunday. Unfortunately, it didn't work out quite as planned for the team. The Beasts startet off the day shaky against TruckStar. Some fielding errors and unsolid hitting led to a game that could as well have gone the other way. Still, the Beasts prevailed and won 13-9. The second game against the Frogs was probably the best outing of the Beasts of the day. The Beasts went into the last inning with a 11-5 lead and already knew that they won the game (end 11-9). 

After 14 straight wins, the Beasts fell hard against their biggest rivals the Toros. Even though the Beasts collected 16 hits, only four came in to score. A lot of opportunities were given away way to cheap, so that the game resulted in a 18-4 loss. All the more pleasing was the reaction of the team in the last game against the Unicorns. The Beasts were down multiple times in the game, but always were able to come back in great fashion. In the fifth inning the Beasts were able to tie the game at 8 each with a three run shot by Alex Leemann. Then in the last inning, the Beast were down yet again by three runs. Only three batters in, the game was already tied again. A solo shot by John Williams and a two run shot by Chris Asker (his first of the year and as a Beasts) tied the game for the Beasts. In the extra innings, Mark Cortese secured the win for the Beasts with a two run inside the park homerun (blazing speed for an old guy) and by getting the final out. 

With only four more games to go in the season for the Beasts, here are the two most likely scenarios on how the Beasts can clinch the title:

1. The Beasts beat the Toros and could at the same time loose the other three games
2. The Beasts loose to the Toros and win all other three games

As we see, the race is still very, very close (also because the Beats don't have the second tie-breaker against the Toros). For sure the Beasts will go hard in their home tournament on August 11th and look forward to a lot of fans and a great party after the games have ended to celebrate the already phenomenal season either way! Go Beasts!

Therwil, June 9 2018: Division I or Division II, it doesn't matter! The Beasts keep on rolling and keep on sweeping through the tournaments, now also for the first time in Division II. 

The Beasts faced off against the Catfish, the Atomics, the Orcas and TruckStar in Therwil on Saturday. Once again the Beasts were able to get an early jump in most of the games and secure the victory early. Only the third game of the day against the Orcas proved to be close for a long time. After the Beasts got a 3-2 lead in the first inning, the score didn't change until the top of the eight, where the Beasts were able to score four more runs (including a three run homerun by Ben Muller). A quick bottom of the eight secured the victory.

The team enjoyed the whole day in a relaxed atmosphere, great sunshine and refreshing beverages. Now is off to the next one on June 24th trying to clinch the championship early. Go Beasts!

Top left: Gabor, Alex, (Ben Jr.), John, Noémie, Ottelia, Grace

Bottom left: Ben, Rachel, Jason, Melissa, Preedee, Wayne

Ground: Mike M

Zürich, June 2 2018: The Beasts played their third Division I tournament on Saturday. This time without their biggest rivals the Toros. In all the four games the Beasts were able to jump ahead early and get a 5+ run lead. On their path to win their games 9-12, the Beasts beat the Frogs 15-7, the Unicorns 18-1, TruckStar 15-1 and the Orcas 11-4. The whole lineup was awesome through the day, collecting 76 hits including four homeruns from Mike Margarucci. As terrific as the offense was, the defense was even better, allowing only 13 runs in four games. Never have the Beasts been better defensively. 

Would you have bet on a team that finished 9-11 last year to start off the 2018 season with 12 straight wins? We are not sure that we would have! But there we are, one tournament and four wins away from clinching the championship for the first time in team history. Go Beasts!

Hünenberg, May 5 2018: There was a big question before the Beasts played their second Division I tournament of the year: Would the Beasts be able to confirm their great start to the season? The answer is plane and simple: YES! The Beasts swept their second tournament in a row and lead Division I with a 8-0 record.

In the first game, the Beasts faced the Unicorns. The Beasts started off hot with 9 runs in the first two innings, but only two more in the next four. Fortunately that was enough to get the 11-6 win. The Orcas were the Beasts next opponents. Already after the second inning the Beasts had a +5 run lead and could play the rest of the game without any pressure. The once almighty Orcas lost that game clearly 16-6 and the Beasts went to a 6-0 record. The third game of the day might have been one of the best and interesting games the Beasts ever played. After the first inning with some runs (4-2 for the Toros), five innings followed with no runs on both sides. It took two more runs by the Toros for the Beasts to wake up at the plate in the bottom of the seventh and tie the game. After a scoreless eight, the game had to be decided in extra innings. The Toros put up some runs first on a sac fly and a two-run homerun. Those three runs didn't bring the Beasts down. With Mark Cortese and John Williams on base, Mike Margarucci tied up the game with a towering homerun to right center. With two runners on base, Rachel Hevey stayed calm at the plate and got the game winning run home on a single to left field. This 10-9 victory gave the Beasts a three game lead over the Toros in the standings. The last game of the game against TruckStar was quickly decided after two five run innings to start the game. The end verdict: 23-5. 

With those wins the Beasts showed the other teams that the Beasts are the team to beat this season if they want a shot at the title! Now its all about keeping the momentum going and focus for the next tournament on June 2nd. Go Beasts!

Wil, April 29 2018: The Beasts played their first Division II tournament last weekend. Out of the ten fielders, almost half have never played with the Beasts before. The new composition played a good tournament in the field after getting those first game jitters out of the system. On the other side of the ball the Beasts did awesome all throughout the lineup. Every single player got  some hits and made good contacts.

The aforementioned jitters showed especially during the very first game against the Devils. They were able to score five runs in four consecutive innings before the Beasts settled down and started to record the needed outs. Unfortunately, even the strong offense with 17 runs on 21 hits weren't enough to beat the Devils. The final verdict: 17-20. 

In the second game against the Atomics, the defense started to show its capability and not allow a single five-run inning. As in the first game, the Beasts were hitting the ball all over the field scoring 16 runs. That was just enough to get the first win of the season for the Beasts Division II team (16-14). The Beasts played their last game against the Therwil Flyers. From the second inning on, the Beasts had a solid six run lead that the Flyers weren't able to make up (13-10). This third game really showed how good this team will be in the defense once it has some more games under its belt and the individual players are used to play together. 

The Beasts will look to keep up the good work in the next Division II tournament on May 20th in Neuenburg am Rhein. Go Beasts!

Dulliken, April 21 2018: The Beasts started off the new season formidable. In the first tournament of the season the beasts beat the Orcas (10-8), the Frogs (15-4), the Toros (17-15) and TruckStar (14-0). This 4-0 record marks two milestones in the Beasts existence. Firstly, it is the first time that the Beasts were able to finish a tournament without a loss.  Secondly, the Beasts are leading the league for the the first time. One of the best things about the wins is that the four new players that saw some action on Saturday were all able to contribute and integrate perfectly into the team. The Beasts will look to keep the momentum going in the next Division I tournament on May 5th in Hünenberg. Go Beasts! 

Beasts win it all!!!

The Beasts' started their 2018 campaign with the annual DreitannenCup in Olten on Saturday night. The Beasts started of the tournament great with a 8-0 victory against the Flyers. The next game against a previously unknown opponent, the Hunters from Thun, was a little bit closer, but the Beasts were still able to pull it of and win 6-2. The third game against the home team TruckStar was a little bit easier than the previous matchups against them last year. The Beasts won it 12-2. Those victories let to a final between the only two teams who both won their previous three games, the Beasts and the Orcas. The finale couldn't have been more thrilling. Some great defensive plays and a three run homerun by Mike M. secured the 4-3 victory over the Orcas. The Beasts really outdid themselves that Saturday night. After a fifth, fourth and third place, the Beasts finally won the DreitannenCup! Congratulations!

Top left: Mike M., John, Gabor, Hermine, Preedee, Melissa

Bottom left: Daniel, Alex, Selene, Care, Cesar