The Flyers win again ~ Another undefeated weekend of baseball and softball for us!
On Saturday, our baseball squad played a round of the Swiss Cup (basically EVERY team in Switzerland at any adult level plays in a single elimination tournament). We played a C league team. I started on the mound and pitched 2 innings, had 4 Ks and 0 runs. It was definitely sweet to pitch again. I've had to become more crafty in my old age. Also, I was 2-3 with a homerun. Our team won 17-0.
On Sunday, Emily's softball team won 10-3 and 9-0. They are now 7-3 on the season. She played wonderfully again, going 2-4 in the first game with a huge bomb (double over the fence) and 2-3 in the next game. She also pitched a shutout with 10 Ks in 6 innings.
Sunday night, we hosted a few friends over at our Webergasse apartment. It was a grand time as we made spaghetti and salad. They were SHOCKED when Emily drank MILK with dinner, an unheard of atrocity in Europe.
This upcoming weekend, the baseball team faces off against the Bern Cardinals, the first place team and reigning champs. They are 32-1 in their last 33 games and 8-0 this season. I was interviewed by the local paper (Basler Zietung) about the game and the season thus far. It will be an epic matchup! Also, the EURO CUP is starting on Saturday, which is the European Soccer Championships. And this year, it is hosted by Switzerland and Austria, and will have all the Swiss games in Basel. Needless to say, it will be chaotic here for the next few weeks!
Last, here's what I wrote for the Basler Zietung. They'll obviously translate it into German, but here's my unedited English version.
The Euro Cup will not be the only big competition this weekend.
Although tucked in the tiny fields of Therwil and the approximately
42,300 fans less than the first Switzerland Euro Cup match is sure to
attract, our Therwil Flyers baseball team squares off against the
first place Bern Cardinals in a doubleheader on Sunday in Therwil.
Even though it is early in the season, these games feature the top two
teams in Switzerland. The Cardinals are 8-0 and have only lost once in
the last 34 games. Currently, we are 4-1 and in second place. The
games are an important barometer into how well we can compete with the
best; however, they are still just games in the early part of the
season - what matters most is who wins at the end. Bern is a
tremendous baseball team and of course, I definitely think we can beat
them. However, we will have to play some of our best baseball with
strong pitching performances, timely hitting, and mistake-free
defense.
Without question, this is the strongest Flyers team in the last few
years. From top to bottom, our lineup does not include a single easy
out. Compared to two years ago when I was here, this team is much
stronger comparatively. I am extremely excited about our team this
season. We feature two of the best pitchers in the league (Stefan
Koller and Chris Blackbee) and have 3 or 4 other pitchers we can rely
on in tight situations. Our defense both in the infield and outfield
consists of solid defenders with above average arms and speed. We
feature an aggressive style of baseball, and yet have several guys in
the lineup who can pop one out at any time. Our lineup includes two of
the best players in the history of the league (Reto Siegel and Daniel
Eichenberger). I joke with those guys that they are "legends" in Swiss
baseball, but I'm actually serious. They are on the top of every
statistical category in Swiss baseball history. Along with those two,
the lineup includes several competent hitters with myself, Blackbee,
Carlos Brito, Stefan Koller, and Sebastian Zwyer. Mario Cuevas
provides a speedy and powerful spark and Adrian Kaufmann plays a
tremendous defensive shortstop. Matti Jung mans centerfield with
maturity and leadership.
Baseball is a beautiful game, oftentimes decided by centimeters. There
is nothing like stepping out to a field filled with freshly cut grass,
the smell of leather and pine tar, and the crack of a bat on a ball.
So clearly, I love the game. My playing career consisted of playing
four years at Chapman University in Orange, California where we went
to 3 World Series Championships. Then, I played one year with the
Atlanta Braves before I began coaching at Vanguard University and then
Bethel University. My dream would be to one day be a full-time college
baseball coach.
Living and coaching baseball in Switzerland is a dream, but doing so
with my fiance Emily McNamara makes it that much better. As she had an
outstanding playing career in college as well as a softball player,
she is a HUGE bonus to this whole situation. She is the starting
shortstop and head coach of the Flyers' softball team. I'm amazed on
her love of the game and her abilities on the softball field. Emily is
incredibly fast and plays great defense. So, as this is a dream for
her, it is a dream for us together. We get married on August 16th this
summer and will have to miss part of the season to fly back to
Minnesota to do so.
Although tucked in the tiny fields of Therwil and the approximately
42,300 fans less than the first Switzerland Euro Cup match is sure to
attract, our Therwil Flyers baseball team squares off against the
first place Bern Cardinals in a doubleheader on Sunday in Therwil.
Even though it is early in the season, these games feature the top two
teams in Switzerland. The Cardinals are 8-0 and have only lost once in
the last 34 games. Currently, we are 4-1 and in second place. The
games are an important barometer into how well we can compete with the
best; however, they are still just games in the early part of the
season - what matters most is who wins at the end. Bern is a
tremendous baseball team and of course, I definitely think we can beat
them. However, we will have to play some of our best baseball with
strong pitching performances, timely hitting, and mistake-free
defense.
Without question, this is the strongest Flyers team in the last few
years. From top to bottom, our lineup does not include a single easy
out. Compared to two years ago when I was here, this team is much
stronger comparatively. I am extremely excited about our team this
season. We feature two of the best pitchers in the league (Stefan
Koller and Chris Blackbee) and have 3 or 4 other pitchers we can rely
on in tight situations. Our defense both in the infield and outfield
consists of solid defenders with above average arms and speed. We
feature an aggressive style of baseball, and yet have several guys in
the lineup who can pop one out at any time. Our lineup includes two of
the best players in the history of the league (Reto Siegel and Daniel
Eichenberger). I joke with those guys that they are "legends" in Swiss
baseball, but I'm actually serious. They are on the top of every
statistical category in Swiss baseball history. Along with those two,
the lineup includes several competent hitters with myself, Blackbee,
Carlos Brito, Stefan Koller, and Sebastian Zwyer. Mario Cuevas
provides a speedy and powerful spark and Adrian Kaufmann plays a
tremendous defensive shortstop. Matti Jung mans centerfield with
maturity and leadership.
Baseball is a beautiful game, oftentimes decided by centimeters. There
is nothing like stepping out to a field filled with freshly cut grass,
the smell of leather and pine tar, and the crack of a bat on a ball.
So clearly, I love the game. My playing career consisted of playing
four years at Chapman University in Orange, California where we went
to 3 World Series Championships. Then, I played one year with the
Atlanta Braves before I began coaching at Vanguard University and then
Bethel University. My dream would be to one day be a full-time college
baseball coach.
Living and coaching baseball in Switzerland is a dream, but doing so
with my fiance Emily McNamara makes it that much better. As she had an
outstanding playing career in college as well as a softball player,
she is a HUGE bonus to this whole situation. She is the starting
shortstop and head coach of the Flyers' softball team. I'm amazed on
her love of the game and her abilities on the softball field. Emily is
incredibly fast and plays great defense. So, as this is a dream for
her, it is a dream for us together. We get married on August 16th this
summer and will have to miss part of the season to fly back to
Minnesota to do so.
1 comment:
It is great that Emily is fast, as now we might get a baseball player with some speed
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