On Sunday, the Schanzer Jugend with the support of the Gröbenzell Bandits took the field in the „Arrimo Kleinfeld Gaudi 2021“ tournament hosted by the Garching Atomics.
The other participating clubs were the host Garching Atomics, Grünwald Jesters and Heidenheim Heideköpfe.
During the qualification round, the Schanzer/Bandits duo managed to qualify for the semifinals due their strong offensive game and outhitting their opponents. In order to make it into the finals the boys had to get passed a strong Heidenheim team. Unfortunately, the ING/GRÖ defense lost momentum due a lack of fresh relief pitching and catching on the roster and took the loss.
After an exhausting day playing their hearts out in 4 games, the team watched on as the Heidenheim Heideköpfe defeated the Grünwald Jesters in the Final.
The highlight of the tournament was not over yet… On top of handing out the tournament champion trophy to the winning team, the “Best Player” of the tournament award was yet to be announced… During the day and after each game, the coaches had to nominate the best player(s) from the opposing team and vice versa. The player with the most votes and with the best performance was selected. …“With 2 doubles, a triple, a HR and 13 RBI’s, the best player award goes to Dan[iel] Koch of the Ingolstadt Schanzer!”
The “breathtaking” announcement of this recognition was nothing short of being surreal but after a few seconds, breathing commenced and the reality set in. For this well deserved achievement, Daniel stood out as the “best” of the day compared to all the other talented players in the competition.
The team celebrated the announcement as if they won the title. Even though the team didn’t make the trip to finals, they went home with one of two trophies to be won from the tournament!
It was a great day!
by Greg Vine