The Austrian Baseball Federation has confirmed the six teams, which will be playing in the Austrian Baseball League in 2013. Following this year’s campaign the league was reduced from eight to six teams. Defending champion Vienna Wanderers, Diving Ducks Vienna Neustadt, Athletics Attnang-Puchheim, Dornbirn Indians, Vienna Metrostars and Stockerau Cubs will compete for the Austrian Baseball Championship in 2013. The ABF also released the list of participants for the second division with the Feldkirch Cardinals, Gramastaetten Highlanders, Hard Bulls, BSC Kufstein Vikings, Rohrbach Crazy Geese and Traiskirchen Grasshoppers.

The Austrian Softball League will have seven teams during the 2013 season. The Austrian Baseball Federation announced the league lineup for this year’s competition on Monday. All seven teams from 2012 will return. Defending champion are the Dornbirn Sharx, which defeated the St. Poelten Pee Wees in the championship game in Vienna last September.

Austrian Softball League

• Bucks Bunnies
• Dornbirn Sharx
• Linz Witches
• St. Poelten Pee Wees
• Vienna Mosquitoes
• Vienna Wanderers
• Vienna Neustadt Crazy Chicklets

Two import players will return to the Austrian Baseball League for the 2013 season. The Canadian Matt Patrick will once again play for the Dornbirn Indians, while the American Ryan Kroko will wear the Diving Ducks jersey. Patrick, who can play behind the plate, in the outfield and at first base, batted .235/.333/.272 with 12 runs and five RBI in 27 games (21 starts) last regular season. Kroko, a pitcher, went 11-2 with an ERA of 1.82 in 14 starts. He struck out 152 in 123 1/3 innings, walking 15.

The Austrian Baseball Federation announced its coaching staff for the senior baseball national team this week. Robert Buchelt will head the staff as general manager. He will be assisted by Arian Quirantes, Danny Hall and Hiro Sakanashi.

• Buchelt played and coach 11 years for the Vienna Bucks in the Austrian Baseball League, before joining the Stock City Cubs in 2009 as head coach. He has been an assistant coach for the Austrian national team in the past, including at the 2007 European Championship in Barcelona.
• Quirantes was born in Cuba and pitched three years for the Cuban national team. In Austria he played for several teams, winning the championship with the Athletics Attnang-Puchheim in 2008. He has been the head coach for the Schwechat Blue Bats. Since 2012 he is playing and coaching for the Stock City Cubs. He is also involved in the Atlanta Braves Academy in Tenerife.
• Hall was born in California. He is coaching since 2006. Since 2010 he has been a pitcher and the head coach of the Dornbirn Indians. He is also the head coach of the Vorarlberg Pitching Academy and the coach of the Academy in West Austria.
• Sakanashi is the current head coach of the Vienna Wanderers. Born in Japan he came to Austria in 2004, playing and coaching for the Vienna Neustadt Diving Ducks. Since 2007 he has been with the Wanderers, winning championships in 2009 and 2012. He is also the head coach of the Austrian Junior National Team.

Austria is going to host one of the two B-Pool European Championships this summer in Vienna. Only the winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2014 European Championship in the Czech Republic.

The Austrian vice champion Diving Ducks Vienna Neustadt have signed the 26-year-old Ryan Myers to serve as head coach for all their teams. He succeeds Fredi Heisler at helm, who will remain a coach with the club. Myers was a first baseman and a catcher at college. After graduating he played for the Stuttgart Reds in Germany, where he suffered a serious shoulder injury which cut his playing career short. He started his coaching career and worked as hitting coach at Siena College, which is playing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (NCAA Division I).

The Athletics Attnang-Puchheim have found a new head coach. John Dobkowski, who last played in Europe for the Gauting Indians in the 2011 season in the German Baseball-Bundesliga, will take over for the Austrian Baseball League club. An American with Polish passport he is also expected to suit up for the Polish national team during the B-Level European Championship this summer. In Attnang-Puchheim he is also going to be the youth teams’ coordinator and will take the mound as a pitcher.

The Vienna Neustadt Diving Ducks have introduced another new player for the upcoming season in the Austrian Baseball League. The reigning ABL vice champion added the 34-year-old Australian Wayne Ough. After spending four years in the New York Mets farm system between 2000 and 2004 he has been traveling around the globe. He is well known in European Baseball and played for Technika Brno in the Czech Extraleague last year. He batted .430 with six home runs at the plate and had an ERA of 2.62 on the mound.

The Vienna Wanderers have announced that the 24-year-old shortstop Joe Wilson will remain for another year in the Austrian capital. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, also is going to serve as assistant coach and will be responsible for the youth team of the club. He already arrived in Vienna and will be part of the final preparation period. The Wanderers will face vice champion Diving Ducks in the season opener on April 27.

The Austrian Baseball Federation has released a 30-man roster for the national team, which will compete in the B-Level European Championship later this summer. The new coaching staff with manager Robert Buchelt chose from a 60-man selection, which was invited to a workshop in early February. More workshops are planned for the first two weekends in April. Afterwards the Austrian National Team will compete in the Danube Cup in Hungary on May 1, Finkstonball from May 18 to 20 and the Swiss Alpine Cup in Zurich from June 28 to 30. A second round of workshops is planned for June. Buchelt is supported by Arian Quirantes, Dan Hall and Hiro Sakanashi on the coaching staff.

Preliminary 30-man roster Austria:

The Diving Ducks from Vienna-Neustadt have added another new player for the upcoming season. New head coach Ryan Myers welcomes 23-year-old Australian catcher Jake Turcato on the roster for the upcoming season in the Austrian Baseball League. He was recruited by Claus Seiser this winter in Australia and is coming from the Runcorn Indians in Queensland. Besides him and the arrival of Myers, the Diving Ducks also were able to extend Ryan Kroko and sign Wayne Ough for the 2013 campaign. They won the vice championship in Austria last year and therefore will also represent the ABL in the European Cup Qualifier in Antwerp in June.

With a matchup between the Vienna Wanderers and the Vienna Neustadt Diving Ducks starts the Austrian Baseball League into the new season. It is a rematch of last year’s finals with game one being played on Saturday at 7pm and game two on Sunday at 4pm.

The Vienna Wanderers captured the title last season and were able to maintain most of last year’s championship team. Hiro Sakanashi is back as head coach and also welcomes Joe Wilson for a second season. Austin Stuart is gone. Vladimir Eugia, who pitched for the Philippines at the WBC Qualifier last November, will take the mound for Vienna this year. Felix Zimmerle and Christian Tomsich won’t be available throughout the whole season due to college obligations.

The Vienna Neustadt Diving Ducks have high expectations for the 2013 season. In their first season back in the ABL they already made it into the finals and now will play in a European Cup Qualifier. New head coach Ryan Myers came together with Wayne Ough and Jake Turcato. Ryan Kroko will stay as well.

The Athletics Attnang-Puchheim started into last year’s campaign as the favorite, but in the end they were eliminated in the semi-finals. John Dobkowski has taken over as head coach and will try to manage the A’s baseball and softball program to another level. Meanwhile Kris Edwards, Jhonny Kashuba, Horst and Markus Efferdinger have left the club among others. Another import player is expected to join the team before the season starts.

Record title holder Vienna Metrostars won the regular season last year and also had a 2-0 lead in the semi-finals against the local rivals from the Vienna Wanderers. However in the end they were eliminated and ended the season empty-handed. Jeff Tezak and Ross Gusky won’t return for another run with the Mets. TJ Hilliard and Marcel Ceska come back after injuries. Will Owens will support head coach Tim Patrick as player-coach.

The Dornbirn Indians finished the season in fifth place last year, just short of the playoffs. Now the coaching staff with Danny Hall, Devery van der Keere and Matt Patrick hope to make another step forward. Paul Astl, Franz Haisjackl and Matthias Lechner have joined the team, reinforcing the Austrian element of the roster.

The Stock City Cubs are the sixth and last team in the reduced Austrian Baseball League. After starting the season with six wins in six games they ended up in sixth in the final standings, avoiding relegation and staying in the ABL. The team is led by Austrian national team manager Robert Buchelt and assistant coach Arian Quirantes and added a strong player with Robert Strecker, who played NCAA Division I ball in the US. More imports are expected to follow during the summer. Seth Blevins is no longer with the Cubs.

The Vienna Neustadt Diving Ducks and the Vienna Wanderers settled for a split in the opener of the 2013 season in the Austrian Baseball League. In game one the Wanderers prevailed 6-4 behind a complete game performance of Felix Zimmerle. His offense erased a deficit in the eighth and Benjamin Husty had the decisive double to seal the win for the defending champion. In the ninth the Diving Ducks had one last chance, but a strikeout and a groundout to short with the bases loaded ended the game.

In the second game the Diving Ducks were led by Ryan Kroko and Wayne Ough, who lifted their team to a 5-2 win thanks to solid pitching on the mound. Joe Wilson and Hiro Sakanashi pitched for the Wanderers. The guests from Vienna Neustadt overcame a triple play and a run by the Wanderers in the opening frame. Two runs in the second gave them the first lead, which they didn’t surrender throughout the contest.

Results:
Saturday, April 27, 2013:
Wanderers – Diving Ducks 6-4
Sunday, April 28, 2013:
Wanderers – Diving Ducks 2-5

The Vienna Wanderers have welcomed Andrew Dowl as their latest reinforcement for the Austrian Baseball League team. The Californian right-hander arrived in Vienna on Wednesday and is also capable of playing first base and the outfield. In 2011 he played in the independent North American League and for the Canberra Cavalry in the Australian Baseball League.

In the Austrian Baseball League six games were scheduled this weekend. On Saturday the Stock City Cubs stunned the Vienna Wanderers with a pair of 7-6 wins to open the 2013 season in style. One day later the Dornbirn Indians surprised the Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 2-0 and 7-2 for the sweep. Also the Vienna Metrostars and the Vienna-Neustadt Diving Ducks split.

Meanwhile the Austrian Baseball Federation reports on its website that last week’s second game win of the Diving Ducks over the Wanderers might be changed into a forfeit for the reigning champion. Apparently they used too many foreign players in the game without filing the correct exception papers.

Results:
Saturday, May 4, 2013:
Stock City Cubs – Vienna Wanderers 7-6
Stock City Cubs – Vienna Wanderers 7-6
Sunday, May 5, 2013:
Dornbirn Indians – Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 2-0
Dornbirn Indians – Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 7-2
Vienna Metrostars – Diving Ducks Vienna Neustadt 7-8
Vienna Metrostars – Diving Ducks Vienna Neustadt 4-3

In the Austrian Baseball League only three games got into the books last weekend. The Stock City Cubs swept a doubleheader against the Vienna Neustadt Diving Ducks on Thursday. Derek Bettinson, Arian Quirantes (2) and Dave Wigham homered for the Cubs in the 12-9 game-one win. Bettinson collected four hits. In game two the team from Stockerau prevailed 4-2 behind a strong start of Moritz Hackl, who gave up just four hits in six innings, out-pitching Wayne Ough.

On Saturday both teams met again. This time however the Diving Ducks had the better ending with a 14-4 blowout in eight innings. Game two got rained out. Also the matchups between the Vienna Metrostars and the Dornbirn Indians, as well as the Athletics Attnang-Puchheim and Vienna Wanderers were postponed.

Results:
Thursday, May 9, 2013:
Stock City Cubs – Diving Ducks 12-9
Stock City Cubs – Diving Ducks 4-2
Saturday, May 11, 2013:
Diving Ducks – Stock City Cubs 14-4 (8)
Diving Ducks – Stock City Cubs postponed
Vienna Metrostars – Dornbirn Indians postponed
Vienna Metrostars – Dornbirn Indians postponed
Athletics Attnang-Puchheim – Vienna Wanderers postponed
Athletics Attnang-Puchheim – Vienna Wanderers postponed

The Austrian Baseball Federation released the roster for the upcoming Women’s Softball European Championship, which will be held from July 7 to 14 in Prague, Czech Republic. There will be training camps in Vienna (June 15&16) and Prague (July 4 to 6) prior to the European Championship and the Austrian Softball National Team will participate in the Prague Softball Week from June 27 to 29.

Roster:

• Benckendorff Mara (Wr. Neustadt Crazy Chicklets)
• Cartes Valentina (Vienna Wanderers)
• Daill Ines (Linz Witches)
• DuToit Lauren (Vienna Wanderers)
• Grass Birgit (Dornbirn Sharx)
• Hardinger Gabriele (Linz Witches)
• Harringer Julia (Vienna Mosquitoes)
• Kamali Farnaz (Vienna Wanderers)
• Kohlmaier Jacqueline (C.E.King High School, Houston, USA)
• Krejci Carola (St. Pölten Pee Wees)
• Lackner Martina (Linz Witches / Eagles Praha (CZE))
• Latif Katharina (Vienna Wanderers)
• Meriaux Caroline (Vienna Wanderers)
• Vanas Stephanie (Vienna Wanderers)
• Weiser Catharina (Vienna Mosquitoes)
• Wurm Lisa (St. Pölten Pee Wees)
• Wildling Victoria (SCC Berlin Challengers (GER))

Coaching Staff:

• Silvia Feilmayr (Manager)
• Marcel Kratochvil (Head Coach)
• Francesca Fabretto (Assistant Coach)

One week after Finkstonball continued the Austrian Baseball League with six games on Saturday and Sunday. The Vienna Metrostars dethroned previous leader Stock City Cubs with an offensive explosion 24-8 and 11-9. Vienna scored eight runs in the fourth en route to a quick 11-1 lead in game one. The Metrostars used another big inning in the second match to decide the outcome while stopping a late rally of the Cubs just in time.

Meanwhile the Diving Ducks dispatched the Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 14-0 and 8-2. Clemens Cichocki helped in the shutout in game one with Walter Strasser receiving the loss. Ryan Kroko got the win game two with Thomas Schrittwieser getting charged with the loss. The Vienna Wanderers and Dornbirn Indians settled for a split. The Wanderers prevailed 4-3 in the first part of the twin bill. Vienna scored the winning run in the top of the eighth. The Indians won game two 10-3, mainly thanks to a six-run inning to seal the deal.

Results:
Saturday, May 25, 2013:
Dornbirn Indians – Vienna Wanderers 3-4
Dornbirn Indians – Vienna Wanderers 10-3
Attnang-Puchheim Athletics – Diving Ducks 0-14
Attnang-Puchheim Athletics – Diving Ducks 2-8
Sunday, May 26, 2013:
Stock City Cubs – Vienna Metrostars 8-24
Stock City Cubs – Vienna Metrostars 9-11

In the Austrian Baseball League only three of six planned games were played this week. On Saturday the Stock City Cubs and the Athletics Attnang-Puchheim settled for a split, which gave the A’s their first win of the season. On Tuesday the Vienna Wanderers won the derby against the Vienna Metrostars 5-4. The remaining games were postponed due to rain.

Results:
Saturday, June 1, 2013:
Indians – Ducks ppd
Indians – Ducks ppd
Cubs – Athletics 9-2
Cubs – Athletics 1-2
Sunday, June 2, 2013:
Metrostars – Wanderers ppd
Tuesday, June 4, 2013:
Metrostars – Wanderers 4-5

In the Austrian Baseball League a full game day was played this past weekend. The Vienna Wanderers twice edged out the Stock City Cubs on Friday and Sunday. In between the Vienna Metrostars and Diving Ducks split a twin bill and the Dornbirn Indians swept the Athletics Attnang-Puchheim.

Results:
Friday, June 7, 2013:
Wanderers – Cubs 6-5
Saturday, June 8, 2013:
Diving Ducks – Metrostars 2-12
Diving Ducks – Metrostars 9-8
Athletics – Indians 2-5
Athletics – Indians 1-2
Sunday, June 9, 2013:
Wanderers – Cubs 5-4

In the Austrian Baseball League only two matchups were played this weekend. The Dornbirn Indians celebrated a sweep over the Vienna Metrostars, while the Vienna Wanderers and Athletics Attnang-Puchheim split a doubleheader.

Results:
Saturday, June 15, 2013:
Dornbirn Indians – Vienna Metrostars 6-1
Dornbirn Indians – Vienna Metrostars 13-1
Vienna Wanderers – Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 11-1
Vienna Wanderers – Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 2-6

Standings:

1. Dornbirn Indians 7-1
2. Vienna Wanderers 7-4
3. Diving Ducks 5-6
4. Stock City Cubs 5-6
5. Vienna Metrostars 4-5
6. Athletics Attnang-Puchheim 2-8