German Bundesliga Playoffs Set; Dohren and Mainz Claim Final Tickets
The 2022 German Bundesliga regular season wrapped up last weekend, with the final playoff spots claimed by the Dohren Wild Farmers (North) and Mainz Athletics (South). The first round of the playoffs begin this coming weekend, Jul 16-17, with the Wild Farmers taking the long strip south to take on the South champion Guggenberger Legionäre Regensburg and the Athletics travelling north to challenge the Bonn Capitals.
Bundesliga North
In the final week of action in the Bundesliga North, both the Wild Farmers and Cologne Cardinals had a chance to qualify for the post-season, with the Cologne Cardinals, on paper at least, enjoying the better chances as they took on the struggling Dortmund Wanderers. The Wild Farmers, on the other hand, hosted the perennial contenders Untouchables Paderborn, who qualified for the playoffs as vice-champions of the North division and entered the final weekend with a 14-4 record.
In the end, the Wild Farmers managed a split with the Untouchables, taking the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader 15-6 (box score), with the Cardinals managing a split of their own against the Wanderers. And both contests were decided by one run. The Cardinals triumphed in Game 1, 2-1 (box score), in large part due to Florian Kawczynski’s complete-game gem (8K, 2H, 1ER), but fell 3-2 (box score) in the second contest.
The result would have sufficed to qualify the Cardinals for the playoffs had the Wild Farmers, who started the season 1-8 before turning things around, not scored seven runs in the seventh inning of Game 2, allowing them to pull away from the Untouchables and take the W.
Bundesliga South
In the South division, the Stuttgart Reds travelled to Munich in need a sweep of the third-placed Disciples in order to qualify for the playoffs, and the Reds’ hopes were alive late into Game 1, with the club holding a 4-3 lead after six and half innings. The Discples’ bats came to life in the bottom half of the frame, however, with six runs scoring on four hits — three of them for extra bases, including a triple by Nateshon Thomas — and an error. The Disciples would go on to take Game 1, 10-4 (box score), with the Reds’ defeat allowing the Mainz Athletics to pip them to the fourth and final playoff spot. The Reds travelled home with the consolation prize of a 5-2 victory (box score) in Game 2.
Playoff Matchups
Guggenberger Legionäre Regensburg (22-6, South 1) v. Dohren Wild Farmers (9-15, North 4)
Bonn Capitals (21-1, North 1) v. Mainz Athletics (17-11, South 4)
Untouchables Paderborn (15-5, North 2) v. Munich-Haar Disciples (19-9, South 3)
Heidenheim Heideköpfe (21-7, South 2) v. Hamburg Stealers (11-11, North 3)