Overview of national champions in Europe in 2017

Here is an overview of this year’s baseball champions of European countries as far as the available information allows me to write something about it.

Austria:
In the ten-team Baseball League Austria, the reigning champion Attnang-Puchheim Athletics took on the Vienna Wanderers. The Athletics won the first two games at home but fell twice to the Wanderers in the second weekend of the series, when three games were played. In the final weekend, the Athletics needed to win only one game. But the Wanderers threatened to spoil the Athletics’ party as they won game six 5-3 to tie the series at three. So a decisive game had to be played. The Athletics took a 3-0 lead but the Wanderers came back to make it 3-2. Then the Athletics extended their lead to 4-2 but again the lead shrunk as the Wanderers came back to 4-3. Eventually, after the 17-year old pitcher Christoph Vanas was replaced, the defense of the Wanderers collapsed and the Athletics walked away to a 9-3 final score. By winning game seven, the Athletics repeated and won their fourth overall title.

Belgium:
After winning their first championship in 2014, the Borgerhout Squirrels were close in 2015 and 2016 but they fell to the Deurne Spartans. This year the team faced the Brasschaat Braves in a best of five series. Even though Borgerhout was the favorite, Brasschaat gave the Squirrels a hard time and forced a fifth game. In that fifth game, the Squirrels got a relatively easy victory as they beat the Braves 6-2 and clinched their second Belgian title ever.

Bulgaria:
The Buffaloes Blagoevgrad won the Bulgarian championship in a best of five series vs Athletic Sofia. In this series, both teams were each other’s match as the games all had a pretty close score. Athletic Sofia forced a fifth game which it lost 1-0 vs the Buffaloes.
This title is the Buffaloes’ twentieth for sure, but it may very well be that they have won more between 2014 and now, but no information is available about that.

Czech Republic:
For the 21st time in history, Draci (Dragons) Brno has won the Czech baseball title. In a best of five series, the club beat Arrows Ostrava 4-1. In four of the five games, the decision came in the final inning. In the clincher, Draci took a 2-0 lead and a 5-1 lead but in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Arrows scored four times to tie the game. Eventually, Draci pushed through in ninth to win this game 6-5.

Denmark:
Baseball is a very small sport in Denmark. Even this small, the country’s highest league only contains five teams. The number of games they play are twelve. After a full competition, two teams finished on top. The Aarhus Athletics and the Urban Achievers both with a 10-2 record. But as the Athletics had a better run differential (38 vs 16), the Athletics are the Danish champions.

Finland:
Baseball is even a smaller sport in Finland. The local league contains only four teams. The information of the Finnish champions is not complete as it only shows the champions until 2014. But since the Espoo Expos have been vastly superior since 2003, it is safe to say that they won the championships in 2015 and 2016 as well. This year they swept the Helsinki Puumat (Pumas) 4-0 for their 15th championship.

France:
In France, the Rouen Huskies are vastly superior since their first championship in 2003. Since then, only twice another club clinched the championship. In 2004 the Lions de Savigny-sur-Orge won the championship and in 2014 the Templiers de Sénart won it all. Also this year the Huskies won but the championship series was an exciting one as the opponent, the Templiers de Sénart, forced a decisive fifth game. And that game was an exciting one as well as the Huskies won by a run: 9-8. With this win, the Huskies clinched their thirteenth national title.

Germany:
For the third time in the modern history of German baseball, the Heidenheim Heideköpfe won the German title. In a best of five series, they beat the Bonn Capitals 3-2.
It was a very close series in which neither team did not give in much. After trailing 2-1 in games, the Heideköpfe (Moorheads), forced a decisive fifth game as they played in Bonn.
In the final game (in Heidenheim) the Heideköpfe clinched an easy 8-1 victory.

Great Britain:
In Great Britain, they have quite a lot of teams. The top league contains only six teams though. The London Mets swept their way to the national championship. In a best of three, they beat the Southampton Mustangs 15-14 and 6-0. The 2017 championship was the fourth in the club’s existence. It was a revenge for last year’s final when the Mets lost to the Mustangs 2-1.

Ireland:
In a eight-team league, the  Dublin City Hurricanes prevailed in a best of three series against the Greystone Mariners winning in two games (10-2 and 7-5). This was the Hurricanes’ third consecutive and sixth overall championship.

Italy:
In the Italian IBL, the Rimini Pirates and San Marino faced each other in the Italian championship series. Rimini and San Marino are fierce rivals as this video of the 2017 European Champions Cup in Regensburg (Germany) shows:

By sweeping San Marino in a best of five, Rimini won its thirteenth Italian title.

Netherlands:
After a tough season in which the club was hit by the injury bug and by two players being suspended due to alleged PED use, Curaçao Neptunus clinched its eighteenth Dutch title. In a best of seven series, L&D Amsterdam Pirates was beaten 4-1. It was a successful year for new manager Ronald Jaarsma, who guided the club to a European Champions Cup win as well.

Norway:
In the five-team Norwegian Eliteserien, the Oslo Pretenders, who finished on top of the standings with thirteen wins and three losses took on the Kristiansand Suns in the championship game. In the championship weekend, the first place Pretenders took on the Bergen Wet Sox and the Kristiansand Suns took on the Oslo Rangers in the semi-finals. The Pretenders and the Suns advanced to the championship game which was won by the Pretenders 13-4.

Poland:
With a no-hitter, former Yankees farmhand Artur Strzalka won the clincher for his team KS Silesia Rybnik. In nine innings he struck out 21.

Spain:
In the Division de Honor the Tenerife Marlins won the championship of Spain. The club finished with the same record as last year’s winner Valencia Astros (22-6) but thanks to four wins against the Astros in the regular competition, the Marlins clinched their ninth title. Only Viladecans have won more titles in Spain (21).

Sweden:
In the seven-team Swedish Elitserien, the Sölvesborg Firehawks swept the Rättvik Butchers 3-0 in the best-of-five final series (8-4, 3-2 and 8-4) for its first-ever Swedish title.

Switzerland:
Also in Switzerland, there is a seven-team league, named the National Liga.
In a best of five series, which needed a decisive fifth game, the Therwill Flyers bested the Zurich Barracudas. Trailing two games to one, the Barracudas forced a fifth game as they beat the Flyers 12-3. But in the winner take all game, the Flyers beat the Barracudas 5-4.