Final ESSL Standings

Awards

Best Batter: Alexander Oelfke (Guzzlers Black), AVG .700
Best Pitcher: Julio Matias (Los Coyotes), OBA .401
Homerun Champion: Timothy Pierce (Eagles), 11 homeruns
Rookie Award: Ramon Vasquez (K.Noah Grizzlies), AVG .647

Link: ESSL Stats

ESSL Champions

2016 Guzzlers Black
2015 Bad News Bombers
2014 Guzzlers Europe

Championship Game ESSL Italy 2016
Guzzlers Black vs. Eagles  15:4 (box score)

Championship
1. Guzzlers Black
2. Eagles
3. Dream Team
4. Los Coyotes

Governors Cup
1. Guzzlers Europe
2. Grizzlies
3. Bulldogs
4. Toros

PLAYER AWARDS
Best Hitter: Zigar Bauer, Bulldogs, AVG .846
Best Pitcher: Jose Dominguez, Los Coyotes, OBA .320

BEST HITTER OF EACH TEAM
Bulldogs: Zigar Bauer (1.), Bulldogs, AVG .846
Dream Team: Joey Cherry (5.), AVG .714
Eagles: Richard Garret (2.), AVG .786
Grizzlies: Reynoso de Leon (7.), AVG .667
Guzzlers Black: Andrew Mehringer (3.), .769
Guzzlers Europe: Nate Auchampau (9.), AVG .643
Los Coyotes: Luis Hernandez Espinal (15.), AVG .571
Toros: Rafael Ferrer (25.), AVG .500

The tournament in Reutlingen seems to be a good place for the European teams as the Dream Team (Slovenia) ranked third and the Toros (Switzerland) fourth. With these rankings both teams have a chance for the third place in the ESSL league ranking.

A new concept was introduced in Germany. After the round robin round the teams were divided into two competitions based on their rankings in the group. The first and second of each group played the championship tournament and the 3rd and 4th of each group the Govenors Cup.

Championship Game ESSL Germany 2016
Eagles vs. Guzzlers Black 24:12 (box score)

Govenors Cup Final Game
Guzzlers Europe vs. Los Coyotes 19:14 (box score)

Championship
1. Eagles
2. Guzzlers Black
3. Dream Team
4. Toros

Governors Cup
1. Guzzlers Europe
2. Los Coyotes
3. Grizzlies
4. Bulldogs

PLAYER AWARDS
Best Hitter: Timothy Pierce, Eagles, AVG .824
Best Pitcher: Marc Stein, Grizzlies, OBA .250

BEST HITTER OF EACH TEAM
Bulldogs: Matija Moze (63.), AVG .364
Dream Team: Jaka Prograr (13.), AVG .667
Eagles: Timothy Pierce (1.), AVG .824
Grizzlies: Manuel Capellan (10.), AVG .692
Guzzlers Black: Kiefer Palm (6.), .737
Guzzlers Europe: Nate Auchampau (2.), AVG .800
Los Coyotes: Richard Rodriguez (4.), AVG .750
Toros: Daniel Olvera (7.), AVG .722

Links:

• Game results
• ESSL stats
• ESSL All-Time Leaders

Championship Gamse ESSL Austria 2016
Game 1: Eagles vs. Guzzlers Black 10:14 (box score)
Game 2: Guzzlers Black vs. Eagles 14:13 (box score)

Final Rankings ESSL Austria
1. Guzzlers Black
2. Eagles
3. Guzzlers Europe
4. Los Coyotes
5. Dream Team
6. Grizzlies
7. Toros
8. Bulldogs

PLAYER AWARDS
Best Hitter: Erluin Suraez, Grizzlies, AVG .818
Best Pitcher: Stan Cruz, Guzzlers Europe, OBA .317

BEST HITTER OF EACH TEAM
Bulldogs: Matija Moze (19.), AVG .533
Dream Team: Anze Tanc (6.), AVG .654
Eagles: Kenneth Vinoski (11.), AVG .609
Grizzlies: Erluin Suraez (1.), AVG .818
Guzzlers Black: Kodie Bellew (7.), .633
Guzzlers Europe: Justin Mattice (4.), AVG .714
Los Coyotes: Daniel Evangelista (2.), AVG .737
Toros: Rafael Ferrer (19.), AVG .533

Links:

• Game results
• ESSL stats
• ESSL All-Time Leaders

The championship journey started on Saturday. After three round robin games the Guzzlers Black finished on second place in their group with a 2-1 winning record. After winning the seeding round (7-3 against Dream Team) and the first double elimination (DE) game (12:7 against the Grizzlies) they lost the second DE game by a score of 4-3 against the Eagles. With this loss they found themselves in the losers bracket playing the first game against the K.Noah Grizzlies on the next day at 0800 am. Both teams faced each other twice at the tournament with two wins for the Guzzlers Black (12-11, 12-7). However, this time the Guzzlers Black had a better start and won the game 21-8 against the Grizzlies. Next stop were the Los Coyotes. The Dominican team from Austria already beat the Guzzlers Black in the round robin games (12-6) and they were eager to repeat it. But this game was a fight until the end. In the bottom of the 5th inning (last inning of the game) the Los Coyotes were in front by two runs (12-10) and had two outs. Boby Duran hit a ball in the outfield. The center fielder of the Los Coyotes reached for the ball, had it in his glove, fell down and dropped it. Now, the score was 12-11 for Los Coyotes with the tying run on first base. After a walk, Todd Gonsalves hit an inside-the-park homerun to end the game 13-11 for Guzzlers Black. By winning the next DE game against Guzzlers Europe by a score of 8-3 the Guzzlers Black faced the Eagles from Wiesbaden in the championship game. The Guzzlers Black won it 14-10 and forced the Eagles to a second championship game. After two innings the Guzzlers Black were 9-5 in front. But suddenly the Eagles silenced the bats of the Guzzlers and they were not able to score any runs for the next four innings. In the bottom of the 7th inning the Eagles had two outs and were 13-11 in front. But there is a phrase “It ain’t over till it’s over” by Yogi Berra you should always keep in mind. After three singles and two errors by the Eagles, the Guzzlers won the game by a score of 14-13 and crowned themselves ESSL Austrian champions 2016.

Championship Games
Game 1, Guzzlers Black vs. Eagles, 14-10, stats & boscore
Game 2, Eagles vs. Guzzlers Black, 13-14, stats & boxscore

Final Rankings
1. Guzzlers Black
2. Eagles Wiesbaden
3. Guzzlers Europe
4. Los Coyotes
5. Dream Team
6. Grizzlies
7. Toros
8. Bulldogs

We start the season with an interview series asking the managers about their team and their prediction about the favorites winning the ESSL. First off, the inteview with Guzzlers Black.

How was the team formed?  What is the story behind? 
Team was formed due to the current growth of our Guzzlers Europe Program in 2016.

What is the meaning of Guzzlers Black? Why did you choose that name?
Black is a great color, or absence of color.  We like the way it sounds.  Another flavor of Guzzlers Europe

What do you expect from the first season in the ESSL?
To Win.  I would expect  every team to have the same answer here.

Your team represents Germany. Where are the players coming from? 
Most live in the Kaiserslautern, German community; however we have some from England, Italy, and Croatia

Which team/s do you expect as the favorite/s for the 2016 season? 
All teams will be tough to beat this year.

Predict the final rankings for the 2016 season:
No Comment.