The 2010 Danish Fastpitch Softball Championships
Article submitted by:
Christina Laub Frank – Media Committee ll The Danish Softball Federation
The men’s final at the 2010 Danish Fastpitch Softball Championships, held on Saturday October 2nd, showcased some of the best softball players in Europe right now.
The Teams
Hørsholm Hurricanes, runner-up in 2009, faced Stenløse Bulls for the ninth time this season.
Both teams have national team players onboard who helped win the European Championship, when Denmark beat the Czech Republic 5-2.
The National Championship final was a repetition of the European Cup Winners Cup final in Prague this summer, where Hørsholm Hurricanes beat Stenløse Bulls 4-1.
The Danes cashed in on the awards at both championships: Bulls’ pitcher, Kim Hansen, was awarded Best Pitcher at the 2010 Men’s European Cup Winners Cup, while Daniel “Charlie” Julenon was awarded both Best Batter and Most Valuable Plauer at the European Championship.
Valdemar Terkelsen, Hurricanes, was awarded Best Batter as well as Most Valuable Player at the European Cup Winners Cup.
Men’s Final
Bulls led by 2-0 after the first inning; a single from Anders Jørgensen, followed by a long triple from Jesper Low manufactured the first run and a perfectly executed squeeze-play by Martin Simonsen gave the second run. Bulls dominated and it began to look like a sure victory for them. However, in the fourth inning Frederik Terkelsen, Hurricanes, hit a long, hard ball and made it to second base against all odds. Earlier this year, the 23 year-old super talent won the ISC Men’s World Fastball Tournament in Michigan, USA, with his Canadian team, Jarvis Travelers. Now he was back in Denmark to help his Danish club team win the final.
With Frederik Terkelsen on second, Julius Veeris came up to bat. The Dutch player was brought in just for this one game and he was about to prove his worth. A homerun said it all and brought the score to 2-2. Hurricanes came to life and in the bottom of the sixth made the decisive plays.
Thomas Hansen singled and Frederik Terkelsen managed to force an error on the Bulls infield. Julius Veeris was given an intentional walk, making it bases loaded with Dennis Kihlgast coming up. He singled, scoring two more runs. Anders Hansen followed with a sac fly and Rody Stam’s grounder in the infield drove in yet another run, making it 5-2 – the final score.
Individual Awards men’s:
Best Pitcher: Martin Holmberg, Hørsholm Hurricanes (ERA 2.00)
Best Batter: Julius Veeris, Hørsholm Hurricanes (AVG .500)
Most Valuable Player: Julius Veeris, Hørsholm Hurricanes
Women’s Final
The women’s final saw Copenhagen Barracudas reclaim the title for the second year in a row, beating United 7-1.
Individual Awards women’s:
Best Pitcher: Nana Rasmussen, Copenhagen Barracudas (ERA 1.00)
Best Batter: Pia Jacobsen, Copenhagen Barracudas (AVG .750)
Most Valuable Player: Pia Jacobsen, Copenhagen Barracudas