Austria’s national softball team was in action at the European Softball Championship in Barcelona/Spain in the past few days. The goal of a top 10 place was missed, but with strong games in the second phase of the tournament, 14th place was secured.
In the first phase of the tournament, Switzerland and Ireland were the opponents. After a clear 7-1 win against Switzerland, a win against Ireland would have been necessary to make it into the top 12. Team red-white-red had to admit defeat against a strong Irish team with 0:3, which is why 13th place was subsequently at stake. “We actually had a good game plan against Ireland. Ireland were very stable defensively and we didn’t manage to score. Losing the game against Ireland and thus not making the top 12 is of course disappointing for us,” starting pitcher Martina Lackner-Keil analyzed the defeat against Ireland.
Austria is defeated in the “final game” for 13th place
In the battle for 13th place, Team Austria had to play seven games. The team of head coach Gabriella Gonzalez was superior in almost all games, but in the end it just didn’t make it for 13th place. At the beginning of the second phase of the tournament everything went according to plan. Belgium was defeated 8:4, followed by a clear 15:0 against Turkey before Austria was victorious against the Ukraine after a fight and a temporary deficit with 7:6. The Austrian selection also successfully played the next two games. A 17-0 win over Finland was followed by a 12-2 win over Denmark. In the expected “final match” for 13th place against Croatia, which had also won all five games up to that point, they lost 0:3. In the last game of the European Championship against Malta, the 14th place was finally secured with a sovereign 15:2 victory.
All Team Austria results at a glance
Tournament phase 1:
Austria – Switzerland 7:1
Austria – Ireland: 0:3
Tournament phase 2:
Austria – Belgium 8:4
Austria – Turkey 15:0
Austria – Ukraine 7:6
Austria – Finland 17:0
Austria – Denmark 12:2
Austria – Croatia 0:3
Austria – Malta 15:2
