Buchbinder Legionaere 001 000 201 4 15 0 Solingen Alligators 001 000 103 5 7 0

The Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg out-hit the Solingen Alligators 15-4 midway through the ninth inning of game three of the best of five final series in the German Baseball-Bundesliga on Saturday. But in the end the Alligators celebrated a 5-4 comeback win. Solingen erased a 2-4 deficit in the process and won thanks a two-run walk off single by Dustin Hughes. They are now one win away from winning their second title since 2006. Game four is scheduled for Sunday at 2pm CET. You can watch it live at www.legionaere.de/tv.

In a tight ball game Mike Bolsenbroek (8 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO) out-pitched Andre Hughes (15 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO), who was heavily helped by a stellar defense to keep his team in the game. Regensburg broke a 1-1 tie with a wild pitch and a RBI single by Evan LeBlanc in the seventh and even though Dustin Hughes answered with a solo home run seemed to be en route to the victory. The Buchbinder Legionaere added an insurance run in the top of the ninth through LeBlanc’s sac fly and only needed three more outs to defend a 4-2 lead.

But getting these last three outs proved to be too difficult. The Alligators opened the bottom half of the ninth with a walk by Tanner Leighton and a single by Travis Bass chasing Bolsenbroek from the game. Boris Bokaj came in and got surprised by Kai Gronauer’s bunt, who reached first to load the bases. The Czech right-hander didn’t recover. With Dustin Hughes at the plate he first threw a 0-2 pitch in the dirt for a wild pitch, allowing Leighton to score from third base. Hughes drove the next pitch into left field for the decisive game-ending two-run single.

Photo: Gregor Eisenhuth, www.eisenhuth-photographie.de