Bussum’s pride HCAW won the European championship almost two weeks ago. And of course that had to be celebrated. Yesterday the athletes were driven through Bussum in a convertible bus during the victory march, after which they were honored by the mayor and sports alderman.
After the home game against Neptunus, the baseball players were driven from the club through Bussum in the classic convertible bus. The triumphal procession arrived at the Wilhelminaplantsoen around 7 pm, where the European champions were honored by the mayor of Gooise Meren, Han ter Heegde, and associated sports alderman Jelmer Kruijt.
The festivities had already been underway for a few hours on the park, because the municipality had taken the trouble to hire a DJ and arrange extra catering. In addition to the ceremony, the team also received a Silver Leg Medal and a cheque.
EK at home
The international tournament started at the beginning of June. Baseball club Allen Weerbaar, as the club is called in full, was ready for it. Since they had become national champions for the first time in 24 years, they were allowed to organize the tournament in-house right away.
The first match in the group stage against the French Rouen Huskies was easily won 18-5. The second group match was also against the Czech Arrows Astrava. That team was beaten off the field with convincing numbers: 12-0. That made it to the semi-finals. The last group match against the German Bonn Capitals was lost 5-2, but that didn’t matter.
In the semi-final, HCAW faced fellow Dutchmen Amsterdam Pirates. This game turned out to be an exciting one, but it turned out in favor of the Bussummers with a narrow win of 4-3. The Germans of Bonn Capitals were beaten 13-3 by the Italian Parma.
So the Bussummers had to compete against the defending champions from Parma in the final. With resounding numbers, HCAW eventually became European Champion for the first time in their history: 11-4.