Frady Leads Germany to Summer Success

While several Panthers have been busy playing in wood-bat amateur leagues far from home, Georgia State baseball head coach Greg Frady has spent part of his summer coaching the German National Team in Europe. The highlight of summer was the Germans sweep of bitter rival France in a seven-game series.

Frady also led the German squad in an exhibition against the United States National Team, which is comprised of collegiate players. The Germans hosted the game in Regensburg in front of 2,500 fans, the second largest crowd ever at Armin Wolf Arena. Frady was proud of his team’s play, as the Americans held a 3-1 lead entering the eighth inning. The U.S. club scored six runs in the eighth and prevailed 9-3.

“It was a great game and the first time the U.S. team has played in Germany,” said Frady.

In the seven-game series against neighboring rival France, the Germans outscored the French 63-11 in the series and rode a powerful offense to 12-1, 16-0, 10-3, 11-1 and 9-3 wins in the first five games. Frady’s squad played small ball and completed the sweep with 2-1 and 3-2 wins in games six and seven.

“To sweep the French was quite a great accomplishment,” Frady said. “The team did a great job working this summer to develop and prepare for the 2009 World Cup in Europe.”

The World Cup was originally scheduled to be held in Cuba in 2009, but the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) moved the tournament to Europe to help “develop the market for baseball,” noted Frady. “Europe is one of the last frontiers for baseball growth.”