VOITH Heidenheim Heidekoepfe – Draci Brno 8-2 (Box score)
The VOITH Heidenheim Heidekoepfe earned their second win of the tournament with an 8-2 victory over Draci Brno on Thursday morning. Mike Bolsenbroek threw a complete game to guide the Heidekoepfe to the win. He issued only two runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out nine. Shawn Larry and Gary Owens had home runs for Heidenheim, Leandro Manzanero for Brno. Vaclav Taus got charged with the loss.
Curacao Neptunus Rotterdam – Arrows Ostrava 9-4 (Box score)
Arrows Ostrava was looking for the upset against Curacao Neptunus and was leading 4-1 through seven innings. Then their pitching fell apart and Rotterdam rallied, keyed by a grand slam by Dashenko Ricardo and a bases clearing double by Raydley Legito. Kaj Timmermans went the distance for Neptunus, conceding nine hits, four runs (2 ER) and a walk with nine strikeouts. Boris Bokaj got charged with the loss, issuing seven hits, eight runs (7 ER) and four base on balls in 7 1/3 frames.
VOITH Heidenheim Heidekoepfe – ASD Parma 0-12 (Box score)
In the afternoon the VOITH Heidenheim Heidekoepfe and ASD Parma continued their suspended game from Wednesday. Parma led 2-0 in the third inning, when the game was resumed and build on to that advantage by scoring ten more runs for an easy 12-0 shutout in eight innings. Noel Gonzalez, Alex Sambucci and Alberto Mineo combined for four home runs and ten RBI for Parma. Diego Fabiani inherited the win by throwing six scoreless relief innings. Luke Sommer took the loss.
Curacao Neptunus Rotterdam – Bonn Capitals 5-8 (Box score)
The Bonn Capitals captured their second win in as many games early evening with an 8-5 win over Curacao Neptunus Rotterdam. A four-run rally in the third inning broke a 2-2 tie en route to the victory. Down 2-8 after seven innings, Rotterdam tried to field another comeback, but only was able to cut the deficit to three runs. Danny Lankhorst had three hits and three RBI for Bonn. Wilson Lee added a much-needed insurance two-run home run. Greg Muller and John Polonius hit home runs for Curacao Neptunus. Sascha Koch threw five innings for the win. Aaron De Groot took the loss.
ASD Parma – L&D Amsterdam 4-12 (Box score)
L&D Amsterdam, which had lost their opening game to Heidenheim in dramatic fashion, defeated ASD Parma 12-4 for their second win in the tournament. Paired with Parma’s 12-0 shutout from earlier in the day, Amsterdam managed to claim first place in Group A ahead of Parma and Heidenheim. All three games were tied with two wins and a loss. Based on the Team Quality Balance, Amsterdam came out on top. The Pirates took the lead with four runs in the second and sealed the victory by adding six more runs in the last two innings. Denzel Richardson went 5-for-6 with a home run and four RBI. Scinarf Loopstok added four hits. Alex Sambucci collected three hits for Parma. Shairon Martis went the distance to earn the win. Jose Alexander Diaz got charged with the loss.
Bonn Capitals – ASD San Marino 4-6 (Box score)
ASD San Marino scored twice in the tenth inning to hand the Bonn Capitals with a 6-4 win their first loss of the tournament. San Marino improved to 2-0, but still needs to complete its game against Curacao Neptunus to know their fate. It was a close game. Eric Brenk put Bonn ahead with a RBI double in the third, but San Marino answered right away with three runs through a RBI single by Gabriel Lino and a pair of sac flies by Jesus Ustariz and Dudley Leonora. Erick Epifano even added another run with a RBI double in the fifth. But the Capitals came back. Wilson Lee cut the deficit with a RBI single in the seventh and Danny Lankhorst tied the game in the eighth with a two-run single. Lankhorst then also had the chance to walk it off, but he struck out with a runner on third in the ninth to send the game into extra-innings. In the tenth both teams loaded the bases with a tie-breaker runners on base, but only San Marino was able to capitalize. Ortwin Pieternella and Leo Ferrini scored on wild pitches to secure the victory.
Outlook for Friday in Bonn
The first half of the semi-finals is already set, as Amsterdam and Parma advance to the semi-finals from Group A. Heidenheim and Brno need to settle for the relegation round. The standings in Group B are still open. On Friday morning the suspended contest between San Marino and Curacao Neptunus needs to be finished with the score tied at 5-5 after eight innings. Afterwards the standings will be known and with that the matchups in the semi-finals and the relegation round.
Live streaming and live scoring for all games is available through www.wbsceurope.org.
Photo by Thomas Schönenborn
