Czechia clinches 5th Place in the Baseball European Championship after Win over Israel

The game started in a difficult way for Czechia, as Israel loaded the bases and scored a run to take the lead on a RBI single by Zev Moore. However starting pitcher Tomas Ondra got out of the inning without more harm and Czechia answered on offense directly in the bottom half of the first.

Leadoff William Escala walked and scored on a single by Eric Sogard when the throw from the right fielder went wide. Sogard also eventual would score on a RBI fielder’s choice by Vojtech Mensik to put the home team up in front.  

One inning later Czechia added a run on a RBI single by Eric Sogard scoring Marek Chlup. The combination of the two players also came through in the fourth, when Chlup led off the frame with a triple and later scored on a RBI single by Sogard. Back to back triples by Vojtech Mensik and Arnost Dubovy brought home the fifth run in the bottom of the seventh.

Tomas Ondra collected the win with seven strikeouts in five strong innings, issuing three hits, an unearned run and a walk. Jan Tomek and Jake Rabinowitz closed out the win. Itai Spinoza took the loss, surrendering three hits, three runs and three base on balls in 1 2/3 innings.

All games can be followed by live streaming on www.baseballeurope.tv and live play by play through www.wbsceurope.org.

Photo by Grega Valancic