France rallies against Germany on day two of U-23 Baseball European Championship

France – Germany 8-3 (Box score)

In a thrilling back and forth battle, France scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth to defeat Germany 8-3 in the morning game in Wiener Neustadt on Wednesday. After France took a quick 2-0 lead in the first on an error and a RBI single by Gabriel Harrison, Germany came back in the fifth and sixth with home runs by Simon Bäumer and Lou Helmig to get up front 3-2. However in the bottom half of the frame France tied the game quickly on a RBI single by Pierre Doat. A RBI fielder’s choice by Fabian Kovac pushed the leading run over the plate before a two-run double by Mathis Meurant and an error on a dropped flyball plated four more runs for France to seal the win. Mathis Nayral struck out eight batters in 4 1/3 strong innings.

Czechia – Netherlands 1-2 (Box score)

The Netherlands improved to 2-0 with a 2-1 victory over Czechia, which still waits for their first win in the tournament. However Czechia had the better start into the game, taking a 1-0 advantage in the second on sac fly by Tomas Chadim. One inning later Jeandro Tromp tied the game with a RBI single. In the sixth the Dutch team got ahead with a RBI single by Edvin Irausquin. Not much else got going on offense for both teams, as pitching dominated the contest. Scott Prins issued just one hit, a run and three walks in six innings, while striking out three for the win. Pim Vijfvinkel closed out the nail-biter. David Mergans kept Czechia in the game, by allowing just two runs on four hits and five walks in 5 2/3 innings.

Italy – Belgium 14-4 (Box score)

Italy overcame an early 0-2 deficit to defeat Belgium 14-4 in five innings in the afternoon game in Schwechat on Wednesday. Italy scored in four of the five innings played, highlighted by a five-run rally in the fifth. Gabriele Angioi collected three runs out of the leadoff spot. Samuele Gamberini, Andres Annunziata Nino and Tommaso Battioni had two RBI each for a balanced attack, which also saw nine different players score. Nando Mostaert homered for Belgium, scored twice and drove in two.

Great Britain – Austria 10-4 (Box score)

Great Britain scored eight runs following a rain delay in the second en route to a 10-4 win over Austria in the Wednesday evening game. The British squad improved to 2-0 in Group A, while Austria dropped to 0-2. Donovan Crook and Andrew Johnston had the big hits during the rally with a two-run double and a two-run single. Kennard Dawson and Ben Leid also collected two RBI apiece. Christoph Hoscher scored twice for Austria.

Outlook

Great Britain is going to have a quick turnaround as they will play the Netherlands at 10:00 on Thursday to close out the preliminary round in a battle for first place in Group A, as both teams are already are qualified for the semi-finals on Friday. At 14:30 Germany will square off against Italy. At 16:00 in Schwechat Belgium is taking on France in hopes for their first win. In the evening at 19:30 Austria meets with Czechia in a matchup of winless teams.

All games can be followed live through live play by play at www.wbsceurope.org, while live streaming is offered through the WBSC Europe YouTube channel.

Photo by @izzygracephotography_