Austria – Lithuania 17-3 (Box score)
After
surviving an early scare, Austria picked up their first win of the tournament
with a 17-3 victory over Lithuania in the early morning game on Thursday. Lithuania
took a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a pair of bases loaded
walks to score Lukas Kerulis and Erikas Mordas. But Austria answered right away
with five runs in the bottom half of the frame and continued to score in the
three frames as well to widen the advantage. Marc Andre Moczkowski went 4-for-4
with four runs scored and three RBI. Oskar-Tim Kampichler contributed three hits,
three runs and four RBI. Tobias Kropik homered alongside a three-run, three-RBI
performance. Lukas Kerulis scored twice for Lithuania.
Netherlands – Italy 5-1 (Box score)
In the
second game of the day, the Netherlands celebrated a 5-1 win over arch European
baseball rival Italy. The Dutch team scored in each of the first four innings
to capture the victory and first place in the group. Both teams had won the
first two games of the tournament entering the contest. Andrew Jerome Arends
opened the scoring with RBI single in the first. One inning later a RBI single
by Ardjosoediro and a RBI groundout by Dyshairo Zandvliet made it 3-0. A RBI
groundout by Gianmaria Fontana plated Lorenzo Pilatti in the third to put Italy
on the board. But Krijn van der Wens first scored on a wild pitch in the bottom
half of the third to extend the lead to again three runs and then finalized the
score with a RBI single in the fourth.
France – Ukraine 13-0 (Box score)
In the
afternoon game France reached the win column in Group A with a 13-0 shutout
over Ukraine. The French Juveniles scored in each of the first four innings and
defending a commanding lead from the beginning. Remi Monnier set the tone from
the leadoff spot, hitting a home run, while going 3-for-3 with three runs
scored and three RBI. Five players by France scored at least twice. Pitchers
Guillaume Labbal, Remi Monnier and William Lemarie combined to keep Ukraine to
a hit by Yehor Tushyn from the mound.
Germany – Czechia 5-4 (Box score)
In a thriller on Thursday evening Germany secured first place in Group A with a 5-4 victory over Czechia. The defending champion used a five-run rally in the third to turn an early 0-3 deficit into the win. Czech had the better beginning, scoring three times in the second on a RBI double by Adam Pavlis and a two-run home run by Dominik Maly. One inning later Jonathan Strübing put Germany on the board with a sac fly. Felix Blesing followed with a RBI double. And then Matthes Schwarcke turned the game around with a three-run home run for a 5-3 advantage. Czechia responded with a RBI double by Stepan Svec in the top of the fourth. In the last two innings Czechia put runners on base, but failed to bring the tying run over the plate. Relievers Thore Warlies and Yannick Post combined for eight strikeouts in the last three frames to secure the German win.
Outlook
On Friday the semi-finals will take center stage at the U-12 Baseball European Championship. At 15:30 Czechia will take on the Netherlands, while at 18:00 Italy squares off with defending champion and host Germany. The winners advance to the Gold Medal Game on Saturday at 18:00, while also qualifying for the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup in 2025. Earlier in the day the relegation round starts with Austria facing Ukraine at 10:30 and France playing against Lithuania at 13:00.
Live streaming is available through www.baseballeurope.tv. Live play by play can be accessed via www.wbsceurope.org.
Photo by Adam Kazmierczak
