Four games were played on day one of the U-15 Baseball European Championship 2023.
Czechia – Hungary 13-3 (Box score)
Czechia defeated Hungary 13-3 to open the U-15 Baseball European Championship in a convincing way on Tuesday morning. The defending champion however had to overcome an early scare, as the underdog Hungary took a 3-1 lead midway through the third inning. But Czechia answered with three runs in the bottom half und ran away with the win afterwards. Seven runs in the sixth blew the score wide open. Jakub Kliner had two hits, three runs and two RBI out off the leadoff spot. Lukas Kincl collected three hits, two runs and two RBI. Zalan Atwood, Andras Virag and Aaron Mercado Marquez scored the runs for Hungary.
Italy – Germany 7-6 (Box score)
In a
meeting of former U-15 Baseball European Champions, Italy had the upper hand by
winning 7-6 over Germany in the afternoon game on Tuesday in Trnava. After both
teams exchanged three-run frames in a thrilling opening period, Germany took a
4-3 lead in the top half of the fourth inning, when Kyran Norgren, who had a
three-run double in the first, scored on a wild pitch. But Italy came right back
and took a 7-4 advantage with a game-deciding four-run bottom half of the
frame. A bases loaded walk tied the game. Then Alessandro Garavaglia drove in
two with a single to put Italy ahead. A hit by pitch with the bases loaded
added a much-needed insurance run. Germany made things interesting in the sixth
when Dalton Deadman and Jules-Noah Moser got them within one run thanks to a
pair of RBI singles. But in the end the Italian bullpen shut things down to
give them the win.
Slovakia – France 0-16 (Box score)
France gave
host Slovakia a rude opening game on Tuesday evening scoring 14 runs in the
first two innings en route to a 16-0 shutout. Ivan Bamberger ignited the French
offense by going 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Five more players from
France scored multiple runs. Additionally the pitching shut out Slovakia and
kept them to two hits by Jakub Krizan and Jakub Holeski.
Outlook
On Wednesday Italy opens the second day of the competition with a matchup against Hungary at 10:00. At 13:30 Germany looks to rebound against Czechia in a crucial game for advancement to the semi-finals. At 17:00 the Netherlands enter the U-15 Baseball European Championship 2023 with a game against strong starter France.
All games of the U-15 Baseball European Championship in Trnava will be streamed live through the WBSC Europe YouTube Channel. Live play by play will be available for all games at www.wbsceurope.org.
