Switzerland – Austria 9-2 (Box score)
Switzerland defeated Austria 9-2 in the morning game at Hrosi field in Brno on Thursday. Two runs in the fourth and seven in the fifth pathed the way for the Swiss debutant in the Baseball European Championship. William Vasseur and Leonel Sosa Marte combined for five hits and five RBI for Switzerland. Benni Salzmann and Tobias Werner scored the two runs for Austria. James Sanders allowed just three hits, two runs and two base on balls in 7 1/3 innings to pick up the win. Ryan Rupp got charged with the loss.
Italy – Ukraine 15-0 (Box score)
After the disappointing first round for Italy, they took care of business in their relegation round debut with a 15-0 shutout over Ukraine in the first game on Thursday in Trebic. Seven runs in the first two innings, seven in the fifth and one more in the sixth ended the game early due to 15-run rule. Federico Celli and Vito Friscia had three RBI apiece. Andrea Sellaroli scored three times. Matteo Bocchi struck out 11 in five scoreless three-hit innings. Bohdan Kolesnikov got charged with the loss.
Greece – Belgium 4-5 (Box score)
Belgium picked up their first win in the Baseball European Championship, defeating Greece 5-4 in the afternoon game in Hrosi ballpark in Brno on Thursday. A solo home run by Drew Janssen in the top of the ninth inning gave Belgium the win and secured them the spot in the A-Pool. He had three hits and three RBI in the game. Meanwhile Greece had erased a 0-4 deficit, but couldn’t hold off the Red Devils in the end. Ben van Nuffel pitched three innings of relief to pick up the win. Yanni Orfanidis got charged with the loss.
Croatia – Hungary 9-2 (Box score)
Croatia defeated Hungary 9-2 in the evening game in Trebic in the relegation round of the Baseball European Championship on Thursday. The score was close for the first six innings until Croatia ran away with a lopsided score with seven combined runs in the seventh and eighth frames. Phil Smith hit a grand slam for Croatia. Graeham Luttor homered for Hungary. Jose Mendoza pitched a complete game, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out nine. Sean Fekete almost matched him for the first six innings, striking out seven, while conceding three hits, four runs and three base on balls in 6 1/3 frames.
All games can be followed by live streaming on www.baseballeurope.tv and live play by play through www.wbsceurope.org.
Photo by Lenka Brožová
