Cards defeat Czech MZLU Express, Fries K’s 15 Batters in win
by John Baum
In what has to be considered the biggest win for any Swiss baseball team ever, the Cardinals took down the mighty hosts from the Czech Republic (MZLU Express) Tuesday by a score of 3-2!! Severin Fries was the story of the day, allowing only nine hits, while working out of all but one tough situation.
Fries would allow two runs to cross the plate in the third inning in an otherwise beautifully pitched game! He struck out 15 batters on the way to the complete game win, putting his team in great position to make the unthinkable happen…winning a qualifier!
Along the way Tobias Imboden did the job with the bat, being the only hitter for the Cards to collect two hits. Imboden would account for all three of the Cardinals runs, scoring twice, while driving in the other. The go ahead runs were plated by a Samuel Paulino double in the bottom of the seventh on a full count. In the end the game finished as it should, another Czech hitter down on strikes to give Fries his fifteenth!
The Cards backed up that monumental win on Wednesday by taking the Austrians (Kufstein Vikings) down by a score of 13-3. The team, of an emotional night game, looked a bit sluggish, but took care of the overmatched Austrians in seven innings. Stefan Koller collected the win, while John Baum and Raphael Hanzi did their part on offense with RBI triples.
The team plays tomorrow at 10am against the only other undefeated team in the tournament, Slovenia. The winner of this game will automatically qualify for the final on Saturday!
