After darkness cut short opening day, day two at the European Championship C-Pool in Ljubljana, Slovenia featured three games on the schedule. In the morning Norway completed their suspended 13-10 victory over Slovenia. However in game two in the afternoon Serbia downed Norway 21-3. In the early evening game Ireland entered the competition with a close 2-1 win over Finland.
Slovenia – Norway 10-13
The slugfest between host Slovenia and Norway was suspended in the ninth inning on Monday due to darkness. One day later Norway held on to the 13-10 lead for their first win in the first game. Steffen Torgersen led the way with four hits, four runs and five RBI. Jaliet Alvarez scored four times as well and also closed out the game in the ninth. Jakob Trobec crossed the plate three times for Slovenia. Emil Fjelvang conceded seven hits, eight runs (2 ER) and four base on balls in 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win. Andrej Bizjak took the loss in relief.
Norway – Serbia 3-21 (5)
Norway was back on the field a couple of hours later, losing 3-21 to Serbia in five innings. Six runs in the fourth and 11 in the fifth blew the score wide open. Marko Badovinac and Nikola Ignjatovic combined to score eight runs in the game. Ignjatovic also collected four RBI. Vladimir Saravolac drove in five. Aleksandar Berec allowed four hits, three runs (1 ER) and three walks in five innings for the win. Nicholas Bach took the loss, getting charged with ten hits, nine runs (8 ER) and three base on balls in 3 2/3 innings.
Ireland – Finland 2-1
In the early evening matchup pitching had the upper hand over offense, as Ireland edged out Finland 2-1. A RBI single by Brendan Power in the first and a RBI groundout by Patrick O’Shea in the sixth gave the Irish team a 2-0 lead. Ville-Herman Saarman hit a solo home run in the ninth to account for Finland’s lone run. O’Shea also went the distance on the mound, giving up seven hits, a run and two walks. Timo Liiri took the loss after two hits, two runs and four walks in five frames.
Local organizers have launched a dedicated Facebook page to inform about the tournament. Additionally live play by play will be available through the CEB competition website www.baseballstats.eu