By Gabriel Fidler.
Day 2 of the Under-23 European Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic featured a bit of everything, include huge offensive performances, dominant pitching, and key defensive plays. Once the dust settled, the standings of the two groups at the U23 Baseball Euros were completely rewritten, and two teams set for semifinal appearances.
Israel – France
In the first game of the day, Israel and France both got off to quick starts, with the score at 3-2 in favor of the French after one inning. Each club posted two runs in the middle third, before Israel evened the game in the sixth. With games at the U23 level only lasting seven innings, this one took eight, with Mathis Meurant—starting shortstop for the University of Arizona—knocking a single to walk off Baseball France in the bottom of the eighth. Meurant who plays for the was 4-for-5 with two doubles from the leadoff spot, while brother Tanguy Meurant closed the game with 2.2 innings of shutout relief for the win. Jake Arnow was 2-for-4 with a double for Israel.
Czech Republic – France
Immediately following this game, the postponed game from Day 1 was concluded, with the hosts came from behind to defeat France, 7-5. After taking a 2-1 in the first, the Czech Republic gave up three to the French in the second. A back-and-forth third put the score at 5-4 France, but the Czechs plated two in the fourth and added another in the sixth to win 7-5. No Czech had more than one hit, whilst Mathis Meurant stayed hot, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs. Miguel López and Esteban Briones also had three hits for the French. Vojtěch Ventruba came up huge for the home team, tossing four shutout innings with no walks and four strikeouts.
Austria – Germany
Austria came back from a 1-0 deficit to Germany through two with a big, four-run third, coasting to a 7-2 victory. Julian Faulhaber ripped a triple and a two-base hit, driving in five for the victors, whilst Darrion Richards, Luca Hörger, and Tobias Maul all had a pair of knocks for Germany. Five pitchers toed the rubber for Baseball Austria.
Netherlands – Italy
The penultimate game of the day was the wildest, with heavyweights Netherlands and Italy going toe-to-toe for a 26-run outburst. The Dutch took a 3-0 lead through two, but the Italians posted five in the bottom of the second. After a fourth run for the Netherlands, the Italians answered with four more, putting the score at 9-4 through three. After a scoreless fourth, the honkbalsters erupted for five runs in the fifth, a quartet in the sixth, and three in the game’s final frame. After a single run for Italy, the Netherlands claimed the slugfest by a 16-10 margin.
For the Netherlands, leadoff hitter Gedionne Marlin went an eye-popping 5-for-6 with a double and five RBI, scoring twice. Sem Kuijper had two doubles and a walk, while Raphael Smeenk had three singles and drove in a trio. Jamie Beerman ripped a double and a single, plating four, while Raydley Legito had a pair of two-baggers. Luca van Gorkum and Miquel Willem also had two hits for the victors. Samuele Gamberini went 3-for-5 with Italy, while Jhorjan Guevára had a double, a single, and three RBI.
Former Red Sox’ minor leaguer Stijn van der Schaaf pitched a scoreless inning and one-third to settle the game down for the Netherlands, with Jelle van der Lelie coming on to finish with three strong frames and earn the win. The result ensured the Dutch of a semifinal appearance, but will also prevent Italy for playing for a medal and, incredibly, having to fight to avoid relegation.
Great Britain – Czech Republic
After all the runs in the previous game, Great Britain’s matchup with Czech Republic was a pitchers’ duel, with the Czechs striking first. In the opening frame, a one-out error allowed Šimon Klacl to reach. Michal Šindelka and Jan Pospíšil followed with singles to score a run. A nice throw from British centerfielder Jackson Kraemer to pitcher Ollie Duthie caught Šindelka headed for third, with third baseman Quinn Allen applying the tag.
The same cast of characters produced two more runs in bottom of the third, following a leadoff single by Šimon Drápela. Klacl walked, Šindelka singled again, and Pospíšil drove in the first two runners with a run-scoring single. One again, Great Britain ended a rally early, this time when first-sacker Jack Wallis snared a foul fly and tossed to Duffie at 1B for the double play.
That was all the offense for either team, as Jan Kozel was exceptional for the home team, punching out five in an equal number of frames and surrendering only three hits and no free passes for the win. Filip Kollmann whiffed three around a walk in two shutout frames for the save. Duthie went four in the loss, allowing two earned runs, while Edward Taylor finished with a pair of scoreless frames. The win for the U23 Czech baseball squad ensures it will play for a medal on home turf, while the matchup between Great Britain and France tomorrow will determine the final Group B participant.
Group A Standings
Netherlands: 2-0
Austria: 1-1
Germany: 1-1
Italy: 0-2
Group B Standings
Czech Republic: 2-0
Great Britain: 1-1
France: 1-1
Israel: 0-2
Catch up on the action from Day 1 [link].