by Jeffrey Darrion Siler II
The weekend of February 26, 2011 was the 3rd Annual Baseball Cup of Almada and featured three of the top teams in Portuguese competition. The host team, Almada White Sharks, came out on top with decisive victories over returning champs Associação Académica Coimbra, and Bravos do Centro Social Luso-Venezuelano.
Sunny and with temperatures in the 70’s, the Almada Cup is being hailed as yet another demonstrated success of the growing standard of Baseball in Portugal. The first game of the tournament pitted the White Sharks of Almada against Bravos CSLV in a decent display of both teams’ ability to swing the bat. Despite an impressive late inning rally, CSLV was unable to overcome the daunting score differential. White Sharks ultimately claimed victory with a final score of 17-6, and saw a standout performance from young pitcher João Alves.
CSLV went on to play a difficult game against A.A. Coimbra, taking an early lead against the reigning Portuguese champs in game two of the Almada Cup. CSLV led A.A. Coimbra through 4-innings with help from Mickael Pinto (2 for 3 on the day with 3 BB), but a combination of errors and mental fatigue allowed for Coimbra to capitalize as they posted 13 runs late in the game. The final tally was A.A. Coimbra 13-3 CSLV.
A.A. Coimbra and Almada White Sharksmet in the final match with each team looking to use this tournament to set the tone for the coming Portuguese Championship. Fine pitching kept the game scoreless through 3 innings until A.A. Coimbra player Jorge Castenada (2 for 5 on the day) hit a solo HR to put the northern Portuguese team on top. Their lead was short-lived as the White Sharks retaliated by pulling ahead in the 4th led by the strong hitting performances of Renato Espirito Santo (2 for 3 on the day) and Carlos “Alex” Machado Tavares (4 for 5 with 2 doubles on the day).
Strong pitching kept the game close, with a few key hits and minor errors making the difference in the end. White Sharks took final victory with a score of 3-1. Coimbra ace pitcher Petr Stříbrcký threw 6-innings allowing just 4 hits and striking out 4 with 0 BB. White Sharks pitcher Jeffrey Darrion Siler II threw 5-innings allowing 1 hit and striking out 10. Rui Lopes closed out the game for the White Sharks allowing only 1 hit and striking out 1.
Rui Lopes had this to say about the day’s events, “The tournament was a huge success, both organizationally and in demonstrating the growing level of play. It was a great showing for all teams involved, and shows us what to expect from the upcoming season. I also hope that this rise in the level of game play will translate into a strong showing for us in the European Championship Qualifier in Montpelier.”