After the Qualifiers on Monday the European Cups A got underway on Tuesday with competitive games and a couple surprising results in Hoofddorp and Brno.
In Brno the first upset came in the first game, when the French vice champion Templiers Senart beat its Italian counterpart Rimini 6-1. It was a close match until the Templiers scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to blow things open. Raudelin Legra went the distance, stifling the powerful offense of the Pirates. Pierrick Lemestre and Jacques Boucheron had two RBI each. In game two Dutch champion DOOR Neptunus shut out Ukrainian title holder KNTU Elizavetgrad 6-0. Misja Harcksen, Floris Timmer and Jorian van Acker allowed just one hit and two walks in nine innings. In the evening game Czech champion Draci Brno downed Germany’s winner Buchbinder Legionaere 4-2. Regensburg erased a 0-2 deficit in the process, but Draci answered with a two-run eighth thanks to a pair of throwing errors to pick up the win. Johannes Jung had four hits for Regensburg.
In Hoofddorp the brandnew Park21 ballpark hosts the first international competition. Italian Baseball League champion T&A San Marino defeated Germany’s vice champion Solingen Alligators 5-2 in the afternoon game in Hoofddorp 1. Jose Guerra allowed just one hit and two walks in seven scoreless innings. Mattia Reginato drove in two. Florian Goetze put Solingen on the board with a two-run double in the ninth. At the same time the Rouen Huskies shut out Nettuno 3-0 at Hoofddorp 2. Owen Ozanich and Jason Daniels combined for nine scoreless frames, out-dueling Jose Lorenzo. Rouen scored all three runs in the ninth. In the evening the hosting Vaessen Pioniers beat Kotlarka Prague 2-0. Ricardo Hernandez struck out 12 in eight four-hit innings. Danny Rombley and Vince Rooi scored the runs in the first and the sixth.
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