Day four at the European Cup Qualifier in Antwerp, Belgium saw Nada SSM Split and host Borgerhout Squirrels improving to 3-0 each. With their wins they qualified for the final on Saturday. Their first-round matchup on Friday will determine home field advantage in the title game. The winner will secure a spot in next year’s CEB Cup.
Essex Arrows – Nada SSM Split 0-7
Nada SSM Split shut out the Essex Arrows 7-0 for their third win in as many games. Andrija Jaksic and Franko Vrlic Kovacic combined to throw nine innings of three-hit, three-walk ball. Josip Pribilovic went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI. Marin Tadic scored twice. Franklin Martinez had two hits for Essex. Richard Chesterton went the distance to take the loss.
Espoo Expos – Borgerhout Squirrels 2-11
In the evening game the Borgerhout Squirrels scored seven of its 11 runs in the first three frames on route to an 11-2 victory over the Espoo Expos. Joannes Ochoa Blanco and Sam Boermans were the dominant figures in the contest. Ochoa Blanco went 5-for-5 with two runs and four RBI. He also pitched the first three innings. Boermans hit a home run and drove in three as part of a three-hit evening. Matthew Andrews collected two RBI for the Finnish champion. Yannick Gontier took over as pitcher for the Squirrels in the fourth and got the win with six scoreless three-hit innings. He struck out eight. Timothy Harikkala conceded 18 hits, 11 runs (10 ER) and a walk in nine innings to take the loss.
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