On Wednesday the CEB Cup started in Rouen and Chartres, France. Four games were on the schedule. The Zurich Barracudas, Vienna Wanderers, Olimpija Karlovac and the Rouen Huskies were the big winners. Three of the four games were hard-fought with only the evening matchup being decided by a lopsided score.
KNTU Elizavetgrad – Zurich Barracudas 3-6
Christopher Michals led the Zurich Barracudas to a 6-3 opening win over KNTU Elizavetgrad in the morning game in Rouen. A big error gave KNTU a 2-0 lead in the first, but Zurich tied the contest in the third. With the score tied at 2-2 Michals came through with a go-ahead RBI double in the fifth. The ‘Cudas added three more insurance runs and sealed the win. Michals also pitched a complete game, allowing three unearned runs on ten hits and a walk. Dmytro Limarenko got charged with the loss.
Olimpija Karlovac – Minsk 6-3
Also the second game of the day ended with a 6-3 win. Olimpija Karlovac downed Minsk by that score. It was a back and forth affair between the two teams. Karlovac took a 1-0 lead in the first, but failed to add to the run total afterwards. Minsk took advantage and got up in front 3-1 in the sixth including through a two-run double by Yauheni Kisiliakou. However Olimpija cut the deficit to a run in the bottom half of the same frame and tied the contest one inning later. In the eighth Karlovac loaded the bases with one out and came through. Kruno Gojkovich, who had four hits in the game, singled in the game-winning run. A throwing error plated two more runs. Michael Darrah struck out nine in nine innings for the win. Andrei Los took the loss.
Montpellier Barracudas – Vienna Wanderers 0-2
The Vienna Wanderers stunned the Montpellier Barracudas with a 2-0 shutout in the afternoon game in Chartres. Christian Tomsich led the way by going nine innings, issuing just six hits, while striking out six. He needed just 94 pitches to complete the distance. Montpellier’s pitchers matched him inning for inning until Thomas Meley and the defense faltered in the ninth. Ryoma Watanabe ended the scoreless tie with a RBI double. He moved to third on an error after the hit and scored Vienna’s second run shortly later through a wild pitch.
Nada SSM Split – Rouen Huskies 0-17 (5)
In the evening game the hosting Rouen Huskies saw two players leading them to an easy 17-0 blowout over Nada SSM Split. The game ended due to 15-run rule after five innings. Larry Infante went 4-for-4 with a home run and whopping eight RBI. He and Maxime Lefevre combined to score seven runs. The second key player was Marc Andre Habeck. He struck out seven in five overwhelming innings, conceding just a double by Trevor Caughey and a walk. Matko Dabo took the loss.
Outlook
Thursday features game two of the first round. In Rouen the Vienna Wanderers take on Olimpija Karlovac at 10am in the morning. Afterwards Minsk hosts the Barracudas Montpellier. Meanwhile in Chartres the Zurich Barracudas hope for their second win against Nada SSM Split. In the evening the Rouen Huskies play against KNTU Elizavetgrad.
Live play by play and all statistics are available through www.baseballstats.eu. Further information can be found on the official Facebook page. Livestreams are available for selected games.
Livestream is also available in Chartres at http://www.cmin.tv