The first round ended at the CEB Cup in Rouen and Chartres, France on Friday. Two French and two Croatian teams reached the semi-finals on Saturday. The Rouen Huskies and the Montpellier Barracudas clinched first place in Group A and B, while Nada SSM Split and Olimpija Karlovac followed in second place. On Saturday Montpellier takes on Split, while Rouen faces Karlovac.
Minsk – Vienna Wanderers 6-2
Day three at the CEB Cup in Rouen started with a big surprise, as Minsk defeated the Vienna Wanderers 6-2. Yauheni Kurhun conceded just two runs on ten hits and six walks in nine innings to lead Minsk to the win. Three runs in the first pathed the way into victory lane. Ryoma Watanabe gave up seven hits, six runs (2 ER) and four base on balls in eight frames to take the loss.
KNTU Elizavetgrad – Nada SSM Split 5-8
Nada SSM Split reached the semi-finals with an 8-5 win over KNTU Elizavetgrad. It was a back and forth battle between two teams at the same level. Split took a quick 1-0 lead in the first, but KNTU answered with three runs in the fifth. However Nada SSM regained the lead with a three-run sixth and added four insurance runs in the eighth. The Ukrainian team tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little too late. Andrew Jones scored twice and pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Roman Boiko had three hits and three RBI for Elizavetgrad. Sergii Shtapura got charged with the loss.
Barracudas Montpellier – Olimpija Karlovac 8-7
It was an intense game between the Barracudas Montpellier and Olimpija Karlovac. In the end the Barracudas prevailed 8-7 after scoring twice in the fifth and thrice in the sixth to turn a 3-6 deficit into a decisive 8-6 lead. Samuel Vandry led the way for Montpellier by going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI. Eric Herman scored two runs. Kruno Gojkovic had two RBI for Olimpija. Thomas Meley pitched five strong innings in relief to pick up the win. Matija Sertic took the loss.
Rouen Huskies – Zurich Barracudas 11-1 (7)
Third game and third mercy-rule shortened win for the Rouen Huskies at the CEB Cup 2016. The reigning French champion defeated the Swiss title holder Zurich Barracudas 11-1 in seven innings. Two runs in the first and three each in the fourth, fifth and sixth put the game into the books. Jonathan Jaspe collected three hits and three RBI. Larry Infante scored three times. Tyler James Wagner hit a solo home run for Zurich. Guillaume Herichard gave up one run on four hits and five walks in six frames to pick up the win. Roger Savoldelli allowed 11 runs (9 ER) on 12 hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings for the loss.
First Round Standings
Group A:
1) Barracudas Montpellier 2-1
2) Olimpija Karlovac 2-1
3) Minsk 1-2
4) Vienna Wanderers 1-2
Group B:
1) Rouen Huskies 3-0
2) Nada SSM Split 2-1
3) Zurich Barracudas 1-2
4) KNTU Elizavetgrad 0-3
Outlook
On Saturday the Montpellier Barracudas face Nada SSM Split at 1.30pm in the first semi-final in Rouen. The second semi-final takes place at 5pm in the evening between the Rouen Huskies and Olimpija Karlovac. Additionally the consolation round gets played with Minsk facing KNTU Elizavetgrad at 10am in the morning. In Chartres the duel between the Vienna Wanderers and the Zurich Barracudas is happening at 2pm.
Live play by play and all the statistics are available through www.baseballstats.eu
Live streams for selected games from the CEB Cup (#CEBCup16) in Rouen and Chartres are available through https://www.youtube.com/chann…/UC-NIa1r6gTtOF4XxNqxBoFQ/live and http://www.cmin.tv/
Photo by Vienna Wanderers