Press release European Softball Federation
Each continent has chosen its representative to compete at the Intercontinental Cup this summer: August 28 – September 1. This event will feature many of the men’s softball world’s top players.
The tournament will consist of six teams:
- New Zealand (no.1) – representative of Oceania
- Japan (no.3) – representative of Asia
- Argentina (no.4) – representative of South America
- USA (no.6) – representative of North America
- Czech Republic (no.7) – host
- Denmark (no.11) – representative of Europe
- Botswana (no.12) – representative of Africa – cancelled
Games of the opening day
Denmark opens with a win
Team USA scored early in the game, when two pitches passed the Danish catcher at the worst possible time. Denmark fought back immediately. First, the Terkelsens duo took care of the first run, with another hit by Jorgensen, the score turned to 2:1 for Denmark. Both teams added more runs one by one. The score was 3:3 in the top of the 7th. It was Nicolai Elsner, a young talented Dane, who decided the game in the bottom of the 8th: “The game for me was pretty good with the walk-off hit. That was nice, a great game overall. We were the underdogs in the game, but it is great to start a competition with a win.” Denmark won 5 – 4.
Japan without hesitation
Back to back games for Denmark were a too difficult test. Japanese just performed better than Denmark in the second game of the day. Ikeda (2 for 2) and Matsuda (2 for 3) had a great game and helped their team to seize the first win. The final score was Japan 8 – Denmark 1
Bad day for Team USA
Whoever plays against the World Champion is considered an underdog. It was a tough position for the squad representing North America. Jerome Raemaki hit a homerun in the 1st inning, and Cole Evans in the 2nd. Besides the two runs, the game was tight, it was still anybody’s game.
Bottom of the 5th, two outs, Black Sox at bat. It started with a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Followed by a few singles the game was suddenly 7-0 and a run-ahead-rule was in effect.
Not what the Czechs imagined
In their opening game, the hosting nation – Czech Republic – faced the representative of South America – Argentina. The game was not what the Czechs wished for it to be like in front of the full home crowd. None of the three Czech pitchers managed to keep the Argentinian bats quiet; they scored six runs in the 3rd, and added four more in the 4th. Santiago Carril had a blast hitting 3 for 3 including a grandslam. “Obviously, this is not how we pictured it, the best thing to do is just forget about it and start over tomorrow,” said one of the Czech pitchers Jonas Mach. Final score Czech Republic 0 – Argentina 10
Schedule, results, and stats are available here.
All games are broadcast live at Playo.tv