Summary
Wet, cool weather disrupted Week 4 action in the Extraliga, with the scheduled Prague derby reduced to just two games and postponed until Monday and Tuesday, with Tempo winning both to remain on the heels of Draci Brno. The Dragons of southeastern Czechia continued their perfect start to the season after a sweep of city rival Technika. The final game in the Draci-Technika series, a 4-3 nail-biter, had to be moved to Monday on account of the weekend’s conditions.
Further down the standings, the congestion thickened after Nuclears Trebic swept Arrows Ostrava and Sokol Hluboka took two of three from Hrosi Brno.
Highlights
After a more straightforward win in the opener, Draci ensured its perfect start to the season continued by scoring 11 runs in the top of the ninth in its Game 2 victory over Technika.
Draci’s Pabel Manzanero went a combined 9-for-13 on the weekend, including his first two homers of the campaign. All told, Draci sent seven balls over the outfield fence in the series, with the 21-year-old Tomas Chadim also responsible for two home runs. He went a combined 5-for-13 in the series, with his second blast the difference in Game 3’s 4-3 victory.
Tempo’s Ethan Skuija followed up last week’s 13 strikeouts with 16 Ks in Game 2 of the Prague derby against Eagles. Skuija collected his tally in seven scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and one walk. He has now struck out 50 batters in 22 innings.
Trebic required two late-inning rallies to secure its sweep of Arrows. Eleven innings were played in Game 1, with Trebic scoring two in the top of the inning to break the deadlock. The Nuclears did not leave it so late in Game 2, with a four-run seventh inning and a pair of runs in the eighth allowing Trebic to turn the tide and wrap up a 9-6 victory.
James Boyce was once again the difference for Hluboka, with the stocky right-hander tossing his second consecutive, complete-game shutout in Game 1 of the South Bohemian club’s series against Hrosi. Boyce, who struck out nine batters and walked none, outdueled his counterpart Lukas Ercoli (8IP, 7H, 1R, 8K), with the game-winning run coming on a walk-off triple by Martin Muzik. He would go one to homer in Game 2 and go 3-for-5, with two doubles, in Game 3. Muzik’s stat line for the weekend: 6-for-15, HR, 5 RBI, with four of his other hits falling for extra bases.
Results [box scores linked]
Draci Brno v. Technika Brno [13-3, 12-3, 4-3]
Tempo Prague v. Eagles Prague [7-4, 5-1]
Trebic Nuclears v. Arrows Ostrava [5-3, 9-6, 7-2]
Hrosi Brno v. Sokol Hluboka [0-1, 4-6, 8-4]
Standings
| W | L | ||
| Draci Brno | 12 | 0 | |
| Tempo Prague | 7 | 2 | |
| Eagles Prague | 6 | 5 | |
| Trebic Nuclears | 6 | 5 | |
| Sokol Hluboka | 5 | 7 | |
| Hrosi Brno | 4 | 7 | |
| Arrows Ostrava | 2 | 8 | |
| Technika Brno | 2 | 10 | |