On Wednesday the preliminary round at the 2017 Universiade in Taipei City ended with four games. In a matchup to determine a spot in the semifinals the Czech Republic beat France 12-7. The Czech team is facing the United States on Friday, but already has clinched a spot in the top four.
In the all-European duel the Czech Republic led from the start and built up a 12-1 advantage after five frames. France scored six runs combined in the sixth and ninth, but it was too little too late to change the outcome. Arnost Dubovy and Matej Hejma scored three runs apiece. Hejma, Daniel Vavrusa and Adam Hajtmar collected two RBI each. Michal Sobotka pitched five innings for the win. Jonathan Mottay got charged with the loss. Bastien Dagneau drove in three for the French team.
Meanwhile the third European participant in the tournament, Russia, lost 0-15 against Mexico. Russia held a 0-1 deficit through three innings, but fell apart in the fourth and fifth as the Central Americans put 14 runs on the board in these two frames. Nikita Monakhov had two hits for Russia. Andrei Lobanov took the loss, his second in the tourney.
In the other games Korea downed Chinese Taipei 6-3 and denied the hosts a spot in the semifinals. Japan remained undefeated with an 11-5 win over the United States. Korea and Japan will meet in the second semifinal. Chinese Taipei faces Mexico in the consolation round, as do France and Russia.