Summary
Draci Brno’s dominant sweep of last season’s Extraliga champion Arrows Ostrava extended the perennial contender’s perfect start to the season, with nine wins in as many games. Draci’s pitching staff scattered 14 hits and allowed just one run in the three-game weekend series, with Draci’s offense producing 28 runs in the three comfortable wins.
Eagles Prague enjoyed a sweep of their own, extending their winning streak to six after eking out two one-run victories against Hrosi Brno. The three wins have left the Prague club in third place in the standings after the Week 3 action, with their city rivals Tempo one game better after winning two games in a hard-fought series against Technika.
Highlights
Martin Cervenka continues to produce for Eagles. The former Minor Leaguer (Orioles and Mets) drove in seven baserunners in the weekend series against Hrosi, upping his season total to 18, with a .455/.568/.848 slash line. He has driven in a run in six straight games, with five multi-RBI efforts, and has an eight-game hit streak.
Draci Brno’s pitching staff allowed just 14 hits in the three-game series against Arrows, and struck out 37 batters, while walking just seven. The Venzuelan Pabel Manzanero, a former Cincinnati Reds farmhand, helped provide the offense for Draci, collecting five hits and driving in seven runs in two games.
The first game in the hard-fought Tempo-Technika series required extra innings to determine a winner, with Tempo responding to Technika’s one run in the top of the extra frame with two of their own to secure the W. Technika’s Luis Rengel pitched nine innings and struck out 17 batters in the no-decision. Game 2 in the series saw Tempo’s Ethan Skuija deliver the marquee pitching performance in a losing cause, with 13 strikeouts in six innings. The 24-year-old Skuija has now struck out 34 in 15 innings of work. Game 3 saw the bats awaken, with the two teams combining for four home runs. Tempo’s Matej Mensik hit two balls over the fence, driving in three RBI in a 3-for-4 effort.
James Boyce pitched Hluboka to a Game 1 W against Trebic, striking out 13 while allowing just six hits (and no walks) in a complete-game shutout . Trebic responded to the defeat by delivering late-inning comebacks in the series’ two remaining games. In Game 2, Trebic scored two runs apiece in the seventh and eighth innings to break a 3-3 tie, and in the series decider the club from south-central Czechia forced extra innings by scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth before adding the game-winning run in the 10th inning.
Results (box scores linked)
Eagles Prague v. Hrosi Brno (6-5, 11-10, 12-6)
Arrows Ostrava v. Draci Brno (1-9, 0-11, 0-8)
Tempo Prague v. Technika Brno (3-2, 1-2, 7-5)
Sokol Hluboka v. Trebic Nuclears (5-0, 3-7, 2-3)
Standings
W | L | ||
Draci Brno | 9 | 0 | |
Tempo Prague | 5 | 2 | |
Eagles Prague | 6 | 3 | |
Hrosi Brno | 3 | 5 | |
Trebic Nuclears | 3 | 5 | |
Sokol Hluboka | 3 | 6 | |
Arrows Ostrava | 2 | 5 | |
Technika Brno | 2 | 7 |
By Francisco Barreto.