Defending champion AVG DRACI BRNO got off to a good start into the 2009 Czech Extraleague Finals. They defeated ARROWS OSTRAVA 1-0 in the opener on Saturday for the lead in the best-of-five series. Game two will be played next Saturday, again in Brno.
The lone run was scored in the bottom of the fourth, when the Australian Wayne Ough advanced all the way to home on an attempted steal of third base, as OSTRAVA’s catcher Petr Cech threw the ball into the outfield. Cech nearly made up for his error, but his line drive with runners on the corners in the seventh landed just a few centimeters in foul territory.
On the mound Petr Minarik (W 1-0) dominated with six no-hit innings before running into trouble in the seventh. Greg McCarthy cleaned up the mess in relief and combined with Ough to close out the shutout. Boris Bokaj (L 0-1) took the loss for the ARROWS, pitching six strong innings. Jan Rehacek took over for the last two frames.
Results:
Saturday, October 10:
AVG Draci Brno – Arrows Ostrava 1-0 (AVG Draci leads best-of-five series 1-0)
Schedule:
Saturday, October 17:
13:00 AVG Draci Brno – Arrows Ostrava
Sunday, October 18:
13:00 Arrows Ostrava – AVG Draci Brno
Saturday, October 24:
13:00 Arrows Ostrava – AVG Draci Brno*
Sunday, October 25:
13:00 AVG Draci Brno – Arrows Ostrava*
*if necessary