Draci Brno (25-3) has clinched the top spot in the Czech Baseball League and will meet either Krc Altron or the Ostrava Arrows in the first round of the playoffs slated to begin on September 22. Draci Brno split a pair of games with the Arrows two weeks ago, 7-11 and 9-4.
Draci has a potent offensive lineup led by Michal BREN who is hitting at a .405 clip while teammate Martin VESELY has a .389 mark. Other top hitters for the regular season champs includes Tomas POLANSKY (.346), dual threat Martin SCHNEIDER (.344), and Doug DREHER who is hitting .340 with 11 stolen bases.
A pair of ace pitchers – SCHNEIDER and Marian GAJDOS – carry the workload on the mound. SCHNEIDER is 6-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 63 innings while GAJDOS has six wins and a 1.55 ERA for the defending Czech national champions.
The MZLU Express is the second-seeded team in the playoffs and completed their regular season slate with two wins over Black Hill Blansko, 13-3 and 5-2, two weeks ago. Jan JABLONKA is hitting .369 and Pavel CHADIN has a .335 mark for the Express. Leos KUBAT is the staff ace with 75 strikeouts in 71 innings and a 7-1 record with a 1.01 ERA.
Krc Altron (17-10) won a pair of crucial games against Skokani Olomous two weeks ago and will meet the Ostrava Arrows (16-11) on September 2 in a key game to determine the no. 3 and no. 4 playoff teams. A win by Krc will send the Arrows into a first round matchup with league favorite Draci Brno. A win by Ostrava would leave both teams with identical 17-11 records.
In Playdown action, Technika Brno (15-13) will square off against Black Hill Blansko (4-24) while Skokani Olomouc (8-20) is pitted against the Tegola Titans (6-22).