European Championship 2010, Day 8, July 30:
Great Britain – Czech Republic 4-8
CZE 112 010 210 8 9 3 GBR 210 000 001 4 10 4
The Czech Republic will be ranked seventh in the final standings of the 2010 European Championship after beating Great Britain 8-4 on Friday in Heidenheim. With this spot they don’t have to play a qualifier for the 2012 Euros in the Netherlands next summer.
Both teams had a nice start into the game, going back and forth, putting runs on the board in each of the first five half innings. A two-run single by Jakub Hajtmar in the top of the third put the Czech team ahead for good. They added four more runs later on and won by a four-run difference. Karel Hrusovsky hit a two-run homerun. Michal Ondracek scored three times. Chris Falls went 3-for-5 with a double, a run and a RBI on the opposing side.
On the mound the managers split the workload on a few shoulders. Petr Minarik (W 1-0) got the win allowing two hits in 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Marian Gajdos (CZE) started and issued three runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 frames. Alex Smith (GBR) gave up four hits, two runs and two bb in two innings. Stephen Spragg (L 0-2) was charged with the second loss in the tournament, conceding five hits, six runs (2 ER) and two walks in six innings of relief.