The preliminary round of the European Championship Cadets ended on Thursday. Four teams advance to the semi-finals. The other four will battle against relegation.
Austria – Slovakia 4-6
Slovakia won its first game in the tournament, beating Austria 6-4 thanks to a five-run rally in the fourth. Catcher Martin Roman drove in two with a double. First baseman Marcel Ceska hit a solo homerun for Austria.
Germany – Ukraine 13-3 (5)
After two losses against Italy and the Netherlands, the German team concluded the first round with a lopsided 13-3 win in five innings against the Ukraine. Center fielder Julian Prade went two-for-three with a double and three RBI. Five players scored twice. Kevin Koenig picked up the win with five K’s in 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Netherlands – Italy 8-2
In a duel between undefeated teams, the Dutch team scored eight runs in the first three frames en route to an 8-2 win over Italy. Third baseman Rodney Daal went three-for-four with a double and two RBI. Benjamir Jansen allowed two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings for the win. He struck out six.
Russia – Czech Republic 7-12
The Czech team clinched the last berth for the semi-finals with a 12-7 victory versus Russia. The home team took a commanding lead thanks to seven runs in the second period. Jan Novak started the game at first base, went four-for-five with two doubles and three runs scored at the plate and later picked up the win on the mound with two scoreless innings of one-hit relief. Left fielder Ondrej Matko collected three hits, including a triple and a double.
Standings after round one:
Pool A
- Netherlands 3-0
- Italy 2-1
- Germany 1-2
- Ukraine 0-3
Pool B
- Czech Republic 2-1
- Russia 2-1
- Slovakia 1-2
- Austria 1-2
Schedule:
Friday, July 10
Semi-Finals:
11:30 Netherlands – Russia
16:30 Czech Republic – Italy
Classification Round:
10:00 Slovakia – Ukraine
16:00 Germany – Austria
Complete Schedule and live play by play on official competition website of the CEB