The first round at the European Championship C-Pool in Ljubljana, Slovenia ended on Friday with two games. Serbia and Slovenia will play in the final game on Saturday at 2pm CET. It will be broadcasted via a live stream. Serbia and Slovenia already squared off in the last match of the preliminary round with the tournament hosts picking up their third win. Earlier on the day Ireland had ended Norway’s final hopes with a blowout. The winner of the C-Pool Euros qualifies for next year’s European Championship B-Level.
Norway – Ireland 4-15 (7)
Ireland defeated Norway 15-4 on Friday afternoon, but didn’t have a shot for the finals due to losing tiebreakers. Five runs in the first and three each in the third, fifth and sixth blew the score open pretty quickly. Michael Ferrato and Stephen Carter combined to drive in six runs. Ferrato also hit a home run for Ireland. Nat Anglin scored three times. Steffen Torgersen went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored for Norway. Patrick O’Shea pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his second win of the week. Reynaldo Reyes got charged with the loss, surrendering one hit, five runs (3 ER) and three walks, while managing just one out in the first.
Serbia – Slovenia 8-11
In the early evening game on Friday Slovenia secured first place in the preliminary round with an 11-8 win over Serbia. They build up a quick 6-1 lead midway through the fifth, but Serbia cut the deficit to a run with a four-run rally. However Slovenia was able to add five insurance runs and even though Serbia also continued to score they weren’t able to complete the comeback successfully. Matej Skulj and Jaka Serbec combined for four RBI. Igor Kep picked up the win in relief. Nikola Ignajtovic scored three times for Serbia, while Danilo Cvijovic drove in three. Dusan Nakic got charged with the loss.
Standings after the First Round
1) Slovenia 3-1
2) Serbia 2-2
3) Ireland 2-2
4) Norway 2-2
5) Finland 1-3
The final of the European Championship C-Pool in Ljubljana on Saturday at 2pm will be broadcasted via live stream. Local organizers have launched a dedicated Facebook page to inform about the tournament. Additionally live play by play will be available through the CEB competition website www.baseballstats.eu