The Merksem Royal Greys (26-4) blanked the Hoboken Pioniers twice, 4-0 and 8-0, last weekend to advance to the Belgium Baseball League Championship Series. Merksem, the reigning Belgium champions, beat Hoboken (16-14) in last year’s final three games to one.
The Royal Greys have peaked at the right time and the squad has outscored opposing teams 43-1 since suffering a lopsided 20-0 loss to the Mortsel Stars (21-9) on July 17. Merksem has registered five shutouts in their last six outings and the favorites to win their second straight national championship.
The Stars split their first round playoffs games against the Brasschaat Braves (19-11) last week. Mortsel won the opening game 8-1 before the Braves regrouped to claim a narrow 9-7 win in Game 2. The teams will meet on Saturday, August 25, to determine who will meet Merksem for the Belgium Baseball League crown.
Both teams dealt the Royal Greys a pair of losses during the regular season. Brasschaat beat Merksem 6-3 on June 8 and completed the sweep the following day with a 9-5 victory. The Stars enjoyed two easy victories over the league leaders, 9-3 and 20-0.
In Playdown action, the Namur Angels (11-19), Borgerhout Squirrels (11-19), Brussels Kangaroos (9-21), and Royal Antwerp Eagles (7-23) battle to avoid being relegated to a lower division.