By PONY
With three teams in title contention with five games remaining at the Palomino European Zone Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, every out mattered on championship Monday. After it was all said and done, two teams (Paris University Club and the London Mets) finished with 4-1 overall tournament records, but because of Paris’s 10-7 head-to-head victory over London yesterday, the French owned the tournament tiebreaker and won their first-ever Palomino European Zone title.
London won both of its matchups Monday, including a win over the Swiss National Team, who, coming into Monday, was undefeated. Paris won its bout with Brabant United handedly 14-3, which set up an important, title-deciding game between Stuttgart and Switzerland. A 12-5 Stuttgart victory Monday evening knocked the Swiss out of tying London and Paris’s 4-1 record. Instead, the Reds jumped the Swiss for third-place, and London had to settle for second, despite its Monday heroics.
Game #11: London Mets 6 (3-1) vs. Swiss National Team 5 (3-1) (F/6)
The London Mets’ Joe Perez came through in the clutch for his team in the sixth inning of a one-run game against the previously-undefeated Swiss National Team to start day four at the Palomino European Zone Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
With runners on second and third with no outs, down 4-3, Perez chopped a ball up the middle for a single that was hit hard enough to get through the infield but soft enough to slow down in the outfield grass, allowing both Aidan Pearce and Freddy Mosier to score and give London a 5-4 lead.
After four pickoff attempts during the next at-bat to Ben Jones, Perez stole second base and advanced to third on Jones’ fly out to center field. Greg Kettle then hit a fly out to right field that was deep enough to allow Perez to slide ahead of the throw by a couple of steps to give London an insurance run that it desperately needed (6-4).
In the top of the sixth, London’s Tosh Lawson, who had pitched well in five innings up to this point in the game, needed three outs to secure a victory. With one out, Switzerland’s Logan Lavenex reached on an error and moved to second on a ground out. During the next at-bat to Nicholas Fischer, Lavenex took an aggressive secondary lead at second base, causing the Swiss catcher to throw it down to second, but he threw it away into the outfield. Another misthrow at third allowed Lavenex to score to get the Swiss within a run.
Fischer singled and Nik Diener singled to put runners on first and second, but Lawson was able to induce a fly out to secure the win for London 6-5.
Lawson recorded the win for London, tossing six innings strong, allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk, while striking out three.
At the plate, Michael Diaz Pino went 3-for-3, leading the Swiss National Team. For the Mets, Mosier, Kettle and Bohn each had two hits.
Game #12: Stuttgart Reds 11 (2-2) vs. Brabant United 3 (0-4)
The host Stuttgart Reds struck early and never allowed their opponent Brabant United to extend a rally in their 11-3 victory Monday morning.
The Reds shot out to a four-run lead in the top of the first, when Jonas Van Bergen led off the game with a double and Fabi Beck drove him in on a single to right field. Benedikt Schaffer walked. Two at-bats later, Beck and Schaffer stole. Beck came around to score on the overthrow and Schaffer took third. Amando Dossow singled in Schaffer and Dossow later scored from second on a fielder’s choice play to complete the scoring for the inning.
Two walks, a wild pitch and an error gave Brabant United a run back in the bottom of the first (4-1), before Stuttgart went on another rally in the top of the second. Schaffer reached on an error, Yannick Witt walked, they both advanced a base on a wild pitch and both scored when Dossow reached on an error. Tomoya Kakita then doubled to right field, scoring Dossow to make it a 7-1 game.
The lead proved to be all Stuttgart needed to outlast Brabant United for the win, as the Germans went on another three-run rally in the top of the seventh.
Stuttgart’s Konrad Titus Klein pitched started and went five innings strong, allowing three runs (none earned) on three hits and five walks, while striking out four. Dossow came in in relief, working two shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk, while striking out four.
At the plate, Van Bergen, Beck and Kakita each had two hits for Stuttgart, leading the squad. Beck and Kakita each had a team-high two RBI.
Game #13: London Mets 17 (4-1) vs. East Europe All-Stars 1 (1-4) (F/4)
London used 17 hits to tally 17 runs in the team’s decisive victory Monday afternoon over the East Europe All-Stars 17-1 in four innings, thanks in part to a nine-run rally in the bottom of the fourth.
Six players recorded multiple hits and multiple RBI in the game for the Mets. Freddy Mosier was a perfect 3-for-3 with a triple, double, three RBI and four runs scored, while leading the team with six total bases. Joe Perez was also perfect, going 4-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Graydon Koyanagi and Mosier split the duties on the mound, combining for four innings complete with one unearned run charged on one hit and three walks, while striking out three. For East Europe, Aliaksandr Lukashevich worked 1.2 innings, allowing one earned run, while striking out four.
Game #14: Paris University Club 14 (4-1) vs. Brabant United 3 (0-5) (F/5)
An eight-run top of the first inning propelled Paris University Club to victory 14-3 over Brabant United Monday afternoon, as the French were able to take advantage of eight Brabant United errors in the game as well.
In the top of the first, Paris used five hits (two for extra bases), three Brabant United errors and two walks to score its eight runs. Erwan Prieur, Kevin Khemache, Jules Diego Rabearivelo, Arthur Dionnet and Phillip Bird all picked up RBIs in the inning. Brabant United got a run back in the bottom of the first, when Ties Olijslagers doubled home Tobias Van Schooneveld to make it 8-1 Paris.
The French tacked on three runs in the top of the second, when Kevin Khemache led off the inning with a triple and scored on Rabearivelo’s double to left field. After back-to-back walks to Dionnet and Paul Stukas, Rabearivelo scored on a wild pitch during Samy Jamous’s at-bat. Jamous singled to left field, scoring Dionnet, as Paris led 11-1.
Once again they added to their lead in the top of the third, when three walks, two wild pitches and two errors allowed Lucas Khemache, Jules Retif and Dionnet to score runs. In the bottom of the third for Brabant United, three-consecutive Paris errors allowed Ben Eseling and Kevin Boers to score, but that proved to be the final runs of the game, as Paris won 14-3.
Pierre Monbeig picked up the win for Paris, as he tossed five complete innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks, while striking out seven. Kevin Khemache led Paris at the plate with a pair of extra-base hits (triple and double) for five total bases on the day with two RBI.
Game #15: Stuttgart Reds 12 (3-2) vs. Swiss National Team 5 (3-2)
An eight-run bottom of the second inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by Tomoya Kakita, ignited the host Stuttgart Reds’ offense to 12 runs in the final game of the Palomino European Zone Championships, as they won 12-5 over the Swiss National Team. The victory gave the Reds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Swiss for the tournament’s third place. The loss gave Paris University Club the title, because of its head-to-head victory over the London Mets Sunday.
The Swiss got off to a hot start in the game’s first inning, scoring runs on a Sven Ambhl ground out, a Luka Ivanisevic RBI single and a Jonah Schaller RBI double (3-0). The bottom of the second is when Stuttgart really took control of the game’s momentum.
A Yannic Witt single and Konrad Klein reaching on an error set up runners in scoring position for Fabio Arnold, who doubled to centerfield, scoring Witt. The Swiss decided to intentionally walk Jonas van Bergen, before Frido Fink reached on another Swiss error to make it 3-2.
With two outs, the Swiss walked in Arnold (3-3) and then Amando Dossow smacked a single up the middle that scored both van Bergen and Fink (5-3). On a 2-0, Kakita received his pitch and drove it over the left field wall for a three-run home run that inspired the Stuttgart crowd (8-3).
The Reds added to their lead in the bottom of the third, when three walks loaded the bases, van Bergen scored from third on a wild pitch and Dossow hit a two-RBI triple. After three complete Stuttgart took a commanding 11-3 lead.
The Swiss got a run back in top of the fourth, when Stuttgart walked a run in, but Arnold scored on a wild pitch for Stuttgart in the bottom of the fourth to make it 12-4. In the top of the fifth, Livio Bundi led off the inning by reaching on an error that allowed him to advance to second. Schaller later reached on another error, allowing Bundi to score from second to make it 12-5, the game’s final score.
Vincent Weber and Fink combined to pitch well for Stuttgart, going five innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on five hits and five walks, while striking out four. At the plate, Stuttgart’s five, six and seven-hitters led the squad. Dossow went 2-for-4 with a team-high four RBI. Kakita had the three-run home run and Witt finished 2-for-3.
Final Standings:
1. Paris University Club 4-1*
2. London Mets 4-1
3. Stuttgart Reds 3-2*
4. Swiss National Team 3-2
5. East Europe All-Stars 1-4
6. Brabant United 0-5
*Owned head-to-head tie breakers