The Qualifier U15 European Championship in Huenenberg, Switzerland continued on Tuesday with day two of the preliminary round. Great Britain entered the tournament with a bang, defeating host Switzerland 11-1 in six innings. Meanwhile Poland improved to 2-0 with a 9-7 victory over Belarus. Great Britain and Poland will meet on early Wednesday evening. In the afternoon Belarus takes on Slovakia.
Poland – Belarus 9-7
Poland overcame an early deficit to beat Belarus 9-7 in the afternoon game on Tuesday at Rony Field in Huenenberg. Belarus took a quick 5-1 lead after two innings, but Poland scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to turn the score around. Jan Juraszek, Filip Sarota and Dominik Grzecicha had big two-run hits during Poland’s crucial rally. Robert Siauko scored twice for Belarus. Sarota also pitched six innings, allowing seven hits, seven runs (0 ER) and three walks to pick up the win. Siarhei Verbal got charged with the loss.
Great Britain – Switzerland 11-1 (6)
Great Britain dampened the high hopes of the host of the tournament with an 11-1 win over Switzerland in the early evening game. However it was a close game for most of the contest. After both teams had scored once each in the first two frames, Great Britain broke the tie with two runs in the fourth. In the sixth the floodgates opened as the British cadets poured eight runs on the board to finish the match due to ten-run rule. Jamie Warren drove in three runs for Great Britain, where ten different players crossed the plate for a run each. Michael Diaz Pino scored the lone run for the Swiss. Aidan Pearce went the distance to pick receive the win. He gave up just two hits, a run and two walks in six innings. Cee-Jay Savoldelli took the loss.
Standings after Day 2
Schedule for Day 3
Live play by play, box scores and statistics are available through CEB’s competition website www.baseballstats.eu. Local organizers have launched a dedicated Facebook page for the tournament at www.facebook.com/baseballem2016
Photo by Qualifier U15 European Championship in Huenenberg