Last Saturday Slovakia hosted Austria and Hungary in the Danube Cup, with great weather for baseball. Starting at 10am under the warm sun, the teams battled out their regional rivalries.
Slovakia vs. Austria
In the first game of the day, Slovakia showed their strength as host, limiting Austria to two runs. Using a steady rotation of pitchers to keep the Austrians on their toes, they found a way to get out of situations with runners on base.
When at bat the Slovaks were consistent in their ability to put the ball in play. They were also helped by 7 Austria errors in the field, which allowed for them to put up 11 runs, and their lead was never really in question when Austria brought in Clemens Cichocki to do damage control.
Austria vs. Hungary
With Janos Daroczi on the mound, Hungary was poised to make things tough again for Austria. On offense, Hungary took a page out of Slovakia’s book and put the ball in play against the Austrians, forcing them to make plays. Able to get runners on base often, they jumped out to a 7-0 lead while taking advantage of fielding errors by their opponent. Tate Kelly again played the role of relief, but his team was unable to offer up the defense to help him out and Hungary extended their lead. Daroczi scattered a few hits from the mound for the Hungarians and was able to take a shutout into the seventh, when Austria put runners on and threatened their opponents 10 run lead. But it wasn’t to be, as a few hard hit balls went foul before the last batter popped up to end the threat.
Hungary vs. Slovakia
With the winner taking home the Cup, the hosts faced up against Zsolt Zalabai for Hungary, who has been having a great season. Down 2-1 in the eighth inning, they got a couple calls to go their way and brought in the tying run, ultimately forcing extra innings. In the 12th, the hosts caught another break, this time with a ball down the line that sparked a rally, and they took a 6-3 lead going into the bottom half of the inning and needing just three more outs.
But the Hungarians weren’t done putting up a fight, as they put on a runner, then another, and then another. An RBI hit brought the score to 6-5, and with two runners on and two outs, they had a chance to tie the game or take the lead, but the rally fell short, and Slovakia raised the trophy as winners of the Danube Cup 2011.