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Fans were treated to nail-biters and runaway victories alike, as the stakes began to rise. With group standings starting to take shape, every inning now counts that much more.
In Game 1 of the day Israel faced the formidable French side. The French took the lead after the first inning after a 2RBI single from Louis Brainville, and RBI sacrifice fly out from Kylian Bamberger. The game followed in a close battle from then on out with each team taking the lead in different moments. In the eighth inning the scores were level until Mathis Meurant stepped up and walked off the game with an RBI single through the right side to win the game 5-6.
Later in the day France had their second game of the day and were defeated by home side Czechia in a 7-5 contest. The French team held the lead until the fourth inning where Czechia broke away scoring 2 runs thanks to RBI walks from Michal Šindelka and Jan Pospíšil. This gave them the lead and set them up for their win after scoring their final run on a wild pitch. The Czechia pitching staff held their nerves for the final 4 innings not allowing any runs.
Austria faced close neighbours Germany and had a dominant 7-2 win. The Germans struck first after Darrion Richard stole home but the Austrians had a consistent fourth inning to take the lead. A 3RBI triple from Julian Faulhaber and RBI sac fly from Tobias Werner gave them the momentum and lead. Germany did get another run in thanks to Luca Hörger but the Austrians went on to score another 3 runs clinching their win.
The Netherlands and Italy had a high scoring game where both teams got the chance to show off their hitting abilities. The Netherlands scored consistently throughout the game with some lower numbers but Italy came out strong in the second and third inning scoring 9 of their 10 runs. 2 RBI walks followed by a 2RBI double from Jhorjan Jose Guevara Ducato and an RBI single from Samuele Gamberini kick started things off for Italy. Their next 4 runs came from 3 RBI singles and an RBI double. From there the Netherlands remained in control scoring 12 runs in the final 3 runs. Stand out hits came from Jamie Beerman (2RBI triple), and Gedionne Marlin (3RBI double) to help end the game 16-10 for the Netherlands.
In the final game of the day Czechia had a shut out game against Great Britain. Jan Pospíšil was the sole run scorer of the game bringing in all 3 of Czechia’s runs thanks to two RBI singles in the first and third inning. Czechia’s pitching staff were also on their game with Jan Kozel earning the win allowing no runs for the game and gaining 5 strike outs. Supporting Jan was also Filip Kollman who recorded 3 strike outs for the day and allowed 0 runs. The game ended 0-3.
Where to Find Photos
All photos from each game will be posted directly to the WBSC Europe Flickr page at the completion of each day, with additional photos being added at the completion of the week. These photos can be used and shared with appropriate credit to the photographers!
Where to follow
All the games will be streamed live through Baseballeurope.tv, while live play by play is available through the WBSC Europe website. The full tournament pass for the live streaming is €19.99, while single game access is €5.99.
For more information, including the full schedule and live updates, visit the official WBSC Europe Event Page.
