Sokol Hluboká nad Vltavou wins the First League title
Sunday in northern Bohemia belonged to the First Czech Baseball League finale. This year it was Hluboká who earned their sixth title.
Home team started the first game better, when Matyáš Fous scored a solo homerun. Only few moments later Jablonec led 4-0, after taking advantage of three defensive errors.
Jablonec could rely on Karl Riedl, who allowed only 2 runs in 5.1IP. However, once Jablonec substituted Riedl, away team managed to mount a comeback. With five runs, Hluboká grabbed the lead. This was to no small part thanks to Ondřej Soukup, who got 4 hits.
Hluboká’s starting pitcher David Lukáš, who played an important role in the team’s semifinals against Frýdek-Místek, managed to keep Jablonec’s bats in check till the 9th inning. Matyáš Fous, however, started the bottom of the inning with a single, followed by an RBI from Radek Šulc. In the end, the game ended with a single from Lukáš Roubíček, who gave Jablonec 6-7 lead.
| 1st game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Sokol Hluboká | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blesk Jablonec | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
After Jablonec win, the series moved to the fifth game to decide the winner. Blesk started Vojtěch Jiránek while Sokol trusted Josef Novák. It was Jiránek who was the first to allow his opponent a run. Solo homerun by Jan Líkař gave Hluboká the lead. In the next inning, Hluboká increased their lead thanks to Líkař’s 2 RBIs.
Jablonec scored for the first time in the sixth inning, with doubles by Radek Šulc and Michal Kubina, who also reached the home plate. In the next inning, away team substituted Nováka and Blesk was quick to take advantage, when they grab the lead with three runs.
After Jiránek was substituted for Lukáš Roubíček, Hluboká scored three runs. Home team was left to chase after the win once more. This time, however, Jablonec didn’t manage to score, Hluboká won the game, and with it the title in the First League. The win marked the sixth title for the team we will see in Extraliga next year.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| Sokol Hluboká | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 2 | |
| Blesk Jablonec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
