EXL: Sokol won again, Tempo on top in Prague derby

10.4.2021 Zuzana Ferková 4 min read

Second gameday of Czech Extraliga 2021 brough several interesting games and some surprises.

At Prague’s Na Markétě, the home team Kotlářka played against the rivals from Tempo Praha. The game itself was dominated by the away team, when Tempo won two times. In the first game, they won 14-1 after seven innings. Marek Minařík, or Czech Shohei Ohtani, became the star of the doubleheader when he threw the Complete Game in the first game and blasted 3 HR in the two games combined. Joey Wagman from Tempo showed he will be an asset to Tempo, after he allowed only 3H in six innings in the second game. Lukáš Ercoli also played well after he only allowed one hit in six innings. On the other hand, Kotlářka was let down by low productivity and errors in the defense.

1st game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tempo Praha	0	1	2	1	3	4	3			14	11	2
Kotlářka Praha	0	0	0	1	0	0	0			1	4	4

2nd game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tempo Praha	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	0	4	3	0
Kotlářka Praha	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	0

Saturday game between Draci and Blesk wasn’t as close at the one on Friday. Draci gained the 2-0 lead in the first inning and they were only increasing the lead. Arnošt Dubový was especially dominant after he earned 4 H and a three run HR. The final score was 13-1 for Draci in seven innings.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Blesk Jablonec	0	0	1	0	0	0	0			1	4	2
Draci Brno	2	0	1	4	2	4	–			13	13	1

The game between Hroši and Blansko was much closer than it was on Friday. The lead was switching sides and it was two runs in the nineth inning that eventually decided that Hroši would win. Once again, Blansko paid the price for five errors, after six errors on Friday.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Hroši Brno	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	2	6	9	3
Olympia Blansko	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	4	7	5

After Jan Novák got a win on Friday, Hluboká started the Saturday game with Laurence Parsons and James Boyce as a reliever. Home team responded with their foreign pitcher Carson Goldsmith. The pitchers battled to the very end, despite home team grabbing the 1-0 lead in the first inning. But Hluboká managed to score three runs in the next inning after errors in the Eagles’s defense. It turned out to be a deciding moment, despite the effort from the home team, who in the end lost 2-4. Additionally, Eagles batters got striked out 16 times.

Series will now move to Hluboká that will see the first Extraliga game after the pitch reconstruction.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Sokol Hluboká	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	8	2
Eagles Praha	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	4

Games in Ostrava saw the most runs by far, as the fan could see 15 HR. There were three players (AJ Cipolla, Ryan Johnson and Matěj Menšík) who scored 2 HR each in the first game.

Arrows started well, when they were winning 8-2 after five innings. But the away team didn’t give up and was able to score 9 runs in the sixth inning and gain a lead. Nuclears lost this lead in next two innings and the game entered the ninth inning at 16-16. Matyáš Kozel was able to earn a double and sent Martin Šmoldas home, giving Arrows the win. It was also a memorable game for Šmoldas who managed to earn his first HR in Extraliga.

Ryan Johnson played his first game for Třebíč and he showed how much his team could rely on him after he was 5-of-5 with 4 RBI. Former Arrows player AJ Cipolla was 4-of-7 with 5 RBI, but neither of the performances was enough to get Nuclears the win.

Boris Bokaj started for Arrows in the second game. Young Lukáš Pacal stood against him, but he had a difficult time finding the strikezone, allowing 6 walks in three innings, from which the home team scored 4 runs. The bullpen of Nuclears then added 7 more walks. On the other side Boris Bokaj only allowed 2 runs and 2 hits in 7 innings. Matěj Satoria then finished the game as the Arrows reliever.

Petr Čech had success at bat with 4-of-5. Radim Novotný followed the suit with 2-of-3 and 3 BB. AJ Cipolla and Ryan Johnson continued with their good performances from the first game when the scored a homerun each. The pair, along with Marek Minařík now have 3 HR.