CEB Cup: Draci beat Minsk with a walk-off in tenth inning
Draci Brno only played one inning on Tuesday before the game went into delay. They will have to continue on Thursday, but in meantime, they played against Minsk, who beat Dornbirn 6-1 the day before.
Czech champions didn’t start well against Belorussians, after Draci defense couldn’t handle several hits in the infield and Minsk took 1-0 lead. Brno defense, however, improved in the following innings. Along with Ondřej Furko who started for Draci and didn’t allow his opponents much, Minsk wasn’t able to press Brno team.
Even when Belorussians had more hits, they were unable to jump ahead. In the third inning, Eugene Helder and Pabel Manzanero scored two HR from two consecutive pitches and Draci took 2-1 lead.
The score remained unchanged till the seventh inning, when Jan Vašourek substituted Furko on the mound. Minsk loaded the bases against him and after a walk for Kyril Kazlouski the score was leveled again.
Eight inning didn’t start well for Draci. Minsk had double from the first at bat and David Mergans stepped in to stave the situation. The defense, however, didn’t help the young pitcher, as Minsk went ahead 5-2 after an unnecessary defensive error.
Draci managed to score after a double from Pavel Budský. Despite Belorussian pitcher nearing 130 pitches, Czechs were unable to add more hits and runs. This changed in the bottom of ninth inning. Draci were one out from the loss, but Pabel Manzanero scored his second HR of the game and leveled the score. The game went to extra innings.
Draci started in the defense. They had to face opponent’s batters but also questionable refereeing call. They handled the situation and the bottom half of the inning was all theirs. First, they loaded bases after Minsk error, only to get the go-ahead run after Martin Kalábek‚s sacrificial hit. Draci took an important win against tough opponent.
WALK-OFF!!!
— Milujeme Baseball (@MilujemeBasebal) July 14, 2021
Draci Brno vybojovali výhru proti Minsku až po deseti směnách díky walk-off odpalu Martina Kalábka. pic.twitter.com/CGclI70RLG
| 14.7. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minsk | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 1 |
| Draci | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1 |
