European Championship: Slovakia won the qualification!

3.7.2021 Zuzana Ferková 2 min read

Possibly the most important game in Slovak baseball history was played on Saturday, when the national team fought for the spot in Group A at European Championship.

Both teams started their pitching aces. Slovakia with Jakub Ižold, while Ireland relied on Kealan Smithers. But it was the Slovak player who got in a tight spot when Irish loaded the bases without any outs in the first inning. However, Ižold responded with two strikeouts and the third one was played by the defense. Slovakia left the inning unscathed.

The second inning saw the first runs scored. Slovaks pushed in the offense, reaching the bases. The first run came after Jakub Ižold hit the ball to the center field.

Irish pitcher got seemingly nervous as his pitches lost the precision. Thanks to this, Slovakia added three more runs increasing their lead. Martin Brunegraf was on fire in the fourth inning, after he broke a window with his three run homerun.

But Slovak offense didn’t stop there. Jakub Horáček scored in two more runs only moments later.

Ireland, on the other hand, had to search for a way against Jakub Ižold for a long time. It changed in the sixth inning with Michael McGee’s two run homerun. But this was all Slovak pitcher allowed them.

Furthermore, Slovaks responded with three more runs. Ižold himself added a hit, which resulted into 2 RBI, giving Slovakia a 10 run lead. Slovakia only needed three outs to celebrate the win and advancment to European Championship.

Ireland managed to get a runner on base, but Jakub Ižold showed off the best of his arsenal and with 3 SO he finished the game. The Slovak dugout erupted in celebration. After 12-2 win, Slovakia advanced to European Championship for the first time in the history. Slovaks will face tough opponents from Netherlands, Czech Republic and Sweeden there. Championship starts on 12th of September in Italy.