U23 European Championship: Czechs lost against Great Britain, semifinal is almost out of reach
After losing to Italy, Czechs played Great Britain at U23 European Championship. Their opponent showed the game won’t be easy, after they beat Italy on Tuesday.
Czech starter Ondřej Furko had trouble with controlling his pitches and Great Britain managed to take advantage of the situation. Britons got on bases and were ahead 2-0 after two innings. On the other hand, Czech team had trouble hitting Jack Seppings’s pitches and so they had to wait till the third inning for the first runs. In it Vladimír Chlup’s team got on a roll after a defensive error, which Ondřej Kalandra scored the first run. Few moments later RBI hit from Marek Chlup leveled the score.
In the fifth inning Jakub Kubica got Czechs the lead. It didn’t last long, however, as Britons leveled the score in the following inning after a triple from Miguel Rodriguez.
Teams entered the seventh inning with three runs each. Czechs loaded the bases in the top half of the inning, without any outs and they had a chance to score several runs and get some breathing room. However, they were able to score only one. In the bottom half, Czech team needed to keep Great Britain scoreless, and David Mergans was sent on the mound. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. Britons entered the bottom half of the inning with a hit from Johnny Freiheim. Mergans then followed with two striekouts and Czechs only missed one out. However, Mergans walked the next batter and Czech coaches sent Filip Čapka on the mound. The defense didn’t help the new pitcher and after Radim Novotný’s error the score was leveled again.
The game went to extra innings. Czechs went first and scored a run. In the bottom half Britons leveled the score with their first batter, when Kennard Dawson hit a double. Czechs then walked the following player, allowing Great Britain to load the bases. Then came Čapka’s wild pitch, after which Britons scored the walk-off run. The win marks second win for Great Britain. On the other hand, Czechs now have two losses and they will hope France can beat Italy later today. Only their win can keep Czech hope for semifinals. Otherwise, they will have to settle for bottom half group where they will play to remain in A-category.
| 25.8. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CZE | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| GBR | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
