First League: Kotlářka shocked Skokani. Offensive festival in Trója
The second best Czech baseball league continued over the weekend. And there were several interesting matchups and individual performances to be seen.
Olympia Blansko – Klasik Frýdek-Místek 4-3 and 8-5
Frýdek-Místek came to Olympia Blansko field over the weekend. However, they were unable to take any wins from Strawberry Field, despite being close in the first game. Unfortunately, they were plagued by defensive errors that helped the home team to all of their runs. Furthermore, Blansko was aided by a good performance from their starter Jakub Kostka who allowed three runs in eight innings. But even those were unearned.
The second game of the doubleheader was tied until the fifth inning. Blansko managed to load the bases, for the base clearing double from Aleš Blažek to come soon after. Olympia built a decisive lead to which Klasik was unable to respond. Visitors now have only one win after six games played. On the other hand, Blansko won the second series as they keep their hopes for Promotion League.
Blesk Jablonec – Hippos Brno 16-6 (7 inn.) and 20-6
Jablonec welcomed Hroši B team over the weekend, and the visitors didn’t cause them much trouble. In the first game Brno team made 10 errors, which was one of the reasons why the game finished on the mercy rule after seven innings. In the second game Hippos made „only“ 4 errors, but these were behind 10 runs of the home team. Jablonec Ethan Lanzo only missed one (homerun in the first and triple in the second game) hit to the Cycle. The second foreigner in the home jersey Angel Vilchez added 6 innings with 7 strikeouts.
SaBaT Praha – Pelikans Bučovice 20-17 and 17-26
There were 80 runs to be seen in Prague’s Trója, when Bučovice came to play against SaBaT. None of the pitchers had a good day, walking combine 42 batters. Adding 21 errors, it is no surprise we saw this many runs. It is also worth noting that Adam Kubečka managed to steal 5 bases in the first game. The teams split the games in the end, giving both coaches a lot to ponder.
Kotlářka Praha – Skokani Olomouc 8-4 and 11-10
Skokani arrived to Prague’s Na Markéte as the favorite of the competition. The first game looked rather dominant on their side. Marko Vykoukal on Skokani mound didn’t allow much, only letting in one run. Martin Schneider earned 3 RBI with 2 HR giving Skokani 4-2 lead at the end of the sixth inning. However, Jakub Školoudík substituted Vykoukal in the seventh inning and the new pitcher had trouble finding the strike zone, being able to record only one out. Kotlářka offensive was stopped only once Pavel Schwarz came in for Školoudík, but by that time Prague team scored six runs, the score that didn’t change.
Visitors could take their revenge in the second game, however, they didn’t start well. Kotlářka scored seven runs in the first two innings, but Skokani found their bearings and thanks to homeruns from Přemek Chroust a Martin Schneider in the seventh inning they took the 10-8 lead. But next inning started with a solo homerun from Matyáš Kornacki, followed by two more runs from Kotlářka. Jan Komorous closed the game without allowing any more run to Skokani and so Prague team took, a bit surprisingly, both games from Olomouc. Kotlářka is, along with Jablonec, only one of two teams with 5-1 record after six games.
| First League standings | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Blesk Jablonec | 5 | 1 |
| Kotlářka Praha | 5 | 1 |
| Olympia Blansko | 4 | 2 |
| Skokani Olomouc | 3 | 3 |
| SaBaT Praha | 2 | 4 |
| Hippos Brno | 2 | 4 |
| Pelikans Bučovice | 2 | 4 |
| Klasik Frýdek-Místek | 1 | 5 |
