First League: Jablonec and Olomouc advanced to Promotion League

The last round of 2023 First League regular seasons was played in the previous week. We now know 3 out of 4 teams that advanced to Promotion League, with one series to go. Skokani and Blesk join Kotlářka.

Jablonec already had good chances of advancing even before their series against Skokani, but each win would solidify their position and they wouldn’t need to rely on other teams. Team from Hana region started Martin Schneider in their first game and he once again threw well, only allowing 2 runs in 9 innings, while sending 14 batters out of batting box with a strike. Olomouc’s „Ohtani“ also added a grand slam homerun and RBI double, establishing himself as a key player in Skokani’s 8-2 win. Venezuelan pitcher Jose Balaguera thus finished his first start for Jablonec with a loss. Skokani needed to win the second game as well to improve their chances for Promotion League. Their hopes were looking good after six innings as they were 8-6 ahead. However, Blesk, thanks to Balaguera, blasted a grand slam homerun in the seventh and altogether scored 9 runs and the outcome of the game was clear. Jablonec could celebrate their advancement, while Olomouc needed to hope for good results from other games.

And Skokani could send a barrel of beer to Frýdek-Místek. Klasik caught a good form at the end of the regular season and they let it show against Hippos. Brno team was close to winning in the first game, when they came from 3-4 behind in the 9th inning to get 5-4 lead. However, Klasik first tied the game after Jakub Kaplan’s hit, for young Richard Omelka who scored in the winning run to become a hero. Klasik had a good second game as well after Jakub Kaplan threw a complete game shutout. Frýdek-Místek kept their opponent scoreless for the first time in the season and they finished the regular season with a won series. They overtook Hippos in the standings, who now won’t get a chance to move to Promotion League.

The last team to advance would be decided in the series between Blesk and Olympia. Blansko had the same amount of wins as Skokani and SaBaT. Were they win at least once, they would advance to Promotion League. Two wins will advance SaBaT. Team from Prague’s Trója can regret especially the beginning of the first game against Kotlářka, where they got 0-4 behind in the first inning. SaBaT tied the game at 4-4, but Kotlářka’s David Komorous got his team the win after an RBI double in the seventh inning. Kryštof Dupal and his iron arm once again helped his team with a heroic performance. He once again threw a complete game win, this time with 157 pitches. Michal Kříž added 4 RBI and 3 hits in the offense. After winning 9-6 SaBaT kept their hopes of Promotion League and they will now hope Jablonec will beat Blansko two times.

First League Standings

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