U12 EC: Czechs lost to Italy and leave championship without a medal
Czech U12 national team played bronze medal game on Friday. Unfortunately, they repeated Saturday semifinals and lost the game in the sixth inning.
The first game went better for Czechs than it was in the semifinals, as they took 3-1 also thanks to four errors from Italy. The second inning saw Italy took the lead with three runs scored, to which Czechs responded with four runs of their own.
However, Czechs were unable to score more and Italy started to lower the run difference. They managed to do so and the sixth inning started with a scored tied at 7-7. Czechs played two quick outs, but then they substituted the pitcher, which was a signal for Italians, who quickly took a one run lead. Ryan Hechavarria then blasted a three run homerun to change Italy’s lead to 11-7.
Young Czechs managed to get two runners on bases, but they couldn’t find a player to bat them home. In the end they finished in the fourth place, but their performance showed a good promise for the future.
For the second time in U12 European Championship history Czechs finished without a medal. They remain the most successful country of the tournament with 14 medals and are the only country to finish the 4th at worst.
