EC: Czechs started the championship with a win against Austria
Sold-out Arrows Park, homeruns from Matěj Menšík and Martin Červenka and a decisive 9-0 win. All of this was on display in the first Czech game at European Championship.
The start of the game kickstarted the home fans, with Martin Červenka manufacturing two runs in the first inning. Czechs added three more runs in the second inning and full Arrows Park went wild.
Home pitchers, on the other hand, didn’t allow their opponents much. Starter Tomáš Ondra only allowed 2 hits and striked out 7 in six innings. Lukáš Hlouch and Filip Čapka came in from bullpen and continued Ondra’s work. Czech pitchers thus finished with 10 strikeouts.
After a good start, the hosts continued in the same manner for the rest of the game. Matěj Menšík started the bottom half of the fifth inning with a solo homerun, which heralded a three run inning. In the following inning Martin Červenka blasted a solo homerun which increased Czech lead to 8-0. Matěj Menšík then reached the home base after a wild pitch to wrap up the score at the final 9-0.
Eric Sogard‘s first game on Czech soil was a solid one when he finished with 3 hits and fielded double play two times.
“I’m happy with how it ended. I knew from the first pitch that it will be alight and that I can locate my pitches where I need them. There were some pitches they had a chance to hit, but fortunately that didn’t happen. The field supported me well. I’m happy. It was my first competitive game for the national team and the first win. There’s nothing more I could ask for,” summed up his performance pitcher Tomáš Ondra.
“We were preparing for this game, but their pitchers controlled the game very well and we couldn’t get on bases. It was difficult to get Czech batters out of batting box as our pitchers had issues in these duels. We were unable to get an advantage in the offense. It was a game dominated by the Czech team. A difficult game, we were unable to win it, but we still have others ahead of us. We need to keep our heads high and prepare for them, ” said Austrian manager Hiro Sakanashi after the game.
The national team won their first game 9-0 and will continue the journey against Greece on Monday.
