Slovakia lost to Hungary 8-12
After a Friday win against Croatia, Slovakia played Hungary on Saturday. The winner of the game would come closer to winning Aleksander Bekič Memorial.
Matej Šišolák’s team didn’t start the game well, as they were already 0-3 behind after the first inning. Hungary was able to improve their lead to 6-1. But Slovak bats started to come alive in the fifth inning and they came as close as one run from tying the game thanks to a three run homerun.
Score 6-5 remained unchanged until the seventh inning. Hungary had a chance to increase their lead, when they loaded the bases with two outs. Slovaks were unable to play a quick out and Hungarians continually improved their lead to 8-5. They also added a grand slam in the ninth inning, significantly improving their chances for the win.
Slovaks tried to fight back in the bottom half of the inning, but it was only enough for the final result 8-12.
Offensively, Mário Gottschall was the best Slovak batter, finishing with three hits. Matej Rudohradský reached the base in four cases, once after a hit, two times after a walk and he was also hit by pitch once. Martin Gieci blasted another homerun. Juraj Bartók (4 IP, 3K) and James Kontur (5 IP, 4K) were the two pitchers on Slovak mound.
With the second win on the tournament, Hungary came closer to an overall win. Slovaks will have to hope that Croatian senior team will help them a little and that Slovak will be able to beat home U23 team on Sunday.
