EXL: Arrows rewritten the history. Kotlářka won their first game
After a nice Opening Week the weather decided to turn against baseball. Only three out of five planned games were played in the end.
Ostrava, as far as the the available historical statistics go, never won three games in a row to start the season. However, it seems that this season Arrows improved on the mound, which was on full display against the strong Hroši squad. Jan Tomek only allowed one run in seven games in the first game of the series. It came after a sacrificial hit from Martin Červenka in the fifth inning. In that moment it meant the game got tied at 1-1.
Hroši were also strong on the mound. Viktor Beránek’s first Extraliga start went rather well, when Arrows only scored one run in six innings he pitched, and even that was unearned. More importantly, Brno pitcher also didn’t walk anyone.
The winner was to be decided by the bullpens. And it came in the seventh inning thanks to a hit from Jakub Malík against Matěj Brabec. Boris Bokaj managed to keep a close Arrows lead in the following two innings and after winning 2-1 Arrows rewritten the club history. On the other hand, Hroši lost their first game of the season. The second game then had to be postponed to Sunday due to rain.
Kotlářka finally got their win
The Extraliga returnee Kotlářka Praha was unable to win the first week of the season. They then competed for their first win against Eagles Praha on Saturday. However, it was the visitors who took the lead first, when Michal Antoň reached the home base after a wild pitch. In that moment very few could predict it would be the last run Eagles scored in the game. Lukáš Ercoli didn’t allow them more in the five innings he pitched and the youngsters Max Lukeš and David Křeček continued the trend.
Eagles relied on Tomáš Duffek, who wanted to continue the excellent performance from the previous week. And he once again managed to do just that, however, unfortunately for him, the defense didn’t help him in the important moments of the game. In the fourth inning Kotlářka took the lead after a hit from Jan Komorous thanks to an error in the right field. The batter himself then reached the home base to score the third run after a wild pitch. In the eighth inning Keibert Petit blasted a solo homerun against Vasko Kolev and adjusted the score to the final 4-1. The win also was the first on the season for Kotlářka.
Hluboká couldn’t keep up with Draci again
Unlike in the games in Brno and Prague, the pitchers had a tougher outing in southern Bohemia. Home starter Viktor Sedláček for example only remained on the mound for one inning, when Draci scored 6 runs against him and created a solid cushion for the rest of the game. Sokol batters tried to come back, but it was only enough for 6 runs, which, in the end, wasn’t enough.
Draci’s Tomáš Urbánek had a good game when he only allowed 2 runs in 4 innings as a reliever. Alex Monsalve earned his first Extraliga homerun in the offense and he finished with 3 H and 3 RBI. In the end Draci won 14-6 and currently hold 2-2 record.
Weather in charge
Beside the second game between Hroši and Arrows, the similar faith met the duel between Tempo and Nuclears. The game had to be stopped in the fourth inning while Třebíč led 1-0. The game should be finished in Prague on Sunday, with the start at 13:00.
