Czechia – France 14-4 (Box score)
Czechia had the perfect start into the U-12 Baseball European Championship. They scored nine runs in the first en route to an easy 14-4 victory over France.
Dominik Maly and Tobias Foret set the tone with home runs. Maly finished the game with three runs scored and three RBI. Teodor Vydra got awarded the win. Guillaume Labbal had two hits and a RBI for France, which scored once in the second and three times in the fifth. Mahe Audemard got charged with the loss.
Netherlands – Lithuania 26-0 (Box score)
In the early afternoon matchup, the Netherlands offense topped the Czech efforts with a 21-run first inning in a 26-0 shutout over Lithuania. They added five more in the second and ended the game on 20-run rule after three innings.
Iceson Ardjosoediro and Rudgendrick Justin Felicia hit home runs for the Dutch team. Ardjosoediro had four runs and five RBI in the game overall. Marcelo Montenegro Espinoza scored four times as well. Tijn Bake Luca Delemarre struck out all six batters he faced to pick up the win.
Nedas Steponaitis took the loss for Lithuania, which didn’t have a base runner in three innings.
Italy – Austria 15-0 (Box score)
Italy followed suite in the late afternoon game, shutting out Austria 15-0 in four innings.
The Squadra Azzurri scored in each of the four innings played, while they outhit their opponent 11-3. Michele Manganelli hit a home run for Italy. Kevin Wong and Gianmaria Fontana combined for five hits, five runs and six RBI out off the first two spots in the lineup. Sabino Vitrani picked up the win.
Marc Andre Moczkowski took the loss, but had also two of the three Austrian hits on offense.
Germany – Ukraine 16-3 (Box score)
The defending
champion from 2022 and 2023 as well as the host of the U-12 Baseball European
Championship, Germany, had a strong outing on opening day as well. They
defeated Ukraine 16-3 in the evening game on Tuesday. Five runs in the first
and seven in the third blew the score open. Raphael Acbas had four RBI for
Germany. Thore Warlies, Jonathan Strübing and Felix Blesing each scored thrice.
Kylen Fernandez Ruiz provided a two-run home run. Tymony Sytchenko, Kyriil
Dediiashchenko and David Ryablko crossed the plate for Ukraine, which was able
to cut the deficit to 3-5 midway through the second. Thore Warlies received the
win. Yehor Tushyn took the loss.
Outlook
The U-12 Baseball European Championship continues Wednesday with day two of the preliminary round robin. In the morning Austria takes on the Netherlands at 10:30. At 13:00 Ukraine hopes for a surprise against Czechia. At 15:30 Lithuania squares off with Italy. In the evening at 18:00 Germany battles with France.
All games can be followed via live play by play at www.wbsceurope.org. Live streaming is available at www.baseballeurope.tv.
Photo by Christian Strohdiek