Day three at the U18 European Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic featured four games of the first round; three might have had an influence on the semifinalists. In the morning France stunned Germany to get back into the mix for the semi-finals, while the German squad is now backed to the wall. Italy got its second win over Spain, which lost for the second time. Also in the afternoon Sweden won a slugfest against Russia. In the evening the Netherlands won the highly anticipated matchup against host Czech Republic.
Germany – France 3-8
A solo home run by Nolan Soliveres in the top of the sixth broke a 2-2 tie en route to an 8-3 win by France over Germany. Back to back home runs by Vincent Helget and Oliver Thieben had tied the game for the German squad, which failed to take advantage of a 14 hits aside from the two long balls. Fred Walter’s three-run shot in the ninth blew the score open to seal the French victory. Clement Esteban picked up the win in relief, allowing three hits in 3 1/3 scoreless innings following a solid start by Lorian Andro. Daniel Mendelsohn took the loss, surrendering three hits, four runs (1 ER) and three base on balls in seven frames.
Italy – Spain 9-2
Italy scored four runs in the bottom of the third to beat Spain 9-2 in the afternoon game. It was their second win in as many games, while Spain dropped to 0-2. Matteo Friggeri highlighted the crucial rally with a two-run double. He and Gabriele Orefice combined for six RBI. Ludovico Coveri and Federico Pecci kept Spain to two runs on eight hits on the mound. Kevin Kopec got charged with the loss, giving up six hits, five runs and a walk in three frames.
Sweden – Russia 11-10
The afternoon game on field two in Ostrava featured 21 runs, 20 hits, 27 walks and six errors in a wild affair. Sweden prevailed 11-10 after nine innings against Russia. The Swedes erased deficits of 0-4, 5-7 and 8-10 in the process. A three-run bottom of the ninth handed the team of Bjoern Johannessen the win. A wild pitch and a pair of hit batters with the bases loaded decided the outcome. Linus Holmberg drove in four and got the win in relief. Evgeny Libin went 3-for-5 with two RBI for Russia, but also took the loss after replacing Antonio Bulte with one out in the ninth.
Czech Republic – Netherlands 5-11
In the evening game the Netherlands defeated the Czech Republic 11-5. A pair of four-run rallies in the fifth and the sixth turned a 1-2 deficit into a lopsided lead for the Dutch team. Julian Rip went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and three RBI. Five different players scored twice. Marek Chlup had two RBI for the Czech host. Taylor Clemensia conceded three hits, two runs and two walks in five innings for the win. Krystof Travnik struck out eight, but also walked seven while giving up five runs (3 ER) on three hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Outlook
Germany now needs to beat Italy on Thursday to keep their chances for the semi-finals intact. Even then they are not guaranteed a spot in the medal round. They’ll meet at 3pm. In the morning at 11am Spain hosts Great Britain in a matchup between winless teams. On field two at 5pm the Netherlands take on Croatia. In the evening the Czech Republic squares off against Sweden at 7pm.
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