Game #7: Paris University Club 11 (2-1) vs. Stuttgart Reds 5 (1-2) (F/6)
The Paris University Club won a slugfest Sunday morning 11-5 over the host Stuttgart Reds to start day three of the Palomino European Zone Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Paris used 11 hits (eight for extra bases) and took advantage of three Reds errors that resulted in six runs to improve its tournament record to 2-1.
Paris got off to a solid start thanks to a few Stuttgart miscues, when, in the bottom of the first, Pierre Monbeig sharply hit a line drive to right field and the ball was misplayed on the bounce by the Reds right fielder, allowing Paul Stukas to score from first. On the play, Monbeig advanced all the way to third. On the next at-bat, Jules Diego Rabearivelo reached on an error and advanced to second, scoring Monbeig (2-0). After a walk to Kevin Khemache, Paul Bird crushed a two-RBI double to center field, completing the scoring for the inning.
Errors plagued Paris in the top of the second, when the first two Reds in the order reached on errors. With runners on first and third, Fabio Arnold took off for second to steal and the ball was overthrown into the outfield, allowing Konrad Titus Klein to score and Arnold to take third. The Reds’ Jonas Van Bergen singled, scoring Klein. During the next at-bat, van Bergen stole second. Frido Fink singled to right field and brought home Klein, completing the scoring for the inning (4-3).
In the bottom of the third, Erwan Prieur led off the inning with a double and later scored when Kevin Khemache reached on an error. Paul Bird and Lucas Khemache both recorded RBI doubles in the inning, as Paris made it a more comfortable lead at 7-3. In the top of the fourth, the Reds got a run back, when Fink tripled to right field, scoring Lukas Panten. Another RBI double by Prieur in the bottom of the fourth once again made it a four-run game in Paris’ favor.
In the top of the fifth with runners on first and second, Stuttgart’s Fabio Arnold hit a deep shot to right field for a hit. He took off for second expecting the runners to keep going, but Arnold was quickly caught in a run down. A smart base running play by Arnold, he stayed in the run down long enough to allow Fabi Beck to score from third (8-5 Paris).
The French finally broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a two-out rally. Samy Jamous doubled and Prieur walked, before Rabearivelo doubled to right field, as Jamous scored on the play. Kevin Khemache followed suit with a double of his own, scoring both Prieur and Rabearivelo, making it an 11-5 game that proved to be the final score.
Prieur was solid in relief for Paris, going three innings full, allowing just one run on five hits, while striking out one.
Van Bergen led the Reds at the plate, going 3-for-4, while four players each recorded two hits for Paris. Bird paced the French with three RBI.
Box Score
Game #8: Swiss National Team 7 (3-0) vs. East Europe All-Stars 1 (1-2) (F/6)
Yannic Sutter pitched a gem for the Swiss National Team in game two Sunday, as his team gave him plenty of run support and won 7-1 over the East Europe All-Stars. In six innings, Sutter allowed just one hit on three hits and two walks, while striking out nine.
The Swiss took the lead first, in the bottom of the first, when, with the bases loaded, Livio Bundi hit a pop fly to second base and reached on an error, allowing Nicholas Fischer to score from third. Jonah Schaller later walked and scored Nik Diener in the process. Michael Diaz Pino scored on a wild pitch during Aron Augsburger's at-bat, and Augsburger reached on an error to score Bundi. In the inning, the Swiss scored four runs off two East Europe errors, two walks and a hit batsman.
East Europe regrouped in the top of the second, but in hindsight, had a chance for more in the inning. With two outs, Aras Michalauskas walked and was pinch ran for by Ugnius Navickas. Navickas moved up 90 feet, when Eimantas Dudulis singled to center field, and Vilius Paikovas brought Navickas home, when he doubled to left field (4-1). Ugnius Cepelonis was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, but East Europe couldn’t capitalize any further, as the inning ended with a ground out.
Sutter retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced in order, as Cepelonis was only able to reach base because of an error. Pino, Bundi and Logan Lavenexall scored on wild pitches later in the game, as the Swiss National Team completed a 7-1 victory and stayed undefeated in the tournament.
Box Score
Game #9: London Mets 7 (2-1) vs. Brabant United 2 (0-3) (F/5)
The London Mets struck early and tightened up defensively when they needed to in their 7-2 win over Brabant United Sunday afternoon. Despite matching the Mets in hits (seven), Brabant United hurt itself by leaving 11 runners on base in five innings.
London jumped out to an early lead in the first, when Freddy Mosier hit a two-RBI double. Joe Perez later singled, advancing Mosier to third, and Mosier was brought home on Greg Kettle’s sacrifice fly to right field. Tosh Lawson singled, scoring Perez, for the Mets’ fourth and final run of the inning. They added another run in the second thanks to a Brabant United balk when Graydon Koyanagi was on third base (5-0).
Aiden Pearce was effective and received the breaks he needed to get a win on the mound, finishing the day going 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and four walks, while striking out seven.
Brabant United finally got to Pearce in the top of the fourth, when, with the bases loaded for the second time of the game, Anthony Oomen singled to center and Giel Van Knegsel walked, but after a pop out, Brabant United only had two runs to show for it (5-2).
In the top of the fifth, Tobias Van Schooneveld singled and Ben Eseling walked with one out. Following a strikeout, Freddy Mosier relieved Pearce on the mound, and Luke Van Roosmalen worked an eight-pitch walk against him to load the bases once more. On a 3-2 count, Mosier induced a pop up to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Mets added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to 7-2, which stood as the final as the game time limit ran out.
Van Roosmalen led Brabant United with two hits, while Koyanagi and Perez paced London with two hits apiece. Mosier and Lawson each recorded two RBI.
Box Score
Game #10: Paris University Club 15 (3-1) vs. East Europe All-Stars 13 (1-3)
Paris University Club won an exciting marathon of a game that lasted late into Sunday night 15-13 over the East Europe All-Stars and stayed in title contention. Both teams combined to score 21 of the game’s 28 runs in the final two innings, after East Europe tied the game at seven by the end of the sixth inning.
In the top of the sixth with two outs, Paris loaded the bases thanks to Ewan Hauser reaching on an error, a Jules Diego Rabearivelo walk and a Paul Stukas single. Samy Jamous reached on an error on a fly ball to left field, scoring Hauser, before Pierre Monbeig singled to center field, making it a 7-3 game.
East Europe had no quit in them with half an inning to play. Domas Kamandulis walked, but was out at second on a Danielius Rékus fielder’s choice. Maksim Charabulka walked, before Martynas Sadzevicius singled to left field, scoring Rékus (7-4). Then, Mindaugas Strimaitis saved the game for East Europe thanks to his triple to center field, and Strimaitis scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to tie the game at seven.
It was then that Paris went on an eight-run rally thanks to five hits (two for extra bases), two walks, a hit batsman and an error, but the game wasn’t over there (15-7). Three walks, two singles and an RBI ground out got East Europe within two runs with Strimaitis on third base. Norvydas Zukauskas walked to put runners on the corners, but Bird got the final and most important out of the game for Paris on a strikeout to win 15-13.
Stukas and Bird led Paris at the plate with three hits each, while four players recorded two RBI each for the French. For East Europe, Strimaitis and Aliaksandr Lukashevich both had a team-high three hits, while Sadzevicius and Strimaitis led East Europe with three RBI each.
Box Score
Monday’s Schedule (All games scheduled at local time Stuttgart):
Swiss National Team (3-0) vs. London Mets (2-1) 8 a.m.
Stuttgart Reds (1-2) vs. Brabant United (0-3) 10:20 a.m.
East Europe All-Stars (1-3) vs. London Mets 12:40 p.m.
Paris University Club (3-1) vs. Brabant United 3 p.m.
Swiss National Team vs. Stuttgart Reds 5:20 p.m.