The 2012 European Championship is under way. Six games were played on the first day of the premier tournament of European Baseball in Rotterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht, Netherlands on Friday. No surprises on the first day, as all favorites celebrated wins.
Host Netherlands opened the EC with a statement, as Kalian Sams went 4-for-4, hitting for the cycle and driving in eight runs of a 17-0 win against Croatia. Defending champion Italy meanwhile scored eight runs in the first frame of a 16-0 five-inning no-hit shutout over Croatia. Tiago Da Silva and Carlos Richetti combined to allow just one walk. Spain and Sweden also picked up ten-run rule shortened victories to have a good start into the ten-day event.
Germany and France had to work hard for their wins. Germany needed ten innings to down the Czech Republic 5-4. Sascha Brockmeyer and Kevin Kotowski scored the decisive runs for the German squad. France scored two runs in the fourth to break the tie in a 3-1 victory over Great Britain. Patrice Briones went the distance in a six-hitter.
Results Day 1:
Friday, September 7, 2012
Spain 10 – Greece 0
Sweden 14 – Russia 1
Czech Republic 4 – Germany 5
France 3 – Great Britain 1
Croatia 0 – Italy 16
Belgium 0 – Netherlands 17
