Italy pasts Czech Republic after a great pitching duel

Italy pasts Czech Republic after a great pitching duel
24/07/2019

Thanks to a great performance by pitcher Greta Cecchetti, Italy beat Czech Republic 2-0 in the second game of the Group B and remained undefeated at the WBSC Softball Europe Qualifier in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Italy scored the first run in the second inning with a double by Giulia Longhi and added the 2-0 lead […]

Thanks to a great performance by pitcher Greta Cecchetti, Italy beat Czech Republic 2-0 in the second game of the Group B and remained undefeated at the WBSC Softball Europe Qualifier in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Italy scored the first run in the second inning with a double by Giulia Longhi and added the 2-0 lead in the sixth.

After meeting two weeks ago in the last European Championships, Italy and Czech Republic faced again in the second day of the WBSC Softball Europe Africa Qualifier in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Greta Cecchetti and Veronika Peckova were the two starting pitchers.

In the first inning, Italy had the opportunity to score first but it couldn’t. Whit two outs, Emily Carosone and Erika Piancastelli singled. Then, Piancastelli stole the second base but Andrea Howard stroke out.

Anyway, Italy took the lead one inning later. Lisa Birocci walked and moved to second after Beatrice Ricchi’s bunt. Giulia Longhi doubled to left field for the 1-0.

In the sixth, Italy increased the lead. Piancastelli hit an infield single and moved to second on wild pitch. Howard stroke out but the third strike was a wild pitch. In the action, Piancastelli advanced to third and then to home, scoring the 2-0.

Cecchetti and Peckova shined in a fashionable pitching duel. The Italian ace stroke out 11, allowing only 2 hits in a shutout game. On the other side, the Czech star went 7 innings, allowing 2 earned runs, 5 hits and striking out 6 in 6 innings.

Thanks to this victory, Italy moves its record to 2-0 in the Group B, while Czech Republic is now 1-1. Tomorrow Italy will face France at 10.00, while Czech Republic will take on Botswana at 16.00.