Arrows Ostrava wins Czech national baseball championship
Czech Republic has one of the highest-level baseball leagues in all of Europe.
The Arrows Ostrava beat Draci Brno, 8-4, in Game 4 to win the best-of-five final series of the Czech ExtraLiga, the top baseball level in the central European country.
The Arrows won the series, 3-1, and earned their third league title in four years.
"It's awesome. It is always great to win in front of our fans. It was a big fight, but as we showed at the end of the game, we were prepared better this time, and we could win it all," commented Michael Vykoukal, the Arrows' catcher.
Defending champions Draci were off a good start, winning a dramatic Game 1 thanks to a strong effort of closer Martin Schneider.
The Arrows outscored Draci, 21-6, in the three following games of the series, thriving on a strong lineup led by National Team's captain Jakub Malik.
During the championship series, Draci's Czech baseball legend Pavel Budsky hit his167th career home run.
Baseball Czech Championship Series: Draci Brno 3-2 Arrows Ostrava Arrows Ostrava4-1 Draci Brno Draci Brno-Arrows 2-9 Ostrava Arrows Ostrava 8-3 Draci Brno
The Czech Republic is currently ranked 16th in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings, second-highest in Europe, behind No. 8 Netherlands and ahead of No. 17 Italy.
