After two days at the European Championship in Hoofddorp, four teams remain undefeated. In Group A the Czech Republic downed Great Britain 4-1 on Saturday, while the Netherlands beat Germany 10-2. In Group B Italy prevailed 6-3 over France and Spain blew by Greece 12-1. In the other two matchups Sweden and Belgium picked up their first win apiece. The Scandinavians celebrated an 8-1 win over Russia. The Red Hawks edged out Croatia 5-1.

First-round play continues on Sunday with Spain taking on Croatia and Czech Republic hosting Sweden in the morning. In the afternoon France squares off against Greece, the Netherlands face Russia and Germany hopes to rebound against Great Britain. In the evening Italy looks to hold off Belgium.

Player of the Day:

Alessandro Vaglio (Italy). He went 2-for-2 with two walks, a home run, a double and four runs scored. He also stole two bases.

Stat of the Day:

1 strikeout each. In the game between Belgium and Croatia both teams combined for 79 plate appearances. However only two players struck out in the contest. Ross Vuckovich went down swining in the second for Croatia. Dennis Ribbins went down looking for Belgium in the eighth.

Story of the Day:

41-year-old right-hander Rob Cordemans (Netherlands) missed more than a year due to a shoulder injury. After throwing a couple of innings at the end of the Hoofdklasse season and during the Yoshida Challenge he dominated Germany through five innings with six strikeouts as if he hadn’t missed any time.

Fact of the Day:

The Netherlands are hosting a European Championship for the tenth time. They have won seven of their nine “own” tournaments so far. Italy beat them on their soil in 1977 and 2012.

Results Day 2:

Group A:

Sweden – Russia 8-1



Russia 000 010 000 1 7 4 Sweden 102 012 02X 8 11 1

Box score

Sweden won a key matchup of day-one losers in Group A of the European Championship on Saturday morning. At the stadium in Hoofddorp they beat Russia 8-1. They scored in five of their eight offensive innings and cruised to the victory. Russia only reached the scoreboard once in the fifth. Full recap.

Czech Republic – Great Britain 4-1



Great Britain 000 001 000 1 7 0 Czech Republic 110 200 00X 4 7 1

Box score

The Czech Republic improved to 2-0 in the European Championship on Saturday afternoon. In a Group A matchup they beat Great Britain 4-1 in Nieuw-Vennep to remain undefeated. They took a quick 4-0 lead and then defended the advantage, when couldn’t score anymore. Great Britain only was able to avoid the shutout and dropped to 0-2. Full recap.

Netherlands – Germany 10-2



Germany 001 100 000 2 6 4 Netherlands 026 101 00X 10 7 0

Box score

The Netherlands picked up a 10-2 victory over Germany on Saturday evening at the European Championship. In front of an attendance of 3,100 at the ETO Ballpark in Hoofddorp the Dutch team took a quick 8-1 lead en route to the victory. During a six-run rally in the third Germany committed three consecutive two-out errors, which eventually decided the outcome. Full recap.

Group B:

Spain – Greece 12-1



Greece 000 001 0 1 2 2 Spain 400 134 X 12 13 0

Box score

Spain captured its second win in as many days at the European Championship in Hoofddorp. On Saturday morning on the backfield at ETO Ballpark the team of manager Paco Figueroa downed Greece 12-1. Four runs in the first and seven combined in the fifth and sixth blew the game open. Greece dropped to 0-2. Full recap.

Croatia – Belgium 1-5



Belgium 100 030 001 5 13 0 Croatia 000 000 010 1 11 1

Box score

In a duel of two veteran hurlers Belgium had the better ending, as they beat Croatia 5-1 for their first win in the European Championship in Group-B play on Saturday afternoon on the back field in Hoofddorp. A run in the first gave them the lead. Three runs in the fifth blew the game open. Croatia had 11 hits in the contest, but only managed an eight-inning run. Full recap.

Italy – France 6-3



France 000 003 000 3 8 1 Italy 010 112 10X 6 10 0

Box score

Italy blew a 3-0 lead, but still prevailed 6-3 over France in a matchup of day-one winners in Group B at the European Championship in Hoofddorp on Saturday afternoon. Italy built up a quick lead, but France tied the game in the sixth. However the Squadra Azzurri answered right away and secured the win. Full recap.

Standings:

Standing Pool A Pos Team GP WO LO AVG GB 1 Czech Republic Czech Republic 2 2 0 1000 0 2 Netherlands Netherlands 2 2 0 1000 0 3 Germany Germany 2 1 1 500 1 4 Sweden Sweden 2 1 1 500 1 5 Great Britain Great Britain 2 0 2 0 2 6 Russia Russia 2 0 2 0 2

Standing Pool B Pos Team GP WO LO AVG GB 1 Italy Italy 2 2 0 1000 0 2 Spain Spain 2 2 0 1000 0 3 Belgium Belgium 2 1 1 500 1 4 France France 2 1 1 500 1 5 Croatia Croatia 2 0 2 0 2 6 Greece Greece 2 0 2 0 2

Schedule:

Complete results, box scores, schedule, statistics and live play by play is available through www.baseballstats.eu

Live radio from two games each day is available through www.meinsportradio.de

Tickets are available on the official website www.ekhonkbal2016.nl

Photo by Gregor Eisenhuth, www.eisenhuth-photographie.de