By Gabriel Fidler
BELGRADE, Serbia — Bratislava and Wrocƚaw both entered the win column on the middle day of pool play at the Federation Cup Qualifier in Belgrade. Six players had a pair of hits for Slovakia’s Apollo club, which defeated Kaunas County, 6-3. In the nightcap, Budapest held a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the eighth, but Polish baseball’s Barons erupted for a six-run inning and survived a rally by the Red Wolves in a 9-6 victory.
Highlights
Alexander Václavík turned in another excellent effort for Bratislava, lining a pair of doubles and scoring twice. Michal Ešmír and Matúš Repaský each had two hits and two RBI for the victors, who started Martin Gieci and benefitted from the lefty’s ability to limit runs despite congestion on the basepaths. Gieci went 7.2 innings, whiffing seven and allowing only three runs on seven hits and six walks.
Will Gordon went the distance for Kaunas and, although he conceded 13 hits, he issued only a single free pass and four earned runs. Gordon also got the Lithuanian baseballers on the board with a two-run jack in the fourth, doubling home Kaunas’ only other run in the seventh.
Wrocƚaw made the most of back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the eighth, as Robert Roggenbuck and Łukasz Krzemienowski scored the first of six runs in the inning, which would not feature another hit. Instead, three consecutive walks, a sacrifice fly, an error, two more walks, and a hit batter gave the Barons the victory.
Roggenbuck was the only Wrocƚaw player with multiple hits, while Philip Coleman chipped in two walks, a run, and a swipe. Coleman also earned the win after pitching the final three innings, allowing two runs, but striking out five.
César Chacín was a one-man wrecking ball for Budapest, doubling home the team’s first run in the second, singling and scoring to lead off the sixth, and lining his fourth hit and scoring a second time in the ninth. Zsolt Győri went 3-for-5 and turned in a solid effort on the bump, striking out six in seven frames and permitting four earned runs on six hits and two walks in the no decision.
Day 3 Results [Box Scores]
Kaunas 3 – Bratislava 6
Budapest 6 – Wrocƚaw 9
Upcoming Schedule
June 23: Kaunas – Bratislava
June 23: Budapest – Wrocƚaw
June 24: Bratislava – Wrocƚaw
June 24: Vojvodina – Budapest
June 25: Wrocƚaw – Kaunas
June 25: Bratislava – Vojvodina
Final (June 26): TBD
Previous Results [Box Scores]
June 21: Kaunas 1 – Budapest 11 (7)
June 21: Wrocƚaw 0 – Vojvodina 10 (7)
June 22: Budapest 12 – Bratislava 10
June 22: Vojvodina 9 – Kaunas 11
Standings
| Team | W-L | GB | RF | RA |
| Budapest Red Wolves | 2-1 | – | 29 | 20 |
| Vojvodina | 1-1 | .5 | 19 | 11 |
| Apollo Bratislava | 1-1 | .5 | 16 | 15 |
| Barons Wrocƚaw | 1-1 | .5 | 9 | 16 |
| Kaunas County | 1-2 | 1 | 15 | 26 |