Playing in Brno for the first time this year (technically "away")
against Technika Brno, we ran into a hot hitting team and were swept in
both games of the double-header for the first time this season. Despite
the two losses there were some "silver linings."
The first game we used just about everyone on our roster, but unfortunately we faced a dominant American starting pitcher who kept us off-balance with a good mix of fastballs, curveballs, and hard sliders - using both sides of the plate effectively, we did not get a base hit for 5 innings. When we finally got on the board against a relief pitcher in the 7th inning, they had already scored 17 against us. Although the stats won't show it we received solid individual efforts from Jan Jablonka who hit the ball hard in his first two at bats before getting a base hit in the 6th. Hitting the ball hard every time we come to the plate is all we can ask for. Petr Novotny also pitched well in relief, making his first extra-league appearance. Petr threw strikes but with a few errors behind him and a few pop-ups that went for home runs on the field that sometimes looked more like a softball field during the match, the scorebook won't show that he pitched better than the result.
The first game we used just about everyone on our roster, but unfortunately we faced a dominant American starting pitcher who kept us off-balance with a good mix of fastballs, curveballs, and hard sliders - using both sides of the plate effectively, we did not get a base hit for 5 innings. When we finally got on the board against a relief pitcher in the 7th inning, they had already scored 17 against us. Although the stats won't show it we received solid individual efforts from Jan Jablonka who hit the ball hard in his first two at bats before getting a base hit in the 6th. Hitting the ball hard every time we come to the plate is all we can ask for. Petr Novotny also pitched well in relief, making his first extra-league appearance. Petr threw strikes but with a few errors behind him and a few pop-ups that went for home runs on the field that sometimes looked more like a softball field during the match, the scorebook won't show that he pitched better than the result.
We lost Game 2 by the score of 16-13, but I was very proud of our
guys battling for 3 and 1/2 hours until the final out, overcoming a
dominant performance in Game 1, and after being down by the scores of
8-2 and 10-5 at various points in the game, most teams would usually
give-up. However, we battled back to tie 11-11 in the 7th before we just
ran out of momentum and pitching. Game 2 saw Martin Jelinek make his
first start of the season at 2B and he responded by going 4-4, scoring 4
runs, and also walking twice, reaching base in all 6 of his at bats.
Matej Samek, busy all day in leftfield, made a great diving catch with
runners on base to end a threat that could have put the game out of
reach. Jan Kuzma and Tomas Janicek added to the Home Run derby for our
squad as well. I pitched 4 innings of relief in my first ever Czech
Extra-League game, but suffered the loss.
By my count over 10 home runs were hit in the 2 games. Hitters
deserve credit for doing the job but without distances of the fence
posted, I'm curious how much further the ballpark was than a regulation
softball field. I look forward to playing again on a field with more
realistic baseball dimensions. We can't make excuses about the field,
but 17-1 and 16-13 isn't really good baseball or good for the fans.
First home games against Prague Eagles next Saturday, May 4,
starting at 13:00 - hope to see all of our fans and families there!
