Both Ireland and Slovakia qualified for the final after finishing in the top two places of a group that also had Finland and Hungary. The winner of this final would qualify for the European Champions in Italy this year.

Frank Andrews needed to lift his team back up after a demoralizing defeat to Slovakia yesterday.

Privileged to be a part of the @baseballireland roster for the European Qualifiers in Bratislava.

Representing with pride and honour the country of my father and family.

Erin go bragh pic.twitter.com/HCyWQJyGzO

— Brendan Power (@BrendanPower22) June 30, 2021

Ireland (2) v Slovakia (12), Bratislava

Smithers was reinstated at pitcher, he brought back the form he had in the Finland game, claiming three strikeouts in the first round.

Ireland started brightly this time but couldn’t find a good bat after filling the bases. After the first inning, the game remained scoreless.

Jakub Izold caught a sweet single for Slovakia which was enough for them to get their first man home. Smithers’ game had a low point as he let the bases fill before they got another run from an error.

Another misunderstanding between Smithers and Tim Shea led to a third point for the Slovaks. Defensive woes continued as Slovakia managed the fourth point before the end of the second.

Ireland had no response with three outs leaving the score at 4-0 to Slovakia going in the top of the third.

Smithers and the defense steadied the ship holding their opponents out for the third inning.

In the fourth inning, Slovakia wanted more points on the board and a brilliant home run by Mario Brunograf (that may have smashed a neighbor’s window) added three more to the scoreboard. Slovakia finished with two more men home giving them a nine-point lead.

The Slovakians showed their defensive class to get a double knockout leaving Ireland scoreless again after the fourth inning.

The score was 9-0 to Slovakia after the fourth

The classy defending continued with six outs in a row between the teams in the fifth.

David Gallagher got the games first single in two innings when Mike McGee finally brought some Irish magic with a home run to get Ireland two points.

In the seventh inning, Ireland swapped in Brendan Scott at pitcher, but he couldn’t stop Slovakia getting a score on his first pitch. The Slovakian attack became relentless with them next grabbing a double for two more scores. Defensive mistakes re-emerged in the Irish with McGee now at pitcher and Slovakia finished the inning with a ten-point lead.

The score now 12-2 to Slovakia

Ireland would need scores in this eighth inning to keep this game alive. JP Dolan started with a single but that is all the Irish could muster.

With the deficit too much for Ireland to climb the game was called at the top of the eighth inning. Slovakia left as deserved winners with a score of 12-2, qualifying for the European Championships in Piemonte.

It was a sad end to a good tournament for Irish baseball

As Slovakia lifted the trophy, Ireland could only wonder what could’ve been after their two comfortable wins in the opening games.

To finish on happy note, Ireland’s Smithers won the award for best pitcher at the competition. Hopefully, Ireland can build on these performances to go one step further in the next tournament.

The post European Baseball: Irish hearts broken in final appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Ireland had already got the wins needed for the qualification final after their first two comfortable victories against Finland and Hungary. Slovakia had also qualified so this was to be an interesting game, who would show their cards and who wanted to win more.

Today they faced a much tougher opponent in Slovakia who beat also beat the Finnish and Hungarians in their first two games. Slovakia also has the advantage of being the home team with the competition being hosted in Bratislava.

Congratulations to Fionn Gallaher-Hall on being named to the Irish Men's National Baseball Team! Fionn came to America in 2017 to attend a Nike Baseball camp as part of our Baseball Exchange Program. Here's a video of Fionn after getting off his flight at JFK! Good luck Fionn! pic.twitter.com/zj20xTD0el

— Baseball United Foundation (@Share_Baseball) June 22, 2021

Slovakia (15) v Ireland (5), Bratislava

Ireland started the game with some nerves, it didn’t help that Slovakia had a very capable pitcher, knocking three Irish batters out comfortably.

Brendan Scott was chosen to start pitcher for this game, and he continued the strikeouts. A quick first inning ended with no singles, just outs.

Ireland pushed on in this inning getting all three bases filled with two outs, but the Slovakians caught Brendan Power before he could make it home.

The home team batting improved as well but they only managed a single. Going into the top of the third, the quality pitching contest heated up.

After a quiet start, the third inning would set the tie alight.

Fionn Gallahar-Hall and captain Leo Farrell managed a lovely double steal at the start of the round. Ireland got the bases loaded again and a Jamie Cuevas hit got the two base stealers home for the first two points of the game.

Patrick Mitchell, Cuevas, and Power followed them home after some questionable Slovakian catching and defending.

An early double by Adam Zacko left Slovakia in a fruitful position with two on the bases, they capitalized with Grandzadonsky getting their first point. A double by Gotshall next let two more Slovakians make it home.

Slovakia got four more men home due to some poor Irish defending errors before a brilliant triple by Brunegraf got two more points for the Slovakians. They added one more to get their tenth of the round.

The third inning finished at 5-10 to Slovakia.

Ireland needed to bounce back but they found it hard against some strong Slovak pitching with Farrell only making it to third base.

Scott had troubles with his pitching in the last inning and tried to steady the ship at the bottom of the fourth. Power also improved with some clean defensive catches.

The game continued in the same vein with Ireland and Slovakia failing to score in the fifth and sixth innings.  The boys in green switched pitching duties to Liam Shier.

It took until the bottom of the seventh inning for the game to liven up a bit again. Another new pitcher Patrick Mitchell was struggling to get into the game and let a Slovakian walk home. Next another great hit by Mario Gotshall sent three more Slovakians to home base.

The inning ended 5-14 to Slovakia.

Matt Dutton tried to give Ireland some energy in the eighth with a good double and then stealing third, but they couldn’t find a finishing touch to grab some points.

The game slowed as the clouds covered the field in Bratislava. Slovakia had the first two bases filled for Brunegraf to hit a great double and put the game out of Ireland’s reach.

With too much of a deficit for Ireland to overcome in one inning, the game was called one round early with a scoreline of 5-15 to Slovakia.

This Irish performance lacked any real energy and bite, it’s a good thing that the final tomorrow is the game that counts. The winner of the final will get a place at the European Baseball Championships in Piemonte, Italy.

Frank Andrews will have to pick his team up and give them some belief for their next meeting with Slovakia.

The final will be streamed live on YouTube at 15:00 with Ireland in need of some home support.

The post European Baseball: Ireland humbled by hosts Slovakia appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

In a group with Slovakia, Hungary, and Finland, the Irish are proving to be the team to beat. After defeating Finland 6-1 on the first day, they have thrashed a poor Hungary side.

Mitch Hillert showed his precise pitching with the batting of Frank Andrew’s team also got some impressive scores.

The roster has been announced for the 2021 Irish Men's National Baseball Team. Team Ireland will compete in the B-Pool Qualifying Tournament in Bratislavia, Slovakia from June 30-July 3. Congrats and good luck to all! #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/F0xGbtYYA3

— Irish American Baseball Society (@IABSociety) June 13, 2021

Ireland (16) v Hungary (3), Bratislava

Ireland started the match batting and with real tenacity. After captain Leo Farrell walked to first and stole second, a sweet swing by Fionn Gallahar-Hal let the captain run home for the first point of the game.

Next, a high Brian McAuliffe hit lets Gallahar-Hall and David Gallagher at second base run home for two more points.

Hungary calmed themselves to stop any more Irish scores but could not handle pitcher Mitch Hillert’s tricky throws.

In the second inning, Ireland showed a short masterclass in baseball. With the bases loaded a Farrell double sent Mike McGee and JP Dolan home. Tim Shea then was allowed to walk home after a pitching mistake.

McAuliffe, Gallagher, and Farrell made it home by the end of the inning to make it 9-0.

Hungary had trouble pitching, changing their pitcher halfway through the second inning. Hillert did not have the same trouble finishing the round keeping his opponents scoreless.

Ireland took a break from scoring in the third inning as Hungary improved their defense. The score remained the same going into the top of the fourth.

Ireland brought back the class of earlier batting in this round. McGee stole third before a Farrell single let him reach home base. With two strikeouts, Ireland needed some magic which David Gallagher produced. A fantastic home run, the first of the competition, but three more points on the board, with Tim Shea and Farrell also scoring.

Hungary still had no response to the Irish onslaught as the green defense held firm.

The fifth inning was quiet as both teams made changes knowing the game was already won. The score was 13-0 going into the sixth.

Ireland managed to get another man to home base after more stealing from Gallagher and McGee batting the ball far enough for him to score. The score was now at 14-0, Hungary would need points on the board soon or the game would be forced to end early.

Hillert continued to scare Hungary batters with his fastballs, adding two more strikeouts to his long tally.

Ireland made one last push at the start of the seventh inning. Hungary ended the game with their fourth pitcher, but he could not stop the Irish from getting two more points. First Dolan made an easy jog home from third base and Shea rounded off Ireland’s 16^th score.

Like the Finland game, Hungary made a last-ditch attempt to get some points. With men on the second and third base, a great bat by Carlos Rubio sends the first two Hungarians home. Rubio was their star player and he got himself home before substitute pitcher Patrick Mitchell upped his game.

Three was not enough for Hungary to keep the game going and Ireland was given the win after the seventh inning with a score of 16-3.

This was a dominant team performance with no standout players. This game leaves them with a lot of confidence going into their last game against the home country, already qualified for the final.

Ireland will face Slovakia tomorrow, the 2^nd of July with all matches being shown live on YouTube on the Slovakia Baseball page.

The post European Baseball: Ireland dominate a poor Hungary team appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The Irish are in a group with Hungary, Slovakia, and Finland taking place in Bratislava, Slovakia. Only one team from the group with qualify for the European Baseball Championships

Franks Andrew’s team are confident about the competition ahead with Leo Farrell named as team captain.

Ireland vs Finland, group B qualifier in the European baseball championship (yes, it is true: both countries have national baseball teams!) tough challenge to my loyalties? no! pic.twitter.com/gkNrDmrQ5Y

— Jack Whalen (@jjw415) June 25, 2021

Ireland (6) v Finland (1), Bratislava

The game began slowly with both team’s batters failing to cleanly strike a ball in the first inning.

In the second inning Ireland eased their nerves, pitcher Callum Smithers was crucial as Finland struggled to deal with his left-handed throws.

Patrick Mitchell made the first single of the game and after some mistakes by the Finnish pitcher, Ireland had all three bases loaded. Unfortunately, Leo Farrell struck out and Finland left the inning unscathed.

The great pitching continued as all the Finnish batters struck out at the top of the third.

A good high strike by short stop, Brian McAuliffe, left Ireland in a good position but again they couldn’t capitalize.

Into the bottom of the fourth inning and the game came to life. With JP Dolan and Mitchell already on bases, Fionn Gallahar Hal sends the ball over the head of the center for a great triple.

After a Farrell hit, Gallahar Hal makes it home to put Ireland ahead 3-0 after the fourth inning.

Smithers’ finally made a mistake at the top of the fifth, hitting the batter and letting him walk to first base. After some precise throwing, he made up for his error and Finland was out.

The Finnish decided to change pitcher at the bottom of the fifth to Tomi Toivio who does well in his first inning.

On the sixth, Ireland showed more class with Gallagher getting a single off a Finnish mistake and then stealing second. A great long strike by McAuliffe gets him a double and lets Gallagher home. Cuevas gets another double for Ireland and McAuliffe adds another point to the board to make it 5-0 at the end of the sixth

Jose Mesa was a bright spark for Finland as he got their first single but a quick play by Shea catches him out trying to steal second.

Ireland continued to try stealing bases with Brendan Power speed nearly making it home before he was tagged by Mesa.

Liam Shier came in the eighth inning to replace Smithers at pitcher. He eased into the game with Finland struggling with some of his fast balls.

For Ireland’s turn, Fox managed a single when batting but went on to steal second and third. Michael McGee followed by stealing second. A single by Mitchell let Fox run home and Ireland was 6-0 up with only one inning left.

Finland made one last push and with the bases fully loaded, a Mesa single let Finland get their first man home. Sadly for the Finnish, a long Andreas Fopp swing was caught by the Irish to finish the game

A very strong opening baseball match by the boys in green and white will give them confidence for their next match.

Irish pitcher Liam Smithers prove to be the biggest difference between the two teams as he retired 16 of Finland’s players throughout the game.

Ireland will face Hungary tomorrow, the 1^st July with all matches being shown live on YouTube.

The post European Baseball: Ireland ease past Finland in opening game appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

RTE Sport that Doosan Bears and LG Twins of Seoul played in the biggest sport in the country. The stadium would normally be packed for a derby of this magnitude but owing to the coronavirus no spectators were present. Media were present for the game but it was limited to around 50 people. The shouts from the dug outs were also heard loud and clearly. Reporters and the media were not allowed to approach players before or after the game.

The news comes as good news considering the South Koreans outbreak of Covid 19 was catastrophic at the beginning. The majority of sport was banned in the country from baseball to soccer.  However, it now appears that South Korea have brought the virus under control. This is mainly down to the testing regime and tracing of the virus. The Korea baseball organisation have also said the season will will begin on May 5th. However, this will be played behind closed doors.

RTE report that strict guideline have to be adhered to. For instance, players have to have temperature checks twice during the game, facemasks are also required to be worn in all parts of the stadium. Furthermore, players have been asked not to interact, this means no high fives or the shaking of hands. Spitting is also prohibited.

Meanwhile, the K League is set to begin shortly, after the South Korean football association said they will allow practice matches from Tuesday. The country’s women golfers are also expect to make a return to the fairways. The Korea Ladies Golf Association Championship which is a four day event will commence on May 14th near Seoul.

Whether we will see other countries follow suit and begin to do what the South Koreans are doing is another question. Only time will tell I would imagine.

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