Just one day after their 0:23-blowout against France the Croatian Team collected their first win of the European Baseball Championship 2019 with a 17:2-win in six Innings against Sweden. The Scandinavians remain winless after six games and will face Great Britain on Friday in their last chance for a win in the tournament.
Sweden even scored the first runs of the game in the first inning, when Pontus Bystroem and Alex Rubanowitz crossed home plate. After that Croatian starting pitcher Antonio Horvatic (W, CG, 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 K) found his groove and cruised to victory with plenty of run support from his offense. Ross Vokuvich and Andrija Tomic (3 Hits, 3 R, 3RBI) both homered, while short-stop Kruno Gojkovic collected four hits, three runs and one RBI. Swedish Starter Jesper Svedhem (L, 2 IP, 6 ER)was tagged with the loss after giving up six Runs in just two innings on the mound.
Team Croatia will take Austria on Friday in the continuing race for ninth place in the Tournament.