2018 CEB Cup

The 2018 CEB Cup was held in early June in Ostrava (with some games in Frýdek-Místek) in the Czech Republic. Belgium's Borgerhout Squirrels won to get a spot for Belgium in the 2019 European Champions Cup. The MVP was LF Joannes Ochoa of Borgerhout, while teammate Kenny Vandenbranden won Best Pitcher. The Best Hitter went to Philip Smith of last-place Karlovac.

Games[edit]

Bonn Capitals 11, Therwil Flyers 0. Germany starts on a strong note as Riley Barr fans 12 and allows one hit (to CF Adrian Kaufmann) in 7 in a mercy rule win. C Vincent Ahrens and 1B Lennart Weller each have 3 hits, Ahrens scoring three, while LF Christopher Goebel drives in five. Matt Watson takes the loss.
Borgerhout Squirrels 6, Bioctechkomanda 1. SS Sam Boermans goes 4 for 4 with two homers and four RBI to power Belgium past Ukraine. Kenny van den Branden allows one run in six and former major leaguer Romulo Sánchez strikes out six of ten batters he faces for a three-inning save. Sergii Shtapura takes the loss.
Templiers de Sénart 17, Minsk 1. 3B Alexander Perdomo drives in six while Robert Palencia allows one run in five in a complete game mercy rule win as the Templiers rout Minsk. Denis Leonov takes the loss, while 3B Dmitry Dziamyanenka drives in CF Kiryl Kazlouski with the lone Belarussian run.
Arrows Ostrava 14, Olimpija Karlovac 0. 1B Tomáš Juněc goes 4 for 5 with two triples and 3 runs as the hosts start with a bang. CF Terrell Joyce (3 RBI), 44-year-old DH Aleš Navrátil and 2B Jakub Grepl each rap three hits for the Czech squad. Matěj Satoria gets the win, Jose Diaz the loss.

Bonn Capitals 11, Borgerhout Squirrels 8. Bonn led 9-0 after 5 with Maurice Wilhelm cruising on the mound but the Squirrels rallied for 8 off Wilhelm and Jan Jakob in the 6th and 7th. In the 8th, Bonn CF Kevin van Meensel (the #9 hitter) smacked a two-run homer off Jose Larrinaga for crucial insurance. Sascha Koch pitched two shutout innings for the save. LF Joannes Ochoa had 4 hits for Borgerhout.
Biotechkomanda 9, Therwil Flyers 7. Ukraine gets its first win as SS Roman Boiko has 2 hits, 2 walks and 3 RBI and CF Illia Velikii scores 3. Vitalii Chukhrii works 8 1/3 in relief of Dmytro Limarenko for the win and Maksym Lisnytskyi closes it out for the save. P-SS Takanoba Oshima has 4 hits and is a triple shy of the cycle but takes the loss on the hill.
Olimpija Karlovac 16, Minsk 13. In a high-flying affair, Croatia beats Belarus. C Philip Smith scores 4 and drives in 3 while SS-P Vlastimir Arandelovic drives in four. Pavao Karin gets the win, Yauheni Kurhun the loss. C Maksim Makarkin has 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBI for Minsk.
Arrows Ostrava 7, Templiers de Sénart 0. Tomas Ondra and two relievers combine on a four-hitter, fanning nine; 1B Florian Peyrichou has half the hits for the Templiers. CF Terrell Joyce homers twice and scores three for Ostrava. Raudelin Legra takes the defeat despite an impressive three pick-offs.

Biotechkomanda 10, Bonn Capitals 8. After only one win last year, Biotechkomanda is off to a better start this time. 1B Kostiantyn Boyko and SS Roman Boyko both smack three-run homers off Felix Hoffmann to pace a 17-hit attack (3 by Roman Boyko). DH-1B Maurice Wilhelm drives in 3 in a loss, while Maksym Lisnytskyi gets the victory.
Borgerhout Squirrels 9, Therwil Flyers 4. Kenny Vandenbranden pitches five shutout innings of relief to rescue Jace Van Droogenbroeck. 2B Drew Janssen scores three runs. Michael Kratz takes the loss.
Templiers de Sénart 20, Olimpija Karlovac 11. With a spot in the semifinals at stake, France rolls past Croatia in another slugfest. LF Brice Lorienne (4 R, 4 RBI) leads the Templiers attack, while 3B Alexander Perdomo and 1B Florian Peyrichou each score four runs as well. CF Slobodan Gales goes 4 for 4 with two homers, four runs and four RBI but it's not enough for Karlovac.
Arrows Ostrava 15, Minsk 0. Unbeaten Ostrava cruised past winless Minsk. Matěj Satoria throws five shutout innings (3 H, 1 BB, 4 K) in a mercy rule win. CF Terrell Joyce continues his hot hitting, smacking a grand slam.

Borgerhout Squirrels 6, Templiers de Sénart 4. Romulo Sánchez strikes out 12 and throws 145 pitches in a complete game win (9 H, 3 BB, 4 R, 3 ER) to beat Robert Palencia, who also goes the distance (9 K, 9 H, 2 BB, 6 R, 3 ER). CF Steven De Lannoy has two runs and two RBI for the Squirrels, while 2B Raudelin Legra drives in a pair for the Templiers. Belgium moves on to the finals with the win.
Therwil Flyers 12, Olimpija Karlovac 1. Switzerland's entry gets its only win to avoid relegation. 2B David Castillo raps four hits and scores three while Matt Watson allows one run in seven, whiffing nine. C Philip Smith (3 for 4) is a bright spot for Karlovac while Justin Olic takes the loss.
Minsk 6, Biotechkomanda 3. Minsk also avoids relegation with their first win. Denis Leonov is a workhorse (134 pitches, 9 IP, 11 H, 0 BB, 9 K, 4 R) to beat Heorhii Hvrytishvili. P/LF Kostiantyn Chukhas goes 3 for 3 with a run and RBI and pitches okay too (3 R in 6 IP) for Ukraine.
Bonn Capitals 7, Arrows Ostrava 3. Bonn moved to the finals as Markus Solbach struck out ten and allowed only two runs in eight. 3B Daniel Lamb-Hunt had 3 hits, DH Maurice Wilhelm two runs and two RBI and CF Kevin Van Meensel three RBI for Bonn. For the hosts, Ondřej Satoria takes the defeat while C Michael Vykoukal and CF Terrell Joyce both go yard.

1st/2nd place game: Borgerhout Squirrels 2, Bonn Capitals 0. Belgium punched their ticket for the 2019 European Champions Cup, returning after a 7-year hiatus. Kenny Vandenbranden allows only 4 hits (2 to DH Maurice Wilhelm) and one walk in 7 shutout innings then Romulo Sánchez enters on short rest to strike out 5 of 7 batters for the save. Bonn also got strong pitching from Riley Barr, who struck out 9 and pitched six shutout frames. In the bottom of the 7th, C Tim Veraghtert drew a one-out walk from Barr and CF Steven De Lannoy doubled. LF Joannes Ochoa then delivered a two-run single to right for the game's only runs.
3rd/4th place game: Arrows Ostrava 8, Templiers de Sénart 0. The hosts finish with just one loss and a third-place ending by routing France. Player-manager Boris Bokaj throws a three-hit six-inning shutout, striking out seven and walking none, before the game ends due to rain. Matthieu Brelle-Andrade, on the other hand, gives up 10 hits and 8 runs (7 earned) in 2 innings. CF Terrell Joyce homers once again.
7th/8th place game: Biotechkomanda KNTU 5, Olimpija Karlovac 4. Croatia got knocked out of the 2019 CEB Cup to fall to the Federations Cup. Vitalli Chukhrii pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings of relief after Sergii Shtapura struggled early on, and 1B Kostiantyn Boyko homered and stole three bases. Former minor leaguer Jose Diaz takes the loss despite striking out 12 and even driving in a pair.

Confederation Cup (formerly the CEB Cup)