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Kaunas vs. Logipolija-Vilnius
Above: Will Gordon pitching in 3rd-inning action in Vilnius, Kaunas vs. Vilnius.
below: Arunas Dankovskis, young standout from Kaunas, hitting a triple in the same game. A few highlights from the first few weeks of games:
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LITHUANIAN CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK 2: LITUANICA (KAUNAS) AND VIKINGAS (VILNIUS) TAKE TWO FROM LOGIPOLIJA AND VETRA
Kaunas Lituanica extended their record to 4-0 in ’09 Championship Play with two wins over Vilnius Logipolija this weekend, beating Logipolija 13-7, 16-5 in two games. In game 1 Will Gordon and Marijus Dargis shared the pitching duties for Lituanica, recording 11 strikeouts and giving up only 4 hits in 9 innings. Lituanica outmatched Logipolija, recording 16 hits on the game, led by strong hitting performances by Audrius Beliauskas (3-5, 2B, R, 4 RBI) Gediminas Sabalius (4-6, 2 2B, 2R), and Arunas Dankovskis (2-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI).
In game 2 Arturas Eimutis of Lituanica got his first victory of the season, with Aivaras Jacyna pitched 3 solid innings to close out the 7-inning victory. Vilnius’ pitchers handily recording 10 strikeouts of their own but also giving up 10 walks. If not for a weak defensive effort by Vilnius Logipolija (12 of 16 runs were unearned), the outcome might not have been so lopsided. Leading hitters for Lituanica in game 2 were Gordon (3-5, 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI, SB), Cernauskas (303, 2B, 5 R, 2 SB). Edvardas Matusevicius led Logipolija’s offense batting 3-4 with a double, SB, and two runs scored.
In other action, Vikingas regained their form after dropping two games to Lituanica last weekend by taking two wins by breezing two victories against Utena Vetra on Saturday and Sunday. In games that were much more hotly contested than the results would show, the 2008 Lithuanian Champs defeated Vetra 12-1 and 10-0. Game two was highlighted by stellar defensive play by the Vikings, playing errorless ball with Evaldas Remeika going nine innings without giving up a single base on ball. Evaldas also led the way in game 2 with his bat, going 2-4 with 2 doubles, two runs scored, and one RBI. Top hitter for Utena was Robertas Zelionka (2-3, 2B).
Standings in Lithuanian Championship after week 2:
1. Lituanica (Kaunas) (4-0)
2. Juodasis Vikings (Vilnius) (2-2)
3. Logipolija (Vilnius) (0-2)
4. Vetra (Utena) (0-2)
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TOP YOUNG PLAYERS SHOW THEIR STUFF AT MAY 5TH MLB TRYOUTS IN PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
This past week six young Lithuanian standouts showed off their baseball skills in front of MLB and MLB Club scouts MLB Tryouts in Prague this past week. The tryout was hosted by the KrC Altron Baseball Complex, and was the lead-up to the 2009 MLB Prospect Camps to be held in Italy in July.
The tryout lasted for several hours in which players were tested in various areas: speed, arm strength, hitting and throwing, as well as fielding balls from their position and pitchers throwing off the mound.
The Lithuanian delegation, led by Youth National Team Head Coach Virmidas Neverauskas, represented Lithuania extremely well. Edvardas Matusevicius posted the fastest time in the 60 yard sprint, and Arunas Dankovskis posted the third-fastest time among the 40 players participating in the tryout from throughout Europe. Dovydas Neverauskas and Edvardas Matusevicius both were standouts on the mound, with Dovydas hitting 88mph and Edvardas 86mph on the radar. They were the hardest-throwing pitchers in the tryout (the hardest-throwing pitcher from other countries, Czech not included, was 82mph). Lukas Bradauskas (81 mph) and Arunas Dankovskis (80 mph) also posted great results.
These performances certainly grabbed peoples’ attention and increased peoples’ awareness of developments in Lithuanian baseball. We have strong hopes that several of these players will be invited to attend the MLB Camp in Italy this summer. We are proud of all these young players from Lithuania who attended these tryouts and hope that this can be motivation for all young players in Lithuania to continue to work hard and improve.
Players attending the Prague ’09 MLB Tryouts:
Edvardas Matusevicius (Vilnius “Sporto Vilkai”)
Dovydas Neverauskas (“Sporto Vilkai”)
Valentinas Krukis (“Sporto Vilkai”)
Gytis Martunas (“Sporto Vilkai”)
Justinas Sdaunykas (Utena “Vetra”
Lukas Bradauskas (“Sporto Vilkai”)
Arunas Dankovskis (Kaunas “Lituanica”)
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VILNIUS BASEBALL CLUB TAKES FIRST IN INTERNATIONAL BASEBALL FESTIVAL-PISZEK MEMORIAL LITTLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT!
May 5th: BC Vilnius capped off a solid weekend of play defeating WBSC Warsaw 6-2 in the final to claim 1st Place in the Little League division of the Edward J. Piszek Memorial International Baseball Festival held at the Little League EMEA Training Center in Kutno, Poland, May 1-3.
The LL division tournament featured 9 teams in three divisions, playing a round-robin format with a final game to decide the winner.
BC went undefeated in their group with decisive victories over UKS “DEBY” and MSZS Kutno. In finals pool play they defeated BOTOSANI (ROM) 12-3 and then WARSAW 6-2 to secure a first place finish. Lukas Pupininkas pitched a complete game for BC Vilnius in the final game. Botosani defeated WARSAW to take second place.
Full results after the final day of play:
1. BC Vilnius LL (LIT)
2. BOTOSANI LL (ROM)
3. WBSC Warsaw (POL)
4. FSC FRONHAU FLAMINGOM (GER) 5. UKS “DEBY” OSELSKIO (POL)
6. BUKS “KRUKI” AUGUSTOW (POL)
7. MKS “JASTRZAB” JASTRZEBIE ZDROJ (POL)
8. UBKS “BAZA” BYDGOSZCZ (POL)
9. MSZS KUTNO (POL)
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