The Czech Republic had a rough go at the World Baseball Classic this year as they were eliminated by Australia after an 8-3 loss and finished pool play with a 1-3 record.

Czech Republic players got to face some of the best players in the world and left Tokyo with an experience of a lifetime, even if there were some bumps and bruises along the way.

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William Escala was hit by a pitch from Japan’s Roki Sasaki on Saturday. He hit the dirt writhing in pain and holding his knee. Sasaki, one of the top prospects in Japan, hit Escala with a 100-mph fastball. He threw 21 pitches at 100 mph or more.

Escala said afterward the entire experience was all worth it and Sasaki found a unique way to apologize.

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"He gave me some goodies, and a bunch of different candies and stuff like that," he said. "And then I asked him if he could sign the ball as a memory for me. Something I will keep. Very cool. Something I’ll cherish and never forget."

Japan’s team Twitter account showed a pitcher of the two players. Escala was holding a giant bag of candy.

"That was a wow moment," Escala’s teammate Petr Zyma told MLB.com. "The Japanese culture never stops to amaze me each day we are here. They once again took it to another level as a superstar that Roki is; he took his time to come to the bus, meet Escala, send us a bunch of candy and sign a ball for Willie. It was a huge sign of respect."

Pool play is nearly finished and Japan so far is the lone team to finish their first four games undefeated. Pool C and Pool D still need to play out.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The San Francisco 49ers have added another quarterback to their expected open competition for the 2023 season.

Sam Darnold, the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, is reportedly heading to San Fran on a one-year deal, per ESPN. 

Darnold enters a competition with Brock Purdy, "Mr. Irrelevant" in last year's NFL Draft who wowed everyone with his success in a starting role last season, and Trey Lance, the 2021 third overall pick who is hoping to get his starting job back after a season-ending injury.

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This move from the 49ers comes after former starter Jimmy Garoppolo reportedly agreed to become the Las Vegas Raiders new starting quarterback after they released Derek Carr. Garoppolo's deal is expected to be worth $67.5 million over the next three seasons.

It's been five seasons since Darnold entered the NFL as the Jets' hopeful quarterback of the future. But after three tumultuous seasons in New York with injury and inconsistent play hurting his development into the franchise guy, the Jets moved on and traded him to the Carolina Panthers before the 2021 season.

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Darnold's situation with the Panthers was constant battles for the starting role, and he did win that in 2021. But he eventually lost the role after going 4-7 for the year.

The Panthers had many issues other than quarterback last season, but Darnold once again got his shot to start. While he went 4-2, the Panthers also tried P.J. Walker and started Baker Mayfield at the beginning of the season.

Darnold threw for 1,143 yards with seven touchdowns to three interceptions with a 58.6% completion rate in his six starts.

Despite having more experience than both Purdy and Lance combined, Darnold isn't at the top of the depth chart.

Purdy, who underwent elbow surgery to clean up his injury from the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, should emerge as the quarterback to beat because of his tremendous efforts in just a short period of time.

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He went 5-0 as a starter during the regular season, throwing for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns to four interceptions. He was also able to win two playoff games against the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys before falling to the Eagles.

Then there's Lance, who still has the talent GM John Lynch and the rest of the organization believes in after being named the starter out of training camp before the 2022 season. However, that quickly changed to Garoppolo once he fractured his ankle in Week 2.

If anything, Darnold's addition not only adds competition but assurance to the quarterback position after the 49ers used four different ones last year due to the injury bug.