Italy Wins the U-18 Baseball European Championship
Gold Medal Game: Germany – Italy 1-3 (Box score)
In the gold medal game of the U-18 Baseball European Championship, Italy claimed victory over Germany with a score of 3-1. The final match was an absolute nail-biter: although the Italians maintained the lead from start to end, the Germans started a rally on the seventh.
Italy took an early lead, scoring one run on a wild pitch from the German starting pitcher Paul Hoff. The Azzurri did not capitalize, leaving three runners on base.
They added another in the third inning: Taschin walked, advanced on a sacrifice hit, and scored on a double by De Cristian.
A great play by the German pitcher Widmann did not allow Italian leadoff Cornelli to score on a squeeze by Magnani in the fourth inning.
The third run for Italy was scored in the fifth inning by pinch hitter Sabatini who hit a double, stole third, and scored on a single through the right side by De Cristan (2/3 today).
Germany flamed the home crowd in the seventh inning. At their last chance, Stockhaus singled, forcing the pitching change for Italy. Starter Taschin left the spot to Gergolet, who stroke out the first two German batters, to then hit Siegert-Bomhrd. With two outs, Richards doubled and pushed in the first run for German scored by Stockhaus.
A 6-3 grounder closed the game and gave the European Champion Title to Italy.
Giacomo Taschin, MVP of the tournament, took the win for Italy, while Diego Gergolet earned the save. Paul Hoff took the loss for Germany.
Both Italy and Germany qualified for the WBSC World Cup.
Bronze Medal Game: Netherlands – Great Britain 5-3 (Box score)
In a closely contested bronze medal game at the U-18 Baseball European Championship, the Netherlands topped Great Britain with a score of 5-3. The game saw the two teams playing for the podium spot after losing their respective semifinals to Germany and Italy yesterday.
Scoring for the Netherlands started in the second inning when Patist scored on a sacrifice fly by Mercado Reyes and Louisa scored on a single by Franka.
In the top of the fifth inning, Great Britain's Jack Warrington, 1-1 on the day with 2 RBIs and a walk, singled to left field and drove in Louis Dean and William John Kraemer, tying the game for Great Britain.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Netherlands took the lead again: Patist doubled to deep left-center field, driving in Jamie Beerman for the third run. Patist then scored on an error to make it 4-2. A sacrifice fly by Amarasio Franka in the bottom of the sixth inning brought Tyrell Mercado Reyes home, solidifying the score for the Netherlands.
Cayden Allen's single in the top of the seventh added another run as Owen Charles Bourgeois scored, bringing the score to 3-5, final score of the bronze medal game.
Levi de Graaf earned the win for the Netherlands. Dylan Eshuis secured the save. Great Britain's Aaron Caughlin took the loss.
Ranking 5-6: Spain - France (3-13)
France convincingly defeated Spain with a score of 13-3 for the fifth spot at the U-18 EuroBaseball. The game saw France take an early lead with two runs in the first inning, making it 2-1. Spain scored two on the third to take the lead again but succumbed to France, scoring 11 runs to finish the game early with the final result of 3-13.
Arthur Saumande earned the win for France, while Diego Alcalá took the loss for Spain.
Ranking 7-8: Czechia - Austria (11-2)
Czechia won against Austria, 11-2. Czechia scored two runs in the first inning, and Austria responded with 2 runs as well in the bottom of the first. Czechia took the lead again in the third and exploded in the fourth with six runs, maintaining then the lead throughout the rest of the game.
Jan Novák earned the win for Czechia, while Ondřej Vostatek secured the save. Maximilian Müller of Austria took the loss.
Ranking 9-10: Belgium - Israel (7-11)
In the U-18 Baseball European Championship game for the 9th-10th place ranking, Israel secured an 11-7 victory over Belgium. The game opened the final day in Regensburg.
Despite a strong start from Belgium, who scored six runs over the first three innings, Israel's offense turned the game around, scoring consistently in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth.
Israel's victory ensured the 9th-place ranking in the tournament.
Lyr Friesem earned the win for Israel, while Simon Van Der Linden of Belgium took the loss.
Ranking 11-12: Sweden - Croatia (15-2)
Sweden finished the tournament with a decisive 15-2 victory over Croatia. The game saw Sweden dominate from the outset, scoring four runs in the first inning and five in the second. Sweden’s consistent offensive pressure continued throughout the game, culminating in a total of 15 runs.
Kasper Laufke earned the win for Sweden, while Bartol Bosanac took the loss for Croatia.
Standings U-18 Baseball European Championship 2024
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
ITA
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 |
| 2 |
|
GER
|
4 | 1 | 0 | .800 | 1 |
| 3 |
|
ESP
|
3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 2 |
| 4 |
|
AUT
|
2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 3 |
| 5 |
|
ISR
|
1 | 4 | 0 | .200 | 4 |
| 6 |
|
CRO
|
0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 5 |
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
NED
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 |
| 2 |
|
GBR
|
3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 2 |
| 3 |
|
FRA
|
3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 2 |
| 4 |
|
CZE
|
2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 3 |
| 5 |
|
BEL
|
2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 3 |
| 6 |
|
SWE
|
0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 5 |
All 42 games can be watched at www.baseballeurope.tv. Boxscores are available for all games through www.wbsceurope.org.
Cover photo by Walter Keller / Catchthefever