U-15 Baseball European Championship semifinals: The Netherlands, France advance

Posted : 21 July 2023

The Netherlands dominated host Slovakia with a resounding 17-2 victory at the U-15 Baseball European Championship in Trnava, securing a perfect 2-0 record and a spot in the semi-finals as winners of Group B. With the Dutch win, France also advanced to the semi-finals as the second seed from their preliminary round pool.

In Group A, Italy secured a 10-7 win over Czechia, improving their record to 3-0 and clinching the top spot in the pool ahead of the defending champions. Additionally, Germany achieved their first victory in the tournament, defeating Hungary 22-1.

The morning game saw Germany put on a dominant display, scoring 13 runs in the first two innings and adding eight more in the fourth to secure a comfortable 22-1 win against Hungary.

Fabian Spiess was the standout performer for Germany, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an impressive five RBI. Finn Niemeyer also had an outstanding game, scoring four runs. Milan Svab scored the lone run for Hungary, who now holds a 0-3 record in the tournament.

In the afternoon matchup between two already qualified teams for the semi-finals, Italy narrowly defeated Czechia 10-7, securing their place as the Group A winners of the preliminary round. Italy started strong, scoring eight runs in the first two innings, but Czechia showed resilience, scoring in each of the last four innings to reduce the deficit. In the end, Italy's early advantage proved enough to secure the victory. Andrea Destro played a crucial role for Italy, collecting three hits and two runs, while also pitching 4 1/3 strong innings to earn the win on the mound.

The evening game witnessed the Netherlands claiming their second consecutive victory with a dominant 17-2 win over the host team, Slovakia. The Dutch team unleashed their offensive power, scoring six runs in both the first and third innings, creating an insurmountable lead.

Toss Linus Spekking was a standout performer for the Netherlands, contributing four runs and two RBI, while Jonas Rijpma scored three times. Slovakia managed to score two runs in the second inning through Jakub Holeski and Lukas Brhlovic.

The U-15 Baseball European Championship will continue on Friday with three games. In the morning, Slovakia and Hungary will face off in the classification round for fifth to seventh place.

The first semi-final will take place at 13:30, featuring the Netherlands against the defending champions, Czechia. In the evening game at 17:00, Italy will compete against France in the second semi-final match.

U-15 Baseball European Championship semifinals: The Netherlands, France advance

ADD A COMMENT :

Hot Topics