12/07/2022 - 17/07/2022

 

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European Baseball Championship Qualifier 2022 - Official Payoff

Switzerland wins European Baseball Championship Qualifier in Utena

Switzerland wins European Baseball Championship Qualifier in Utena
16/07/2022
Switzerland has won the European Baseball Championship Qualifier in Utena, Lithuania. They defeated host Lithuania 3-1 in the final on Saturday. With the victory the Swiss team earns a spot at next year’s playoff tournament, where also the winners of the European Baseball Championship Qualifiers from Blagoevgrad and Belgrade will participate. At the playoff the top two teams will earn the right to participate in the 2023 European Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic.

Switzerland had finished the preliminary round in second place behind the after three games unbeaten Lithuanian team. Both teams met in the final on Saturday. In the final Switzerland started strong, scoring two quick runs on a RBI single by Thierry Burkhardt and a wild pitch in the top of the first for a 2-0 lead. Edvardas Matusevicius cut the deficit in half with a RBI double in the sixth, but Yannick Brot scored in the seventh for the Swiss to seal the 3-1 win. Jonah Schaller excelled on the mound with 11 strikeouts in seven strong innings. Marius Balandis got charged with the loss.

Finland and Romania finished in third and fourth in the European Baseball Championship Qualifier in Utena.

All results and statistics can be found through www.wbsceurope.org.

Photo by Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation