Germany ousts Italy with lopsided win as semi-finals are set at U-23 Baseball European Championship
Germany defeated Italy 13-3 to win Group B at the U-23 Baseball European Championship in Wiener Neustadt in dramatic fashion through a three-way tie. France took advantage as well after an 8-0 shutout against Belgium to join Germany in the semi-finals. The Netherlands beat Great Britain 1-0 in walk-off style to win Group A, as both teams advance. Czechia earned their first win in the tournament in the evening game against Austria.
Netherlands – Great Britain 1-0 (Box score) The Netherlands improved to 3-0 in the U-23 Baseball European Championship in Wiener Neustadt with a 1-0 walk-off win over Great Britain in the morning game on Thursday. Great Britain dropped to 2-1, but joined the Dutch team on their march to the semis. A walk-off RBI single by Sem Kuijper in the bottom of the seventh was the difference maker in the game. Otherwise the fans saw a pitcher’s duel. Naut Kragt issued just two hits and three walks in seven scoreless innings, while striking out five. Matteo Sollecito conceded two hits, one run and four base on balls in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. He lost his no-hit bid with one out in the seventh.
Germany – Italy 13-3 (Box score) After losing to France on Wednesday, Germany was with their backs against the wall in their matchup against 2-0 Italy on Thursday. Germany needed a big win to keep their semi-final hopes alive and they delivered. Germany scored six runs in the first two innings and five in the sixth to rout Italy 13-3 in a remarkable performance. With the ten-run rule victory Germany won Group B to advance to the semi-finals. Italy only managed a three-run home run by Samuele Gamberini in the third and also produced a whopping six errors to help the German effort. Luca Rammelmann drove in four runs for Germany. Simon Liedtke scored three runs. Joe Cedano De Leon pitched 3 1 /3 innings of hitless relief to earn the win.
Belgium – France 0-8 (Box score) France shut out Belgium 8-0 in the afternoon game in Schwechat on Thursday to improve to 2-1. Thanks to Germany’s lopsided victory they moved past Italy in the TQB calculations of a three-way tie and advanced as the second seed into the semi-finals from Group B. France took a quick 1-0 lead after the first and scored in each inning between the fourth and seventh frames. Tanguy Meurant was brilliant on the mound, allowing just one hit and two walks in six strong innings, while striking out seven. Julien Monks scored twice, while Ryan Moore drove in two. Belgium dropped to 0-3 after the preliminary round.
Austria – Czechia 0-5 (Box score) Czechia earned their first win of the tournament with a 5-0 victory over Austria on Thursday evening. The host meanwhile had to concede their third loss in as many games during the first round. After a scoreless first, Czechia scored four runs between the second and fourth innings to lay the groundwork for the victory. Tadeas Kalcev and Matyas Trcka combined to keep Austria to two hits and two walks, while striking out nine. Martin Pernicka scored three runs for the Czech team, while Jakub Winkler had two RBI. Christoph Hoscher and Georg Stemmer had the two hits for Austria.
In the morning at 10:00 defending champion Netherlands is taking on France in Wiener Neustadt. In the second semi-final at 14:30 Germany is facing Great Britain hoping to book a third straight finals appearance at the U-23 Baseball European Championship as the German team finished in second place in 2019 and 2021.
At 16:00 in Schwechat Czechia is facing Belgium in the relegation round, while Italy squares off against Austria at 19:30 in Wiener Neustadt.
