Great Britain, Netherlands reach Final of U-23 Baseball European Championship after last-inning wins
The semi-finals at the U-23 Baseball European Championship in Wiener Neustadt, Austria were each decided after comebacks and in the seventh inning. The Netherlands celebrated a 6-5 walk-off win over France, while Great Britain beat Germany thanks to a run in the seventh inning also 6-5.
With the semifinals wins, the Netherlands and Great Britain qualified for the next expected WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup.
In the relegation round Czechia prevailed 3-1 over Belgium, while Italy defeated Austria 11-2.
The Netherlands came back from a 1-4 deficit to beat France 6-5 in the first semi-final of the U-23 Baseball European Championship 2023 on Friday morning in Wiener Neustadt to return to the final of the U-23 Baseball European Championship for a second straight tournament. A walk-off RBI single by Jeandro Tromp plated Brandon Rincones in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Dutch the win. The Netherlands had tied the game at 5-5 with three runs in the fifth. Six different players scored for the Netherlands in the game. Marnix Ruben reached base four times, scored once and drove in a run. Pierre Doat scored twice for France. Pim Vijfvinkel picked up the win with two perfect innings of relief.
Semi-Final: Germany – Great Britain 5-6 (Box score)
The second semi-final on Friday afternoon in Wiener Neustadt matched the drama from the first, as Great Britain came back from a 1-5 deficit to beat Germany 6-5. A two-out RBI single by Donovan Crook in the top of the seventh turned out to be the difference maker in the contest. Germany scored five runs combined in the second and third highlighted by a two-run single by Luca Rammelmann and a RBI double by Lou Helmig to get ahead 5-1. But the British squad tied the game in the fourth thanks to a two-run double by Jacob Lambdin and a pair of run-scoring errors by the German left side of the infield. Russell Derbyshire struck out six in 3 1/3 excellent innings of one-walk relief to take the win. Ira Clifton got charged with the loss.
In the
relegation round game on Friday afternoon in Schwechat Czechia prevailed 3-1
over Belgium to pick up their second win of the tournament. Lukas Pacal
collected eight strikeouts in five innings, issuing just one run on seven hits
and a walk to lead the way. A successful double steal and RBI singles by Tomas
Ricny and Jan Pospisil plated the three runs for Czechia. Nando Mostaert scored
for Belgium on a RBI single by Vegas Tiliakos in the fourth.
Relegation Round: Italy – Austria 11-2 (Box score)
In the
relegation round game on Friday evening Italy downed host Austria 11-2. Italy
took a quick 3-0 lead after three innings. After Austria cut the deficit to
2-3, Italy added eight runs in the bottom of the fourth to run away with the
victory. Gabriele Angioi and Lorenzo Morresi scored two runs apiece for Italy.
Daniel Monti collected two RBI. Georg Stemmer and Eoghan Mc Garry scored for
Austria. Federico Virgadaula and Francesco Bonvini combined for ten strikeouts in
seven three-hit innings on the mound.
Outlook
At 19:00
defending champion Netherlands is facing Great Britain in the Gold Medal Game
of the U-23 Baseball European Championship in Wiener Neustadt, Austria on
Saturday evening. The Netherlands is looking for their second consecutive
championship and third overall in the U-23 category since WBSC Europe switched
to that age range from U-21 in 2017. Great Britain finished in fourth place at
the 2021 U-23 Baseball European Championship. They already achieved their first
ever medal in the U-23 age group. At 14:30 Germany and France will meet in the
Bronze Medal Game in Schwechat. In the relegation round Italy is taking on
Czechia at 10:00, while Austria is facing Belgium at 14:30.
