The Netherlands claim bronze in Men's Softball European Championship 2023 and qualifies for the WBSC World Cup

After an intense battle in the bronze medal game of the Men's Softball European Championship 2023, the Netherlands emerged victorious with a final score of 10-7, securing their spot in the next expected WBSC Men's Softball World Cup.

The Dutch national team was the first to get on the scoreboard, scoring twice in the first inning: with DELFINA on base thanks to a walk, CASTILLO homered to right center.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Belgium took the lead again when VERSPREET hit a 3 RBI homerun.

In the fifth inning, both teams scored twice to take the result to 4-5 for Belgium. One more run for each team took the partial result to 5-6 after the sixth inning.

The rain caused the interruption of the game at the beginning of the seventh inning.

On the last opportunity at the top of the seventh inning, the Dutch national team scored five runs to take the lead again. 

VAN NUFFEL hit one run in for the Belgian on the bottom of the seventh, before the Dutch closer MEYERS closed the game with two strikeouts.

All games of the Men's Softball European Championship 2023 can be streamed on the WBSC Europe YouTube account. Furthermore, results, statistics, and further event details are accessible through the WBSC Europe event's website.

Cover photo by Grega Valancic