Italy wins the first-ever Blind Baseball European Championship
Italy wins the first-ever Blind Baseball European Championship, played in Bologna, Italy, on October 7 and 8, 2023, by topping the Netherlands, 6-0, in the Gold Medal Game.
The first-ever Blind Baseball European Championship was played on October 7 and 8, 2023 in the Casteldebole Ballpark in Bologna, Italy. The home team won the gold medal game, followed by the Netherlands, silver medallists, and bronze medallists from Great Britain, France, and Germany.
In the first game of the day on Sunday, October 8, Italy defeated France in the first semifinal, 10-0, thanks to a great defense and 10 runs scored on 12 hits, including the grand slam by Giuseppe Tocco.
In the other semifinal, Great Britain and the Netherlands played a very tight game, concluded 2-1 in the tie-break in favor of the orange in a sportingly dramatic fashion: the British team missed the opportunity to score twice when the runners missed the home plate area, and then the last batter Ray Clements, slid on first base and, despite the good hit, could not reach first base and was the last out of the game.
In the Bronze Medal Game, Great Britain topped France, 9-0, scoring four runs in the first inning, and five in the second, without allowing any runs. The British had 14 hits.
The experienced team from Italy faced the young and female team from the Netherlands in the Gold Medal Game.
The first two Dutch attacks were very fast: Gaetano Casale dominated the defense with 3 of the 6 outs in shortstop.
Two hits by Oliveri e Allegretta started the Italian attack, and the first run was scored on the hit by Napoli. Four more runs were scored by the Azzurri, reaching the five-run limit for the inning. In the second inning, the Italian manager Fabio Azzaro had a few changes to allow the whole Italian team to play. The Dutch defense was very focused and the outfielder Mindy Kroon was the author of the three Italian casualties.
The sixth run, the one to close the game for the run-ahead rule, was scored: Giangiacomo Bonomo and Fabio Trombini reached on two hits and Danny Oliveri hit the RBI single that closed the game and crowned Italy as the first-ever Blidn Baseball European Champion.
Fabio Trombini, class 2006, from Italy, won the best hitter award and the Top Prospect award of the event. The MVP was Giangiacomo Bonomo from Italy. Grant Mallabar (GBR) won the Best Defensive Player.
Day 2 results: Game 11: France vs Italy 0-10 Game 12: Netherlands vs Great Britain 2-1 Game 13 Bronze Medal Game: France vs Gran Britain 0-9 Game 14 Gold Medal Game: Netherlands vs Italy 0-6
The event was organised by WBSC Europe together with the Italian Blind Baseball Association (AIBxC) and the Italian Baseball and Softball Federation (FIBS). The Fortitudo Baseball Club hosted the event on their baseball field in Bologna, Italy.
During the Closing Ceremony, the WBSC Europe Board Member François Collet praised the Local Organising Committee, helping spread Blind Baseball all over Europe and the World, defying them as "inspirational for the whole movement".
