Road to Eurobaseball: Italy, Croatia and Switzerland played the Italian Baseball Challenge
The Italian Baseball Challenge, a WBSC Europe-sanctioned event, recently took place in Italy. This event featured friendly games between the national teams of Croatia, Switzerland, and the host country, Italy.
The Italian Baseball Challenge kicked off on September 16 with a match between Italy and Switzerland. Italy won with a 10-2 score. Both teams utilized multiple pitchers, with Italy employing four and Switzerland five. The game was marked by a total of 17 hits, including three home runs by Italian players Garcia, Mineo, and Mercuri.
The tournament continued on September 17 when Switzerland faced Croatia in a high-scoring showdown. Switzerland secured a 19-10 victory. The match featured 33 hits and 7 errors in total throughout the game.
To conclude the Italian Baseball Challenge, Italy faced off against Croatia in a tight game. The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 until the fifth inning, and it was still level at 2-2 in the seventh inning. However, Italy broke the stalemate by scoring two runs in the seventh inning and another two in the eighth inning, ultimately winning with a final score of 6-2.
At Baseball European Championship 2023, Croatia will be competing in Pool C, alongside the Netherlands, Ukraine, and France in Brno. Italy will be part of Pool B, where they will face Sweden, Great Britain, and Hungary in the city of Třebíč. Switzerland is assigned to Pool D, where they will battle it out against Israel, Germany, and Belgium in the Czech capital, Prague.
