The last European Junior Championship took place in Rosmalen, Netherlands in 2007. The Italian team won the title defeating Russia in the finals. The Dutch team finished in third place in front of the Czech, French and German squads.

Erik GELLI led off the title game with a double and Italy grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning en route to the upset win over previously unbeaten Russian junior national team. Ace pitcher Luca PANERATI (3-0) threw two shutout innings to earn the crucial win.

Russia cut the lead to 2-1 with a run in the third and tied the game at 2-2 the next frame. But Matteo PIZZICONI (2.0 IP, 1H) slammed the door shut on Russia’s comeback hopes before PANERATI sealed the win for Italy.

Nikolay LOBANOV pitched well in defeat for Russia scattering four runs on nine hits in eight innings. LOBANOV will also see action with the Russian senior national team in Spain next month at the Olympic Qualifying European Baseball Championships.

Mattia REGINATO (.438) and Alessandro VAGLIO (.429) led an Italy offensive attack that hit .310 as a unit. Andrey LOBANOV (no relation to Nikolay) hit .545 for the Russians who hit a tournament-high .335 as a team.

The Netherlands claimed third place honors with a tough 3-1 win over the Czech Republic. Kevin MINER pitched a complete game five-hitter and fanned 10 hitters to lead the Dutch to victory. Jiri MAREK also turned in a strong outing allowing just one run on two hits in 4.1 innings as the Czechs finished fourth in the tournament.

France 10, Poland 4
Quentin POURCEL (1-0) pitched six strong innings allowing two runs on five hits as France capitalized on numerous errors to defeat Poland. The French scored three runs in the fifth on just one hit before putting the game away the next inning with five runs. Brice LORIENNE was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a pair of RBI’s.

Russia 10, Belgium 4
The Russians overcame a 4-3 Belgium lead by scoring in each of the final five innings to claim the win. Evgeny VOROTYNTSEV tossed six shutout innings of relief to get the victory. Victor SAMCHUK added two hits for the Russian junior national team.

Netherlands 13, Slovakia 4
The Dutch raced out a quick 4-0 lead in the first inning and added three more runs in the next frame and cruised to an easy victory over Slovakia. Anthony VROLIJK was 3-for-5 and Michael PLUIJMERS chipped in two hits for the tournament favorites.

Italy 9, Germany 3
Italy scored four times in the second stanza and Davide BERTAGNA pitched three solid innings to earn the win as the Italians begin their quest for the championship. Alessandro ULARETTI closed the game with a perfect ninth inning including a couple of strikeouts.

Slovakia 10, Poland 0
Team ace Martin ZAT’KO tossed a two-hit shutout and shortstop Michal MIKLOSOVIC went 4-for-4 with three RBI’s as Slovakia registered the first goose egg of the tournament.

Belgium 6, Germany 5
Belgium erupted for six runs in a big eigth-inning and then survived a late German rally to capture their first tourney win. Nicky VLYMINCKX was 3-for-4 and Thomas DE WOLF added two hits and a pair of RBI’s for Belgium.

Czech Republic 4, France 0
Tomas DUFFEK (1-0) tossed a complete game five-hit shutout and fanned eight batters as the Czech Republic earned a tough win. Philippe LECOURIEX pitched well (7.0, 6 hits, 1 ER) in a losing cause for France.

Russia 7, Spain 3
The Russians scored four times in the ninth inning to break a 3-3 deadlock and capture a crucial victory over Spain. Niko CHERMOSHENTSEU surrendered only one earned run on three hits to notch the win. Edgar AINETO was 2-for-4 for Spain.

France 8, Slovakia 1
The French picked up four runs in the third inning en route to an easy victory over Slovakia. Sebastien DUCHOSSOY pitched a two-hit shutout for seven innings and Philippe LECOURIEX was 3-for-4 with three runs. Thomas MEDINA had two hits and scored twice for France.

Russia 3, Germany 1
Nikolay LOBANOV settled down after allowing a first-inning run and shutout Germany over the final eight innings to lead Russia to a key victory. LOBANOV surrendered only five hits in a complete game win including 15 strikeouts. Victor SAMCHUK was 3-for-4 for the Russians and David SELSEMEYER had two hits for Germany.

Netherlands 3, Czech Republic 1
The Dutch tallied three runs in the sixth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit and capture a tough win over the Czech Republic. Rien VERNOOY was 2-for-4 with three RBI’s and Joran KLARENBEEK pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the win.

Italy 8, Spain 0
Luca PANERATI tossed five innings of one-hit baseball and Alessandro VAGLIO went 3-for-4 with three RBI’s as Italy beat Spain to stay on course to meet the Dutch.

Czech Republic 11, Poland 1
Lukas REGEC allowed one run on three hits over six innings with eight strikeouts to lead the Czech Republic past Poland. Vojtech JANICEK was 3-for-5 for the winners.

Spain 15, Belgium 11
Spain scored early and often to take a commanding 12-2 lead and then held off a Belgium rally to capture a high-scoring victory. Xavier Gonzalez was 3-for-5 and scored three runs while both Lesther GALVAN (3-for-3, four runs) and Edgar AINETO (five RBI’s) enjoyed big games. Jonathan GARCIA picked up the win for Spain.

Netherlands 13, France 1
Rick WEIJLAND allowed only one run in six innings and Anthony VROLIJK and Mitchell KOOT both went 3-for-5 as the Dutch remained unbeaten with a crucial win over the French.

Russia 10, Italy 4
Andrey LOBANOV stroked four hits and drove in five RBI’s and Boris RUSAKOV stymied the Italians for five innings as the Russians captured a key win.