The Netherlands have won the Women’s Softball European Championship 2017 after defeating defending title holder Italy 7-1 in the Gold Medal Game on Saturday evening in Bollate, Italy. With the win the Dutch team also ties Italy at the top of the all-time ranking with their tenth title overall.
The final was quickly decided, as the Netherlands took a 6-1 lead after three innings and never looked back. Ginger De Weert and Rebecca Someru kept the Squadra Azzurri to three hits, a run and two walks in seven innings. Britt Vonk led the Dutch offense with three hits, a home run, three runs scored and two RBI. Greta Cecchetti got charged with the loss.
Italy had reached the final after defeating Great Britain 8-1 earlier in the day. The British team finished in third place ahead of the Czech Republic, Russia and Greece. 23 national teams from Europe competed overall in the Women’s Softball European Championship.
The overall well-organized tournament in the Milan area faced schedule troubles after lots of rain hit the tournament and caused postponements and rescheduling. Not enough time for make-up games and rain delays was included in the schedule by the European Softball Federation (ESF), which caused problems in the end.
Unfortunately two high-caliber games were cancelled due to double forfeits (NED-ITA, GBR-CZE) on Thursday evening and Friday morning with both on the schedule for worldwide live stream audiences. In the future ESF should consider expanding the timeframe for a European Championship from eight to ten days to give the prime event in European Softball the stage, which it deserves.
Final Standing
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1
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NETHERLANDS
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12
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POLAND
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13
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UKRAINE
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2
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ITALY
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14
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BELGIUM
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3
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GREAT BRITAIN
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15
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IRELAND
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4
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CZECH REPUBLIC
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16
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CROATIA
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5
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RUSSIA
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17
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SLOVAKIA
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6
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GREECE
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18
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SWITZERLAND
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7
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SPAIN
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19
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BULGARIA
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8
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SWEDEN
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20
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DENMARK
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9
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AUSTRIA
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21
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ISRAEL
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10
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FRANCE
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22
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HUNGARY
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11
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GERMANY
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23
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LITHUANIA
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