By Gabriel Fidler.
An exciting day of play set the teams for the pair of semifinals at the Under-23 European Baseball Championship, with the Netherlands needing late-game heroics to remain winless, and Great Britain benefitting from a dominant performance on the mound from Zac Sohosky. Gedionne Marlin, Raphael Smeenk, Michal Šindelka, and Jan Pospíšil all had big offensive performances as round robin play concluded at the U23 Baseball Euros.
France – Great Britain
Great Britain took a 2-0 lead in the second on a two-run single by Captain Jake Lambdin, and Zac Sohosky turned in a superb performance on the mound for the Brits, though France mounted a late comeback. After Sohosky departed with a 3-2 lead after six, having struck out 12 in six innings, permitting two runs, one earned, on only four hits and no walks or hit by pitches, the French made things interesting against Alistair Morin, but after a double, a hit, and a throwing error, Morin buckled down to get University of Arizona shortstop Mathis Meurant to end the game. Charlie Collins had a single and double for GB in the game, while Tucker Stockman had a pair of base knocks.
Italy – Austria
The first five batters in the game reached for the Azzurri, and all but the final of those scored, as the Italians did all the damage they needed in the game with a four-run first. Giaconino Lasaracina and Manuel Zazza ripped doubles in the onslaught, while Rangers’ minor leaguer Williams Wong had a run-scoring single. From there, Italy coasted to a 5-0 victory, with Juan Carlos Infante Junior striking out seven in a complete-game shutout. No player on either side had more than one hit.
Germany – Netherlands
The third game of the day was an absolute nail-biter, with Germany needing a victory to qualify for the semifinals and the Dutch looking to maintain a perfect record and home field advantage for the next round. It was the Netherlands that struck first, plating three emphatic runs in the home half of the first. Gedionne Marlin doubled to start things off and Raphael Smeenk crushed a two-run shot to center for the 2-0 lead. The honkbalsters were not done yet, though, loading the bases on singles by Jair van Borkulo and Sem Kuijper, with a walk to Jamie Beerman next. Jesse Velders singled one run home, but with no outs, a crucial pitching change by the Germans resulted in three straight outs.
Tobias Maul quickly answered for the Germans, launching a solo shot to left center to make the score 3-1 in the second. Noah Lindt escaped a second bases-loaded jam—this one of his own making—in the second, before Tristan Russell turned an error to start the top of the third into a tied ballgame, lifting a two-run longball to deep right.
With Lindt dealing, the Deutschlanders nipped ahead in the fourth, with Moritz Köhler lacing a one-out double, scampering to third on a dropped third strike, and scoring on a sacrifice fly.
From here, neither club threatened until the bottom of the game’s final inning. Beerman and Velders drew free passes to start, necessitating a pitching change, Germany’s fourth of the day. Jayden Mohamed bunted both runners over, and an intentional walk loaded the bases. Miquel Willem then bounced a ball to second to score one run, before Marlin—the Netherlands’ talented leadoff hitter—walked. Smeenk then lined a ball to right field and Velders came home with the winning run, as the Netherlands’ players poured from their dugout.
Germany totalled seven hits, including four for extra bases. Russell was the team leader with two hits, which Marlin and Smeenk equalled for the victors. Newman University’s (Kan.) Gio de Graauw turned in a pair of clutch innings in relief, permitting only one baserunner and whiffing two for the Dutch, while Rick Rizvić earned the win with a scoreless seventh. Lindt was electric in relief for Deutschland, sending down nine on strikes in 4.1 innings, surrendering only a single run.
Czech Republic – Israel
The host nation batted first and took full advantage, with Michal Šindelka bashing a two-run homer and Jan Pospíšil doubling and scoring on a Šimon Drápela single. A walk to Šindelka and another Pospíšil two-bagger in the second pushed the lead to 4-0. After a fifth run in the third, Drápela lashed a two-run double to make the 7-0, while three runs in fifth—including an RBI-single by Šindelka—ended the game early via mercy rule.
Tadeáš Zavadil was aces for the Czechs, punching out four in 4.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits and zero free passes. David Křeček got the final two outs, both on Ks. Šindelka was a one-man wrecking ball, going 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI, while Pospíšil, Drápela, and Michal Pokorný also had multiple hits. No player for Israel reached base more than once, though Jake Arnow had a double in the losing effort.
Group A Standings
Netherlands: 3-0
Italy: 1-2
Austria: 1-2
Germany: 1-2
Group B Standings
Czech Republic: 3-0
Great Britain: 2-1
France: 1-2
Israel: 0-3