Under 21 European Championship to start on Wednesday

On Wednesday, September 3 the Under 21 European Championships starts in Pamplona, Spain. Eight teams are going to battle on five days for the title. Pool A consists of Italy, Germany, Belgium and France. In Pool B are Russia, Slovakia, Spain and the Czech Republic. The top two teams of each group advance into the semi-finals on Saturday. The final is scheduled for Sunday.

The tournament is not only a showcase of the best young players in European Baseball, it is also a meeting of the some of the minor league prospects, who returning right in time for the European Championships after their season in the United States.

• Belgium has Thomas De Wolf on the roster, who is going to play for the New York Mets organization.
• The Czech team comes with the current minor leaguers Matej Hejma (Minnesota Twins) and Petr Cech (Cincinnati Reds), former Minnesota Twin Jakub Toufar and the future Philadelphia Phillie Jakub Sladek.
• Joris Bert (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Frederic Hanvi (Minnesota Twins) are on the roster of France.
• Germany gets help from Jennell Hudson (Boston Red Sox) and Donald Lutz (Cincinnati Reds)
• Infielder Alex Liddi (Seattle Mariners) and pitchers Matteo Pizziconi and Luca Panerati (Cincinnati Reds) are expected to play for Italy.
• The pitching brothers Andrey and Nikolay Lobanov (Minnesota Twins) try to help the Russian team.
• Simon Prochaczka of the German club Saarlouis Hornets is probably the most-known player on the Slovakian roster.
• Host Spain features a bunch of proven Division de Honor players like Daniel Martinez and Audie Nunez from 2008 champion Marlins Puerto Cruz, Emmanuel Febles and Pau Sancho of the FC Barcelona, Ruben and Carlos Fente from El Llano.

Schedule for Wednesday, September 3:
10:00 Russia – Slovakia
11:00 France – Germany
18:00 Italy – Belgium
17:00 Spain – Czech Republic
Complete Schedule, including live scoring

Official Website of the European Championship U21 in Pamplona