The Netherlands have won the U18 European Championship in Gijon, Spain. The Dutch Juniors beat defending champion Italy 7-3 in the Gold Medal Game on Sunday afternoon. It’s the first U18 title for the Netherlands since 2011. Italy had won the last two editions. Germany finished in third place after a 6-4 victory over the Czech Republic in the Bronze Medal Game. It is the first U18 medal since 2003.
Gold Medal Game: Italy – Netherlands 3-7
The Netherlands scored three runs each in the sixth and the eighth to beat Italy 7-3 in the Gold Medal Game of the U18 European Championship in Gijon. It was an exciting game between the top two teams in the tournament. The Squadra Azzurri tried to rally in the end, but fell short. Oliver van der Wijst went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Tijmen Takke scored twice. Davide Meliori had three hits for Italy. Mic van de Ven conceded four hits, a run and a walk in 5 2/3 strong innings to pick up the win. Michele Pomponi allowed eight hits, four runs and a base on balls in 5 2/3 innings to take the loss.
Bronze Medal Game: Czech Republic – Germany 4-6
Germany captured the bronze medal in the tournament with a 6-4 win over the Czech Republic. The German juniors took a quick 3-0 lead and led 4-1 midway through the fourth, when the Czech offense woke up. The Czech tied the game after five innings, but a pair of runs put Germany back in front in the seventh. David Grimes and Maurice Bendrien led Germany with two RBI apiece. Jeffrey Arndt scored twice. Daniel Mendelsohn and Yannic Wildenhain combined to strike out five in 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to close it out. Jakub Kubica drove in two for the Czech Republic. Vojtech Mensik crossed the plate twice.
Classification Round:
Lithuania – Sweden 3-5
Sweden finished the classification round at the U18 European Championship with their second win in as many days. They beat Lithuania 5-3. The Lithuanian team erased an early 0-3 deficit and tied the game in the fifth. But Sweden fought back and broke the tie with runs in the seventh and the ninth to secure the victory. Leonard Backstrom scored twice for Sweden. Adam Hopkins collected three hits. Lukas Paskevicius drove in two for Lithuania. Joakim Svedhem gave up eight hits, three runs and three walks in six innings for the win. Dziugas Gavrilcikas got charged with the loss, surrendering eight hits, four runs (3 ER) and four base on balls in seven innings.
Russia – Great Britain 2-15
Great Britain blew by Russia 15-2 in the second classification round game on Sunday. After Russia took a 1-0 lead in the first, Team GB got in front in the third and blew the score wide open afterwards. Jonathan Fretheim nearly did it all alone. He went the distance on the mound, allowing two hits, two runs (1 ER) and three walks in seven innings. At the plate he doubled and drove in four runs. Gavin Bowden also had four RBI for Great Britain. Anton Kuznetsov struck out 11 for the losing side, giving up seven hits, six runs (1 ER) and three base on balls in four innings.
Final Standings:
Complete results and statistics are available through www.baseballstats.eu