Serbia stunned host Slovenia with a 6-2 win in the final of the European Championship C-Pool in Ljubljana on Saturday. With the victory Serbia qualifies for the European Championship B-Pool, which will be held next year.
Two runs each in the fourth and fifth gave Serbia a 4-0 lead and decided the outcome. Aleksandar Berec and Marko Badovinac scored two runs apiece. Danilo Cvijovic went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI for Serbia. Matej Skulj and Ziga Verbek scored the two runs for Slovenia.
Danijl Kozjak conceded eight hits, two unearned runs and three walks in nine innings for the win. He struck out four and threw 140 pitches in his second win of the week. Jaka Smolnikar issued four hits, four runs (2 ER) and four base on balls in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss.
Slovenia had edged out Serbia in the preliminary round, but lost one day later in the final and had to settle for second place. Third, fourth and fifth in the final standings went to Ireland, Norway and Finland.
Final Standings:
Complete results, box scores and all statistics can be found at www.baseballstats.eu