Germany has won the U15 European Championship in Wiener Neustadt, Austria with a 4-2 victory over the Netherlands in the final on Sunday. It’s the second U15 European title for Germany after 2015 and the third youth title in the third straight year after also winning the U12 European Championship in 2016. Three of last year’s U12 champions, Yannic Walther, Tristan Russell and Moritz van Bergen – all three also played in the final – also were on this year’s U15 team.
In the final against the Dutch cadets’ team Germany was led by starting pitcher Julius Reusse, who kept the opposing offense to two hits, two runs and four walks in 6 1/3 dominant innings, striking out eight. He was named MVP for the tournament following that performance. Two runs apiece in the fifth and sixth inning helped the team of head coach Georg Bull to turn a 0-1 deficit into the win.
On their way to the championship Germany beat Lithuania, France, Italy, Czech Republic and the Dutch. Their only loss came in a first-round matchup against Spain. The Czech Republic finished in third place after defeating France in the bronze medal game. With their final appearance Germany and the Netherlands have qualified for next year’s U15 Baseball World Cup. The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) hasn’t announced yet, where it will be held.
Final Standings:
|
1
|
 GERMANY |
|
2
|
 NETHERLANDS |
|
3
|
 CZECH REPUBLIC |
|
4
|
 FRANCE |
|
5
|
 ITALY |
|
6
|
 AUSTRIA |
|
7
|
 SPAIN |
|
8
|
 RUSSIA |
|
9
|
 POLAND |
|
10
|
 LITHUANIA |
Complete results and all statistics can be found at www.baseballstats.eu
Photo by Johannes Godler/ABF