In a matchup to determine which of two European nations would advance to the 2027 WBSC Premier12, No. 14 Italy shut out No. 17 Germany and will join Spain in advancing from the Premier12 Barcelona Qualifier. The two will mean Europe has at least three nations across Taiwan and Japan at the fourth edition of the Premier12. The possibility exists that up to two others, Czech Republic and Great Britain, might also land spots in the November Premier12 Zhongshan Qualifier. Multiple players from our Europeans in the Majors and Minors series [link] played crucial roles in the games, putting an exclamation point on the end of their seasons.
Italy – Germany [box score][highlights]
The Azzurri dominated the game, out-hitting Germany 16-8, and young Blue Jays’ prospect Giacomo Taschin was superb on the bump for Italy. Taschin, a 20-year-old who starred at the 2021 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, struck out seven in four innings, allowing only three hits.
Germany was forced to play a bullpen game. Starter Niklas Rimmel was yanked after the second innings, during which a routine grounder led to a two-base throwing error and run-scoring double by Jhorjan Guevara. Ricardo Paolini and Gabriele Angioi followed with singles to plate a second run, and Germany only got out of the inning on a phenomenal throw home from shortstop by Eric Brenk that veteran Vincent Ahrens used to snare Paolini.
Manager Jendrick Speer used eight more pitchers to get through the game, but fortunately, thanks to the dominant start by Markus Solbach on Day 1 and a complete game by Christian Pedrol on Day 2, there were plenty of options.
Neither side score until the latter third of the game, as Taschin sailed through the German lineup, needing only 58 pitches to complete four frames without allowing a free pass or a run. Astros’ signee Jona Widmann and Simon Gross looked similarly strong for Germany, with the former firing two shutout frames, while Gross punched out three of the four batters he faced.
Italy struck again for a pair in the seventh after Paolini led off for a single and Angioi sacrificed im to second. Andrea Sellaroli followed with a single before another superb throw from Brenk nabbed Paolini at home for a second time, with Noel González taking first. A full-count walk to Taschin’s Toronto teammate, Giaconino Lasaracina, loaded the bases for long-time Italy backstop Alberto Mineo, who drove home two with a single through the right side.
The final run came an inning later, when Sellaroli lined a safety to right field to score Guevara, though a strike from rightfielder Finn Bergmann nailed Angioi at the plate. Germany threatened with two outs in the bottom of inning thanks to a walk to Yannic Walther, a single by Billy Germaine, and a plunking of Simon Bäumer, but closer Claudio Scotti—who entered after the single—escaped the jam unscathed.
Singles by Lasaracina and Renzo Martini put runners on the corners with two outs in the top of the ninth, but Ira Clifton entered to strike out former major leaguer Robel Garcia. It was still 5-0 heading to the final half-frame, and Scotti worked around a walk and a single by Luca Hoerger (Hörger) to get the final three outs and send Italy to Asia for 2027.
A whopping seven Italians had two hits: Angioi, Sellaroli, González, Lasaracina, Martini, Guevara, and Paolini. Germaine and Bäumer joined them with a brace for Germany, while Hörger did one better, collecting a triple and two singles from the seven-hole. Mattia Sireus, Matteo Bocchi, and Scotti all pitched at least one scoreless inning for Italy.
Spain – Colombia [box score][highlights]
Colombia finished the Premier12 Barcelona Qualifier with a win, though the defeat did not affect Spain’s first-place finish. The game, the last of the tournament, was close through seven and one-half innings, before Colombia opened a five-run rally against the host nation in the bottom of the eighth.
Down 8-0 to start the ninth, the Spanish baseball side finally broke through. Rusber Estrada started things with a double and Leopoldo Correa walked. A fielder’s choice put runners on the corners to set up Andres Angulo for a run-scoring single up the middle. Frank Hernández then finished an impressive tournament with a two-run knock to center, with the game ending 8-3.
Angulo joined Colombia’s Diego Contreras with three hits, while Marc Rodríguez and Hernandez each had a pair for Spain, which was out-hit 11-9. Julio Vivas was superb for the South Americans, striking out six over five shutout innings, surrendering five hits and no walks. Pablo Guillén took the loss, permitting three runs over five frames, also without permitting a base on balls. Jorge Balboa tossed two shutout innings of relief for Spain.
Frank Hernández was named Most Outstanding Player of the qualifier. He tied Germany’s Luca Hoerger for the tournament’s highest batting average at .500 and led all players in on-base percentage (.563) and hits (seven). He also scored twice, drove in two runs and played error-free defence across three starts in center field.
Our previous coverage of the Premier12 Barcelona Qualifier includes: Preview [link], Day 1 [link], and Day 2 [link]. Several of the players starring in this tournament are featured in our series, Europeans in the Majors and Minors [link].