Preparations for the upcoming European Baseball Championships are in full swing as the top national teams get ready for the Europe Olympic Qualifying Tournament being held in Barcelona, Spain from September 7 to 16. The competition is held every two years and the host team has won six of the past 13 tourneys.
Group A will consist of the Netherlands – Europe’s top national team – along with Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Austria, and Croatia.
Another heavyweight, Italy, resides in Group B with host Spain, France, Great Britain, Ukraine, and Russia.
The Netherlands and Italy have dominated the tournament with the Dutch winning the past four competitions and six of the last eight. In 2003 the Netherlands were so dominant that six members (LHP-Patrick BELJAARDS, RHP-Eelco JANSEN, C-Chairon ISENIA, 3B-Vince ROOI, SS-Railey LEGITO, and OF-Brian ENGELHARDT) were named to the 10-man tournament All-Star team.
The Dutch National Team recently hosted the Eneco World Port Tournament featuring teams from the United States, Cuba, Japan, and Chinese Taipei. Neptunus ace pitcher Leon BOYD was 2-0 and earned Best Pitcher honors for Netherlands who went 4-4 in the tourney.
The Italian National Team is hosting Team Miami, Taiwan, and Cuba this week. during the second edition of the Italian Baseball Week. The Silver Medalist winner in 2005, Italy has won the tournament four times and were bridesmaids on seven occasions since 1981.
The tournament host Spain will be competing against the UCLA Bruins in a series of exhibition games this week. The Spanish National Team has won the bronze medal six times since 1987.
The German National Team is competing at the German Open this week against the Great Britain National Team, Whitewater University (USA), and the Paderborn Untouchables. Germany finished fourth at the 2005 European Championship after losing the bronze medal to Spain 7-3.
The French and Czech National Teams competed recently at the “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 International Baseball Tournament in China. France claimed third place in 1999 and will be hosting a series of friendly games against Canada this week.