Qualification for the the 2027 European Baseball Championship officially began today at B-Pool in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, where Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia will play a round robin and a final to determine who advances to the next Baseball Euros.
Day One offered a convincing win for Romania in its matchup with Finland, with Eduard Pîrvu launching a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run homer in the sixth. Razvan Ivan struck out 10 over seven two-hit innings for the victory, adding two ribbies on a double and single. Nooa Määttä did his best for Finland, driving in a run and scoring another on a double, a one-base hit, and stolen base.
Later, Bulgaria started off well against Serbia before having to mount a rally to pull off the victory. Veteran Evgenii Chernozemsky was crucial to Bulgaria’s victory, moving from third to the mound in the sixth and finishing the game with four scoreless, two-hit frames. He added two hits, two walks, and three runs at the plate. Michael Tchavdarov had a two-bagger and a single. Nikola Prodanović hit a solo shot for Serbia, which managed only three hits against Chernozemsky and Martin Mitev, who struck out seven in five innings as the starter.
Box scores are available here [link]. Previous coverage includes: Preview [link]. See also coverage of the Baseball Euros Poland Qualifier: Day 1 [link].
Results and Schedule
July 27
Romania 13 – Finland 3
Serbia 5 – Bulgaria 10
July 28
Serbia – Romania
Slovenia – Finland
Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Bulgaria | 1-0 | 10 | 5 |
| Romania | 1-0 | 13 | 3 |
| Slovenia | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Finland | 0-1 | 3 | 13 |
| Serbia | 0-1 | 5 | 10 |