Although Slovenia took an early lead against Bulgaria at Blagoevgrad Buffaloes Stadium, the championship game of the European Baseball Championship B-Pool was all Bulgaria thanks, in part, to Evgenii Chernozemsky, who homered, drove in five, and pitched 8.2 innings of relief. The victory not only gave the host nation the tournament title, but earned Bulgaria its first-ever appearance at the main body of the European Baseball Championship in 2027. A breakdown of the title bout follows, as done a breakdown of the top performers at the Baseball Euros Qualifier from Bulgaria.
Championship Game
Panayot Zhaltov started for Bulgaria on only two days’ rest, having thrown eight innings on the penultimate day of pool play. Slovenia took advantage of wildness from the beginning, scoring two runs with the bases still loaded without a hit. With a tremendous amount on the line, Chernozemsky swapped with Zhaltov, coming in from third and immediately ending the inning with a strikeout.
Zhaltov led off the bottom half of the frame with a walk, moving to second on a Michael Tchavdarov single before both swiped a base. Dimitar Nassapov lifted a sacrifice fly to get Bulgaria on the board before Chernozemsky singled a second run home.
Chernozemsky was just what the doctor ordered, and Bulgaria kept rolling on the offensive side. Tchavdarov started the scoring again, doubling home Martin Andonov, and the bases were loaded when Bulgaria’s pitcher stepped to the plate two batters later. On a 1-1 pitch, Chernozemsky connected, driving the ball deep to left field for a grand slam and a 7-3 lead.
From that point on, Bulgaria was in control. By the time that Slovenia scored again, it was already 10-3, and when the Slovenes posted two runs in the seventh, the score was narrowed, but only to 13-7, where it remained at game’s end.
Bulgaria’s two-way star stayed on the mound until the game’s final out, chalking up 8.2 innings of six-hit relief, allowing four runs and four walks while striking out seven for his second win in the tournament. Chernozemsky finished with two hits and five ribbies, and even stole a bag. Zhaltov and Tchavdarov each had three hits, including a double apiece, with the latter stealing three bags. Both of Nikolay Karashtranov’s hits were two-baggers, and he drove in two.
Although it had been the tournament’s top offensive team through the first four days, Slovenia put together only six hits, a pair for two bases, and was 1-for-2 in swipes. Rok Čuček and Luka Koplan had the doubles, while Žan Primožič drew two free passes and scored twice.
Chernozemsky was, quite rightly, named MVP. At the plate, he hit .438/.560/.750 and finished second in walks (7), while he was the only pitcher to win two games, also topping the charts in games (4), innings (14.2), and strikeouts (13). Among pitchers with at least five innings, he was fourth in WHIP (1.13) and opponents’ batting average (.196).
Offensive Leaders
- Andrew Rajkovich (Serbia) was named “Leading Hitter” after finishing first in average, first in OBP, and second in slugging, with a line of .529/.619/1.000. He was second in total bases (17) and tied for third in stolen bases (5).
- Nikola Prodanovich (Serbia) led the tournament in home runs (4), total bases (22), slugging percentage (1.158), and OPS (1.682).
- Michael Tchavdarov (Bulgaria) was No. 1 in runs (11), hits (10), doubles (3, tied with four others), and stolen bases (7), while he was third in total bases (16). He finished in the top five in triple slash categories, hitting .476/.577/.762.
- Žan Primožič (Slovenia) was first in RBI (10), tied for first in doubles (3), and hit .474/.577/.789. He did not strike out once during the tournament in 23 plate appearances.
- Nooa Määttä (Finland) was third in slugging and OPS (1.375), hitting .438/.500/.875.
Pitching Leaders
- Žan Primožič (Slovenia) was named Best Pitcher after allowing only an unearned run in nine innings against Romania, striking out 10.
- Stefan Živić (Serbia) was No. 2 in ERA (1.00), appearing in the second-most games (3).
- Eduard Pîrvu (Romania) was second in innings (12) and tied for second in strikeouts (11), recording a 3.75 ERA.
- Julius Hovila (Finland) struck out eight in 4.2 innings, permitting just one hit, finishing with a 3.86 ERA.
Box scores are available here [link]. Previous coverage includes: Preview [link], Day 5 [link]. See also coverage of the Baseball Euros Poland Qualifier: Day 6 [link].
Results
Aug. 1
Final: Slovenia 7 – Bulgaria 13
Final Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Bulgaria | 5-0 | 61 | 30 |
| Slovenia | 3-2 | 51 | 30 |
| Serbia | 2-2 | 29 | 38 |
| Romania | 1-3 | 24 | 39 |
| Finland | 0-4 | 23 | 51 |