Italy – Netherlands 8-3
NED 100 100 001 3 6 1 ITA 003 500 00X 8 12 2
Italy is the 2012 European Champion. The team of Marco Mazzieri defeated the reigning IBAF Baseball World Cup Champion Netherlands 8-3 on Sunday afternoon in the Gold Medal Game in Rotterdam. With the victory they defended their title from 2010.
Three runs in the third and five in the fourth decided the outcome quickly. The Dutch team never really had a chance against the strong pitching of John Marriotti, Chris Cooper, Marco Grifantini and Nicholas Pugliese. Meanwhile the Minor and Major League proven Shairon Martis and Juan Carlos Sulbaran allowed eight runs on ten hits in 3 2/3 innings.
MVP Lorenzo Avagnina led the way on offense for the Squadra Azzurri, going 4-for-5 with a double, two runs and two RBI. Mario Chiarini drove in three. Eight different players had hits for Italy. Quintin de Cuba homered for the Dutch squad, while driving in two overall.
Final Standings:
1.) Italy
2.) Netherlands
3.) Spain
4.) Germany
5.) Czech Republic
6.) Sweden
7.) Greece
8.) France
9.) Belgium
10.) Croatia
11.) Great Britain
12.) Russia
Individual Awards:
Leading Batter: Paco Figueroa (Spain)
Pitcher Best ERA: Luca Panerati (Italy)
Pitcher Best W/L Average: Luca Panerati (Italy)
Most Runs Batted In: Dewis Navarro (Spain)
Most Home Runs: Kai Gronauer (Germany)
Most Stolen Bases: Kalian Sams (Netherlands)
Most Runs Scored: Paco Figueroa (Spain)
Outstanding Defensive Player: Nick Urbanus (Netherlands)
Most Valuable Player: Lorenzo Avagnina (Italy)