The Vienna Metrostars have won the European Cup Qualifier in Athens, Greece. The reigning Austrian champion defeated the Buffaloes Blagoevgrad 13-3 in seven innings in the final game on Saturday at Helenikon ballpark. With the win they secured a spot in next year’s CEB Cup for the Austrian Baseball Federation.
In contrast to the first-round matchup between these two teams on Friday morning, the title game was a lopsided affair. Three runs in the bottom half of the second gave the Metrostars the lead. After Blagoevgrad was able to cut the deficit to 3-5 in the top of the seventh, Vienna put eight runs on the board to win it due to ten-run rule.
Dominik Loeffler went 3-for-3 with a home run shy of the cycle and two RBI in the final. Alexander Hilliard also collected two RBI. Timothy Jones struck out nine in a complete game effort to earn the win. Evgenii Chernozemsky issued nine runs (3 ER) on eight hits and four walks in six innings to take the loss.
Individual Awards
- MVP: Dominik Loeffler (Vienna Metrostars)
- Best Batter: Dimitar Nassapov (Buffaloes Blagoevgrad)
- Best Pitcher: Jakob Simonsen (Vienna Metrostars)
Final Standings
|
1
|
 Vienna Metrostars (AUT) |
|
2
|
 Blagoevgrad (BUL) |
|
3
|
 Zurich Barracudas (SUI) |
|
4
|
 Panathinaikos BC (GRE) |
|
5
|
 Olympic sports school 42 (RUS) |
|
6
|
 Atletico Alexandria (ROM) |
Complete results, box scores and stats at www.baseballstats.eu