The Netherlands have won the 2019 Baseball European Championship. Its their 23rd European Baseball title. They beat Italy in the Gold Medal Game in front of an attendance of 2,000 on Sunday at the ballpark in Bonn by a score of 5-1 thanks to home runs by Kalian Sams and John Polonius, while Alberto Mineo’s home run accounted for the lone Italian run.
Spain won the Bronze Medal after a 16-11 slugfest against Israel in the game for third place. Germany lost the game for fifth place to Czech Republic by a score of 3-4 and misses out on qualifying for the Olympic Qualifier in Bologna and Parma (September 18 to 22). Africa Cup winner South Afrika and the Top five of the European Championship Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Israel and Czech Republic will participate in the tournament to book a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
During the medal ceremony Ademar Rifaela (Netherlands) was named Most Valuable Player.
All information about the European Championship can be found online at www.baseball-em.de.
Final Standings:
- Netherlands
- Italy
- Spain
- Israel
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- France
- Belgium
- Great Britain
- Austria
- Croatia
- Sweden
Photo by Thomas Schönenborn