At the recently concluded Mediterranean Games at Villa Peripato in Taranto, Italy, baseball5 debuted as a competition sport, and eight countries fielded teams, including three of the top eight-ranked nations in the world. In a hard-fought final, World No. 8 Türkiye upset No. 3 France, gaining a measure of revenge for a French semifinal victory at the 2025 European Baseball5 Championship last November and a Super Round defeat at the 2023 Youth Baseball5 World Cup. Spain continued its meteoric rise in the sport in the bronze medal game with an upset of Tunisia, rated sixth in the world and first in Africa.
The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event birthed from the olympic movement, held every four years. Countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia, and Europe all send athletes, with almost every eligible country represented. The first Mediterranean Games were held in 1951 in Alexandria, Egypt, while the most recent edition was the 20th. This event marks the first at which one of the disciplines governed by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)—baseball, baseball5, fastpitch, or slowpitch softball—has been included, with baseball5 listed as a demonstration sport.
Of the 26 nations that participated, 15 compete in WBSC sports, and more than half of those send squads. Like all baseball5 events, teams are mixed, with a ‘game’ consisting of a best-of-three set. The teams were split into two four-team pools that played a round robin before the top two in each group advanced to the semifinals. It is worth noting the stories of two teams, as Kosovo made its WBSC debut at the event, while the continued efforts by WBSC to use baseball5 to promote social inclusion and integration of refugees at refugee camps in southwest Asia bore fruit with the Azraq Refugee Team [link] representing Syria.
Round Robin Play
Spain and France were each undefeated in pool play, with the former surprising Tunisia with a defeat for the first of two times. The French, meanwhile, set down Türkiye en route to the top seed on Group B, with only the group winners progressing to the semifinal. On the way, however, Syria earned its first-ever win in a WBSC discipline, beating Greece convincingly in two sets in Group B. Italy bested Kosovo in Group A to finish third in the round robin portion.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said team captain Ahmed Hadroos. “This is the first game Syria has ever won. Today I truly felt like I represented all Syrians. Now, with such a young team, this success is an unbelievable feeling. It has become part of my daily routine. I’ve learned sportsmanship, gained experience and developed as a person. Representing Syria and the refugees here in Italy is a great honour. I hope everyone will support us and stay with us.“
Playoffs
The second- and third-ranked teams from opposing groups then played each other for the right to advance, with Tunisia sweeping Syria and Türkiye doing the same to Italy. The losers of those two games then played the fourth-ranked team in the placement round, with Syria again defeating Greece and Italy topping Kosovo.
This left only the semifinals to be contested, with France overcoming Tunisia, 11-3, 7-6, to progress to the final. The other path was a thrillride, however, with Türkiye opening with an 11-0 win, Spain equalizing with a 13-1 victory, and an even more high-scoring final set resulting in ‘W’ for the eastern Mediterranean country.
Medal Games
Greece had a fairly easy go of it in the seventh-place game against Kosovo, while Syria gave Italy a run for its money in the match-up for fifth, ultimately falling short in two games. Then, in the battle for the bronze, Tunisia and Spain were evenly matched, but the Spanish five claimed a pair of 5-4 victories for the medal.
The championship was a memorable one, with Türkiye ekeing out a 9-7 result in the first game, before France tied things up with a 4-2 nail-biter. Both sides then scored plenty in the final, but Türkiye came out on top, 11-6.
Awards and Leaders
Yağmur Bozdağ (Türkiye) was the Female MVP and Lucas Dedieu (France) the Male MVP. Jesús Cortez (Spain) led the tournament in hitting at .913, while Omar Diodene (France) led the tournament in runs (23), hits (39), and at bats (44), finishing second in batting average (.886) and RBI (18). Jade Aubard (France) was No. 1 in RBI (20). Muhammed Alkan (Türkiye) was second in runs (19) and hits (30).
“I’m so happy to have won the championship in this tournament,” Bozdağ, the second-youngest player on her team, told the WBSC after the Awards Ceremony. “I’m so happy that we’re champions. I’m also very happy to have won the award for best female player. This is a source of pride for me and for my family.”
Representatives from each country also played an “All-Star Game” during the Opening Ceremony, marking a major coup for baseball, softball, and baseball5.
Results and daily recaps can be found at the tournament website [link].