The final day of round robin play at the Under-18 European Baseball Championship featured a pair of games to start the day that would each decide a place in the semifinals, and both were exciting contests.
France and Great Britain faced off for the second spot in Group A after Italy. GB Baseball jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable 8-0 lead after two innings, with Akshay Chopra knocking a double, then a triple, and Sam White smashing a two-run double in the secone. However, France scored in the next three frames, including five in the fifth, when Ivan Bamberger and Logan Pérez both hit run-scoring singles. A walk to White, a double by Kyle Griebenow, and an error led to a run in the sixth, but a two-run triple by Louis Gerberon in the top of the seventh thwarted any chance of a Great Britain comeback and France qualified for the semis. Clyde Rolland gutted through five innings of relief to give his side a chance to come back, and Elliott Davy escaped a nerve-wracking jam in the bottom of the last frame for the save.
The other early game saw the Netherlands holding a 3-0 lead through four, before Spain plated an equal number in the top of the fifth. A four-run bottom half, however, immediately put the Orange on top, and Divayo Granger locked down the final 2.1 innings for the win, striking out three and preventing any runs from scoring. Tai Keng Lee and Lorenzo Willem both went 2-for-3 with a double, with the latter knocking in four runs.
Had Spain topped the Netherlands, Baseball Czechia might have had a shot at a playoff spot, but instead, it had to settle for a winning record in the round robin. Singles from Lukáš Urbánek and David Škopek and some sloppy play from Belgium’s battery gave the Czechs a 3-0 lead after one. However, Belgium, which had struggled offensively in the tournament, immediately answered when Victor Cauchon tripled, scoring on a grounder. Later in the inning, the Red Hawks rallied with two out, loading the bases to set up Cazimir van der Velden who beat out an infield single to score one. The following frame, the Belgians once again loaded the bases, scoring once on a walk before Lou Meir knocked a two-run single through the left side and van der Velden doubled home a fourth run in the inning.
After Martin Čapka bunted his way aboard to lead off the bottom of the fourth, Škopek lined a double, scoring on a David Bartoň single. Jan Kubelka followed with a triple to tie the game. Still with no outs, a mound visit was the answer, with the next three batters retired, but not before Kubelka scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch. From that point on, the Czechs added at least one in every inning. Jan Helmich (3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) and Vit Ventruba (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K) were aces out of the Czech ‘pen.
Germany capped its perfect run through pool play, posting two five-run frames in five innings. Luis Fermín was 3-for-4 with a double, two stolen bases, four runs, and two RBI, while Bjarne Dieckmann had an usual 0-for-0 day with three runs, drawing a pair of free passes and two plunkings.
Italy equalled Germany’s feat, closing out the round robin at 5-0 with lambasting of Hungary in the late innings, after holding a precarious 3-1 lead through three with the Magyars battling. An eight-run seventh broke the Hungarians’ backs. Italy put 25 runners on via hit, walk, or hit batter, with Leonardo Prizzon and Dario Lomi each collecting a double and two singles, the latter driving in a trio of runners. Tommaso Tosini earned the win after going four innings with only an unearned run, while Lorenzo Maiorelli finished it off for the save, though Hungary mounted rallies in both of its last two times at bat. The loss pushed Hungary into the fight for relegation, where it joins Belgium, Poland, and Israel.
In a well-played and closely contested game, Austria scored two runs in the second on a pair of sacrifice flies, adding a pair more in the fifth, this time on a Maksim Demić double and a Noah Schwarz single. Israel answered with two runs in the following frame, with Meir Felemovičius singling in advance of a triple by Yahav Arbel. After a walk, however, Louis Patrick would strike out the side, with Arbel crossing home on a wild pitch. That was all, however, and the win meant Austrian Baseball would avoid the relegation round. Paul Kerle was superb over the first three innings for the victors, permitting one hit and no runs, and punching out five. Patrick whiffed seven batters of his own over the final four frames.
The stage is now set for a day of placement across three different brackets, with France facing neighbors Germany and archrivals Italy and the Netherlands matching up in the other semifinal. The winners of the two semifinals will qualify for the Under-18 Baseball World Cup, with a European title on the line as well. The middle four teams will contest fifth through eighth, and the bottom four will try to avoid the drop.
Group A Schedule and Results
July 17
France 12 – Great Britain 9
Israel 2 – Austria 4
Italy 16 – Hungary 2
Group B Results
July 17
Spain 3 – Netherlands 7
Germany 14 – Poland 2 (5)
Belgium 6 – Czech Republic 11
Playoffs and Placement Round
July 18
Relegation: Poland – Hungary
Relegation: Israel – Belgium
Placing: Spain – Austria
Placing: Great Britain – Czech Republic
Semifinal: France – Germany
Semifinal: Italy – Netherlands
Group A Final Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Italy | 5-0 | 61 | 17 |
| France | 4-1 | 45 | 24 |
| Austria | 2-3 | 32 | 41 |
| Great Britain | 2-3 | 44 | 47 |
| Hungary | 2-3 | 25 | 47 |
| Israel | 0-5 | 10 | 41 |
Group B Final Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Germany | 5-0 | 55 | 14 |
| Netherlands | 4-1 | 39 | 11 |
| Czech Republic | 3-2 | 47 | 33 |
| Spain | 2-3 | 23 | 32 |
| Belgium | 1-4 | 14 | 51 |
| Poland | 0-5 | 17 | 54 |