The Netherlands continued its march through Group A on Day 3 of the U18 European Championship in Hluboka. The Dutch started slowly — by their standards — but then added seven runs on six hits in the fourth inning on their way to a 12-2 victory (box score) over Austria. The Day 4 schedule on Tuesday ends with the Dutch taking on Spain under the floodlights, in what is certain to be a great evening of baseball.
Great Britain pushed Spain to the limit in Day 3’s evening contest, ultimately losing 6-3 (box score). Strong pitching and timely defense on both sides meant that the first runs were scored by Spain in the bottom of the third, with Team GB responding in due kind in the next inning. The lead changed hands twice more before Spain pulled away. British starter Travis Harfield kept an imposing Spanish line-up under control, scattering five hits and striking out seven in 5.2 innings of work, but in the end the deeper Spanish pitching staff made the difference. Luis Gomez Mesa tossed three innings of shutout relief, with just one hit allowed, to close out the victory for Spain.
France triumphed in the morning, 10-0 (box score), with Nathan Laot (4IP), Ben Couvreur (1IP), and Robin Layec (1IP) combining for a no-hitter of Lithuania. The French offense collected eight hits in turn, five of them for extra bases. Tanguy Meurant contributed two triples, driving in a pair of runs in the process and scoring three more times himself.
For complete standings, statistics, and links to live streams, visit the WBSC Europe website. For more photos of the action, including the opening day of group play in Group A, visit our Facebook page.