The U18 European Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic ended on Sunday with Italy defending its title. The Squadra Azzurri defeated the Netherlands 3-2 in the Gold Medal Game. It was the seventh win in as many games in the tournament for Italy and the first defeat for the Dutch team. The Czech Republic claimed third place ahead of France.
Gold Medal Game: Italy – Netherlands 3-2
Italy scored two runs in the third and once in the seventh to prevail 3-2 over the Netherlands in a thrilling Gold Medal Game on Sunday evening. The Dutch took a 1-0 lead in the third, when Marco Wijst delivered a RBI single. However Italy answered right away.
Taking advantage from a couple of defensive mistakes and control problems by Dutch starter Taylor Clemensia, Andrea Sellaroli and Giulio Monello crossed the plate for a 2-1 lead. They extended the gap to two runs with a sac fly by Monello in the seventh.
This run was much needed as insurance, as the Dutch Juniors tried to come back in the ninth. They loaded the bases with one out with a pair of walks and a hit batter. However only Julian Rip scored on a groundout, as Chiel Berkhout struck out for the final out.
Ludovico Coveri conceded two hits and a run in 5 1/3 strong innings for the win. Federico Pecci bailed out Diego Fabiani in the ninth for the save. Clemensia took the loss, allowing two hits, two unearned runs and three walks in 2 2/3 frames. He struck out seven.
Bronze Medal Game: France – Czech Republic 3-17 (7)
The Bronze Medal Game was pretty much over after the second inning. The Czech Republic scored 11 runs in the first two frames en route to a 17-3 victory over France to finish in third place. Adam Jarolim went 4-for-5 with four RBI to lead the way. Radim Novotny and Martin Cervinka scored three times apiece. Ondrej Satoria struck out ten in seven solid innings for his second win this week. Antoine Villard got charged with the loss without registering an out.
Consolation Round: Sweden – Spain 5-10
In the consolation round Spain defeated Sweden 10-5 on Sunday to finish in seventh place in the final standings. Sweden has to settle for ninth. Spain scored in six of the nine frames place to down the Scandinavian team. Jose Gonzalez collected three hits and three runs. Alvaro Dominguez issued three hits, a run and two walks in 4 1/3 innings for the win. Oskar Syren took the loss, conceding eight hits, seven runs (2 ER) and a base on balls in seven frames.
Consolation Round: Croatia – Great Britain 6-5 (10)
In the second consolation round game on Sunday Croatia prevailed 6-5 over Great Britain in ten innings. A RBI single by Vedran Curuvija led to the ending in walk-off style in the first extra frame. The British had failed to score in the top half of the inning. Croatia had tied the game on a RBI single by Tin Petricevic in the bottom of the seventh. Both team had scored plenty in the first three innings before pitching and defense took over for the remainder of the game. Antonio Horvatic struck out 13 in a complete game, 180-pitch marathon to earn the win. Miguel Rodriguez got charged with the loss.
Individual Awards
Best Batter: Ruben Prins (Netherlands)
Best Pitcher: Ondrej Satoria (Czech Republic)
MVP: Andrea Sellaroli (Italy)
Final Standings
|
1
|
 Italy |
|
2
|
 Netherlands |
|
3
|
 Czech Republic |
|
4
|
 France |
|
5
|
 Germany |
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6
|
 Russia |
|
7
|
 Spain |
|
8
|
 Croatia |
|
9
|
 Sweden |
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10
|
 Great Britain |
Complete results, stats and daily reports can be found at www.baseballstats.eu