U21 EC in Pamplona: Spain beats Italy for Title

Host Spain used their home field advantage in Pamplona perfectly and won the European Championships Under 21 on Sunday evening. They defeated Italy 11-2 in the finals, finishing a perfect five-day tournament. Spain took an early 4-0 lead after three innings and blew it wide open with a five-run ninth. Franklin Tavarez led the team with an impressive three-homerun, five-RBI performance. Daniel Sanchez, Oscar Roman and Roymer Garcia each scored twice. Oscar Jimenez struck out eight in seven solid innings to pick up the win. Mattia Reginato drove in both Italian runs with a single in the sixth. Michele Quattrini took the loss after giving up three runs in the first 1 1/3 innings.

Germany won the game for third place 12-11 against the Czech team, when they rallied for seven runs in the eighth. Ludwig Glaser had two doubles, scored twice and drove in three. Philipp Howard and Lennart Weller each got two RBIs. Matej Hejma had three RBIs for the Czech Republic. Michael Ondracek scored three runs.

In the semi-finals on Saturday, Spain and Italy had different games to clinch the berth for the title game on Sunday. Italy used a five-run fourth to beat the Czech Republic 6-4. Marco Sabbatani and Cristian Leoni each drove in two. Spain scored in six of the first eight frames versus Germany win 9-3. Aritz Garcia and Oscar Roman had two RBIs apiece. The German second baseman Philipp Howard went four-for-five with two doubles.

Results:
Friday, September 5:
France – Italy 5-12 Box score

ITA 111 400 302  12 14 2
FRA 000 101 102   5  8 4

Belgium – Germany 0-18 (7) Box score

GER 243 300 6  18 17 0
BEL 000 000 0   0  6 5

Slovakia – Czech Republic 10-13 Box score

CZE 150 010 105  13  9 3
SVK 100 150 003  10 11 3

Spain – Russia 8-2 Box score

RUS 002 000 000  2 7 3
ESP 033 020 00X  8 8 1

Saturday, September 6:
Consolation Round:
France – Slovakia 5-4 Box score

SVK 000 000 130  4 6 7
FRA 102 000 02X  5 5 5

Russia – Belgium 6-5 Box score

BEL 030 000 200  5 5 2
RUS 001 000 104  6 8 5

Semi-Finals:
Italy – Czech Republic 6-4 Box score

CZE 010 003 000  4 6 2
ITA 000 500 01X  6 8 3

Spain – Germany 9-3 Box score

GER 000 000 300  3 9 4
ESP 100 321 11X  9 7 0

Sunday, September 7:
Consolation Round:
Slovakia – Belgium 9-8 Box score

BEL 200 400 020  8 8 2
SVK 010 001 061  9 7 4

France – Russia 5-10 Box score

RUS 013 011 310  10 18 0
FRA 100 000 004   5  8 4

For Third Place:
Czech Republic – Germany 11-12 Box score

GER 212 000 070  12 11 3
CZE 123 122 000  11 11 4

Finals:
Italy – Spain 2-11 Box score

ESP 031 001 105  11 10 0
ITA 000 002 000   2  6 3

Final Standings:

1. Spain
2. Italy
3. Germany
4. Czech Republic
5. Russia
6. France
7. Slovakia
8. Belgium