One of two qualifiers for the Under-23 European Baseball Championship began today in Paderborn, Germany. The B-Pool has four total groups, with two in Germany and another pair in Spain. Group A in the German qualifier consists of Germany, Poland, and Lithuania, while Group B features Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, and Ukraine. The top two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinal.
In Group A action, the hosts got off to a good start, with the Houston Astros’ Jona Widmann no-hitting Lithuania for 3.2 innings, punching out 9 of 12 hitters, a walk the only blemish against him. Finn Niemeyer finished off the shutout, while Kilian Redle homered for Baseball Deutschland.
Linus Ritzen went four hitless frames for Sweden against Ukraine, whiffing four, while senior national team veteran Victor Wahlberg scored five times in a 1-for-1, three-walk, three-RBI day, with his only hit a triple. Jakob Lindqvist drove in four with a double and two singles, and Oliver Markström completed the combined no-hitter. In the other Group B game, Belgium had a 6-0 lead by the time Denmark scored, with four pitchers combining on a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts, led by Sam T’siobbel (also written “Tsiobbel”), who punched out five in 2.1 innings. Axl Roef had three hits, including a two-bagger, scoring twice and notching two ribbies.
Box scores are available here [link]. Coverage of the U23 Baseball Euros Spain Qualifier can be found here [link].
Group A Schedule and Results
Aug. 4
Lithuania 0 – Germany 10 (5)
Aug. 5
Germany – Poland
Group B Schedule and Results
Aug. 4
Sweden 21 – Ukraine 1 (5)
Denmark 1 – Belgium 11 (6)
Aug. 5
Ukraine – Denmark
Sweden – Belgium
Group A Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Germany | 1-0 | 10 | 0 |
| Poland | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lithuania | 0-1 | 0 | 10 |
Group B Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Sweden | 1-0 | 21 | 1 |
| Belgium | 1-0 | 11 | 1 |
| Denmark | 0-1 | 1 | 11 |
| Ukraine | 0-1 | 1 | 21 |