Faced with a formidable Israel team that had outscored oopponents 60-4 in four games, Spain put on its own offensive showcase to earn the Under-23 European Baseball Championship B-Pool title at Camp Municipal de Beisbol i Sofbol de València. Earlier in the day, Slovakia claimed the consolation prize of third place in a close game with Switzerland, and Greece finished with back-to-back wins, though it had to set down an increasingly scrappy Türkiye to do so.
Championship Game
The title bout was a classic baseball story, where the final score does not at all tell the full tale. After two innings in Valencia, the score was 1-0 Israel. Marc Rodríguez then doubled home the first run, with Eusebio Salas later following up with a three-run shot. Aviad Schechter led off the bottom of the frame with a round-tripper to right and, two batters later, Jake Arnow mashed a tater himself.
Another Rodríguez double in the fourth led to a run, and Spain took a 5-3 lead into the fifth. At this point, the wheels fell off for Israel. The first six Spanish hitters reached, beginning with three extra-base hits, and the first out was a long sacrifice fly. Eusebio Salas then crushed another three-run shot before Anderson Pena singled to set up Wendell Burguillos for his own dinger. And, from there, Spain kept scoring, amassing 13 runs in one devastating inning.
Spain piled up 16 hits, nine for extra bases, eight walks, and a hit batter in only five innings. Salas drove in six with his brace of four-baggers, while Rodríguez went 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI. Burguillos had a triple and a homer and Miguel Blanco two doubles. Harold Barbuena scored four runs on the back of a hit and three free passes.
Dayan González gave up some hard contact, with four of Israel’s six hits going for extra bases, but did not walk anyone and struck out six in four innings for the win.
Third-Place Game
Maxim Samson helped Slovakia find its groove in the quest for bronze, pitching brilliantly to start the game. His club held a fragile 1-0 led through four innings against Switzerland before finally breaking through against the latter’s Xavier Scheffler on back-to-back singles by Matej Rudohradský and Matej Škerlec with one out in the fifth set up Ján Fančovič, who doubled home both runners, scoring on a base knock by Michal Suchoň.
Nicholas Siemers led an immediate response by Switzerland, slashing a two-bagger to start the bottom of the frame and scoring later in the inning on an error. A second miscue gave Switzerland its third run. Erratic play continued in the bottom of the frame, with Slovakia loading the bases on a single by Mário Miklovič, a hit batter, and a walk. Miklovič and Rudohradský then scored on an errant pickoff throw before Škerlec drove home another with a single.
Škerlec then took over Samson on the bump, working around two hits and two walks to close out the game with a pair of shutout frames despite Switzerland’s best efforts. He struck out three in the successful save, adding to Samson’s eight Ks in the first five innings. In addition, Škerlec went 4-for-4 to top Slovakia’s offense, with Miklovič adding a trio of hits from the leadoff spot. Nils Brüderli had two hits for Switzerland.
Placement Game
Greece off to a running start in the first game of the day, plating three runs in the first on a mixture of errors and wildness around a hit from Markos Lagios, with John Spivey whacking a double as well. The next inning followed a similar script, giving Greek baseball a 5-0 lead.
In its final game as debutants at the Under-23 level, Türkiye showed surprisingly pluck and discipline at the plate, however, stringing together a series of free passes and a Rahim Duran single to create two runs. In the fifth, it added another without the benefit of a base knock, narrowing the margin to 5-3.
The second rally lit a fire under the Greeks, though, who scored three more in the bottom of the inning, adding the same number in the sixth. Nicholas Kreatsoulas ripped a solo shot in the latter frame, before Aidan Murray clamped down the final inning to finish a 2.2-inning save. The right-hander retired all eight batters he faced, striking out six of them.
Lagios had three hits, while Constantine Coines, Spivey, and Aki Stamoulis each added two. Süleyman Çolpan was solid in middle relief for Türkiye, allowing one earned run in 3.2 frames, striking out three.
Tomorrow, our coverage of the Under-23 European Championship B-Pool continues with a discussion of the awards and top performers from Valencia.
Box scores are available here [link]. Previous coverage includes: Day 4 [link]. Coverage of the U23 Baseball Euros Germany Qualifier can be found here [link].
Playoffs Results
Aug. 8
Placing: Türkiye 3 – Greece 11
Third: Slovakia 7 – Switzerland 2
Final: Spain 18 – Israel 3 (5)
Final Standings
| Team | W-L | RF | RA |
| Spain | 4-0 | 62 | 19 |
| Israel | 4-1 | 63 | 22 |
| Slovakia | 3-2 | 32 | 32 |
| Switzerland | 1-3 | 13 | 39 |
| Greece | 2-2 | 37 | 29 |
| Croatia | 1-3 | 16 | 40 |
| Türkiye | 0-4 | 8 | 50 |