2016 European Championship

The 2016 European Championship took place September 9 to September 18, 2016 in Hoofddorp and was the 34th European Championship. Competing were  Netherlands,  Italy,  Spain,  Czech Republic,  Germany,  France,  Belgium,  Russia,  United Kingdom,  Greece,  Sweden and  Croatia, the same teams that qualified for the 2014 European Championship. The Netherlands repeated as champions while Spain had their best finish in 61 years.

See 2016 European Championship (Rosters) for roster information.

Games

September 9

•  Germany 4,  Sweden 0. German national team career win leader Enorbel Marquez gets another W, allowing only one hit in six innings, and Jan-Niclas Stöcklin and Tim Stahlmann give up two hits in the last three innings, Stahlmann notching the save. LF Marcel Jimenez scores twice while 1B Max Boldt drives in runs in the 1st, 3rd and 5th, two on sacrifice flies. Fresh off a postseason MVP award in the Elitserien, Per Sjörs struggles in the loss (7 BB in 5 IP).
•  Czech Republic 12,  Russia 0. The Czechs open with a mercy rule, 7-inning shutout as Radim Chroust and Michal Sobotka combine on a five-hitter. CF Matěj Hejma homers twice among three hits, scores three and drives in four while SS Martin Schneider raps three hits as well. Anton Shirokiy is the losing hurler. CF Maxim Monakhov and DH Artemiy Artamonov each have two hits, but the rest of the Russian lineup combines for one.
•  France 16,  Croatia 1. The first non-shutout of these Euros has the biggest rout yet, as France only needs six innings for a mercy rule win. Leonel Cespedes fans nine in a three-hit complete game, while 3B Maxime Lefevre, SS Felix Brown and RF Norbert Jongerius each score four; Brown and Jongerius each draw three walks. 1B Rene Leveret drives in four. Franko Vrlic struggles in the loss (3 H, 3 BB, 3 HB, 6 R in 1 2/3 IP) in his European Championship debut.
•  Italy 21,  Greece 2. C Mattia Reginato hits for the cycle, scores four and drives in six as Italy pulls off a rout. SS/3B Erick Epifano (4 R, 4 RBI, 3 2B) and 2B Alessandro Vaglio (4 R) provide a lot of offense from the middle infield. Junior Oberto gets the win, Jonathan Kountis the loss. 2B Jordan Thliveris drives in both Greek runs with a single.
•  Spain 11,  Belgium 1. "Spain"'s major league veterans lead the way as DH Fernando Martínez drives in five and Rhiner Cruz gets the win. Martínez and 1B Jesús Ustariz each have 3 hits, including a homer, while SS Oscar Angulo doubles five times, scores three and drives in two. Steve De Saedeleer is saddled with the loss.
•  Netherlands 11,  United Kingdom 1. Diegomar Markwell holds Britain to two hits (by 2B Richard Klijn and LF Sam Wiley) and one unearned run in six innings and Berry van Driel fans three all batters in the 7th to end a mercy rule win. RF Kalian Sams scores 3, 3B Yurendell de Caster has 3 hits and DH Gianison Boekhoudt scores two and drives in two. Spencer Kreisberg takes the loss.

September 10

•  Sweden 8,  Russia 1. Sweden, which had barely re-qualified, comes up with a strong win. Emil Sahlin battles 6 walks and 5 hits in 7 innings, but only one unearned run, while Bryan Berglund pitches the last two frames. Former Twins farmhand Andrey Lobanov is the losing pitcher. C Leonard Bäckström and 2B Joel Johnson each score three runs while RF Johan Klarberg and 1B Matt Merrifield each have two hits and two RBI. CF Maxim Monakhov scores the only Russian run.
•  Spain 12,  Greece 1. Jorge Balboa, one of the few actual Spaniards on the team, tossed a gem (1 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 R in 5 IP) before CF Max Warren homers off Iván Granados for the lone Greek run. Dimitri Kourtis takes the loss as several Spanish batters have big days. RF Yancarlo Franco goes 3 for 3 with two doubles, two steals, two runs and four RBI, 1B Jesús Ustariz hits a three-run homer and 3B Jesús Golindano collects three hits.
•  Czech Republic 4,  United Kingdom 1. Martin Schneider blanks the Brits for five innings, by which time his team had scored four runs off Cody Chartrand. 1B Petr Čech scores twice, 2B Petr Zýma hits a two-run homer and LF Petr Síla steals three bases in a productive day for Petrs. A fourth Petr, Petr Minařík, allows one run in three before Daniel Mráz saves it. Greg Hendrix tosses four shutout innings of relief for the UK.
•  Italy 6,  France 3. Italy scores twice on three hits and four walks in two inning off starter Owen Ozanich but leads 3-0 entering the 6th when France ties it on a two-run double by 1B Rene Leveret and a RBI single by CF Frédéric Hanvi. Luca Panerati allows one run in 5 1/3 IP; Tiago Da Silva fans five in two innings for the win and Nick Pugliese gets the save. French team newcomer Maximin Monbeig takes the loss. 2B Alessandro Vaglio doubles and homers and walks twice, steals two bases and scores four runs without being retired as Italy's top performer.
•  Belgium 5,  Croatia 1. Terrence Antonacci scatters 11 hits but walks none in a complete game victory over 42-year-old player-manager Jimmy Summers. DH Hans Heyrman (3 H, R, 2 RBI) and LF Sam Buelens (2 R, 2B, BB, 2 H, 2 SB) lead the Belgian offensive while LF Andrija Tomić and SS Ante Ćurković each have three hits in a loss.
•  Netherlands 10,  Germany 2. Rob Cordemans, out most of the year with injury, shows he is still one of Europe's top hurlers by fanning six in five innings in the win; four relievers each work one frame. RF Kalian Sams doubles twice, scores twice and drives in a run. Andre Hughes gives up 8 runs (3 earned) in 3 innings in his return to the German national team after missing the WBC Qualifiers. C Simon Gühring has 3 hits in a losing effort. SS Nadir Ljatifi, a Reds minor leaguer, has two of Germany's four errors as half the Dutch runs were unearned.

September 11

•  Spain 6,  Croatia 0. Louwin Sacramento fans 10 in 7 innings and Jose Cruz and Eduardo Miliani close out the shutout. RF Lesther Galván drives in three while SS Luis Guillorme has a run and two RBI. Marin Tadić goes the distance in the loss.
•  Czech Republic 6,  Sweden 1. Boris Bokaj pitches six shutout frames as the Czechs remain unbeaten. 1B Tomáš Juněc goes 3 for 4 with a run and two RBI while C Petr Čech doubles twice and scores twice. Swedish starter Albin Sivard retires just one of five batters (2 BB, HB, E) in allowing four runs (one earned) in 1/3 of an inning for the loss. Sweden's lone run comes when 1B Matt Merrifield drives in 2B Joel Johnson.
•  France 7,  Greece 1. Marc-André Habeck allows three hits and one run in seven then Jonathan Mottay wraps up the French win. CF Frédéric Hanvi goes 3 for 3 with a walk, two doubles, two runs and three RBI. Theon Bourdaniotis is the losing hurler. 1B Dimitri Kourtis scores the only Greek run, driven in by 3B Alex Gounaris in the second for a brief 1-0 lead.
•  Netherlands 3,  Russia 1. The Netherlands has a surprisingly close game against Russia but remains unbeaten. C Chad Tromp homers with 3B Dwayne Kemp aboard in the 2nd, the only runs in seven innings off Nikolay Markov. Meanwhile, Mike Bolsenbroek tosses five no-hit, no-walk innings (two Russians reached on errors by SS Dudley Leonora). In the 7th, RF Sergey Kudryashov doubles off Orlando Yntema and CF Maxim Monakhov singles him in to make it 2-1, but Yntema allows only a hit and a walk in the next two innings. In the bottom of the 7th, the Orange get insurance when 1B Curt Smith greets reliever Alexander Bolgov with a dinger.
•  Germany 3,  United Kingdom 2. Germany survives a scare from winless Britain. In the first, 3B Ludwig Glaser drives in 1B Max Boldt with the first run off Daniel Cooper. In the top of the third, RF Spencer Kreisberg singles off Sascha Koch. With one out, SS Nateshon Thomas triples in Kreisberg and 2B Richard Klijn doubles home Thomas to give Britain a 2-1 lead. Johannes Krumm, Maurice Wilhelm (W) and Max Schmitz (Sv) pitched six innings of shutout relief, though. In the bottom of the 5th, C Simon Gühring singled, advanced on a grounder and scored on an error by 3B Callum Murphy. In the bottom of the 7th, against reliever Conrad Cornell (he relieved Cooper in the 6th), SS Philip Schulz laid down a bunt hit and RF Marcel Jimenez bunted him over. With two outs, Boldt had a single to score Schulz with the winning run.
•  Italy 15,  Belgium 0. Italy pulls off a rout with a five-inning mercy rule win. Robbe De Jongh takes the loss but Drew Janssen, Matthew Joossens and Gregg Mareels combine to allow 8 runs in the 5th. Carlos Richetti throws a six-whiff, no-walk, four-hit shutout; RF Thomas De Wolf doubles in both at-bats as Belgium's top hitter. CF Stefano De Simoni goes 3 for 3 with a walk, two runs and three RBI while C Marco Sabbatani has two runs and two RBI.

September 12

•  Croatia 10,  Greece 0. Antonio Horvatić gives Croatia its first win with a complete game shutout (7 H, 3 BB, 7 K in 8 IP) while Pete Sikaras, the lone remaining member of the 2004 Olympics squad, is racked for 16 hits and 10 runs (9 earned) in 7 1/3 IP in a rough loss. LF Andrija Tomić scores four times, C Philip Smith has 4 hits, two runs and 3 RBI and SS Kruno Gojković three hits, two runs and two RBI in Croatia's first win.
•  Germany 16,  Russia 4. Germany rolls to a win with a big offensive show. RF Shawn Larry has 4 runs, 3 hits (two triples) and 3 RBI, 3B Ludwig Glaser two runs and 3 RBI, CF Eric Brenk 3 hits and DH Max Boldt 3 RBI. Johannes Krumm gets the win despite allowing four runs in five innings. Viacheslav Shmelev is the losing hurler with 9 runs (8 earned), 8 hits and 5 walks in 2 1/3 IP. 3B Alexey Kobrinets is 2 for 4 with two RBI for Russia.
•  Sweden 9,  United Kingdom 6. Sweden needs extra innings to beat Great Britain. They score once in five innings off starter Rei Martinez. In the 6th, a three-run triple by Matt Merrifield off Phil Owen makes it 4-0. Bo-William Gilligan, meanwhile, had blanked Britain. In the bottom of the 7th, though, Britain scores four runs off Gilligan and Arvid Carlstedt to tie it. It remains 4-4 entering the 10th when each team scores one run; it was Britain's lone run in four innings off Per Sjörs. In the top of the 11th, Sweden scores three times against Greg Hendrix, helped by errors by Hendrix and catcher Chris Berset.
•  Spain 8,  Italy 3. Spain tops Italy to finish atop their pool, hurting Italy's chances of making the finals. The game is closer than the final score indicates. In the second, Italy goes ahead when SS Erick Epifano doubles in 2B Alessandro Vaglio against Daniel Alvarez. Spain gets a two-run shot from C Blake Ochoa off José Escalona in the 3rd. In the bottom of the 3rd, Italy scores two more to retake the lead. Spain ties it in the 6th with their only run in three frames off Tiago Da Silva when DH Fernando Martínez's sacrifice fly scores CF Engel Beltre. It remains 3-3 into the 9th when Spain scores five times off Frailyn Florian, Filippo Crepaldi and Nick Pugliese to run away late, capped by a 3-run homer from 2B Oscar Angulo. Antonio Noguera (4 2/3 IP) and Rhiner Cruz (2 IP, W) provide excellent relief for Spain.
•  Belgium 14,  France 3. In an upset, Belgium likely secures a spot in the top-six while France likely will not (barring a Belgium loss to Greece or French win over Spain tomorrow, neither of which would happen). RF Thomas De Wolf scores 4 and 3B Robin Roevens 3, CF Steven De Lannoy has two runs and three RBI and 1B Jamie Verheyleweghen three hits in the romp. Kenny Vandenbranden throws a complete game win while French counterpart Yoann Vaugelade doesn't make it through the first (5 H, 2 BB, 6 R, 3 ER in 2/3 IP).
•  Netherlands 10,  Czech Republic 0. Lars Huijer and Loek van Mil hold the previously unbeaten Czechs to two hits (by SS Martin Schneider and C Martin Červenka) in an easy win. RF Kalian Sams homers in all three at-bats and drives in seven, 1B Curt Smith is 4 for 4 with two runs and three RBI and 3B Yurendell de Caster goes 3 for 3, all three players outhitting the entire Czech squad. Tomáš Duffek takes the defeat.

September 13

•  Russia 11,  United Kingdom 5. Two winless teams squared off. The British controlled the first five innings as Nateshon Thomas pitched shutout ball (4 H, 4 BB) while Petr Balan was rocked for five walks, three hits and four runs in two innings. In the bottom of the sixth, though, Matt Maitland relieved and Russia exploded for six in the 6th and 5 more in the 7th as Maitland (5 R, 1 ER in 2/3 IP; an error by SS Callum Murphy played a role), Ben Pearson (4 R in 2/3 IP) and Conrad Cornell (2 R in 1 2/3 IP) all struggled. Meanwhile, Denis Leonov struck out 11 in 7 innings and allowed only one run (6 H, 3 BB) as Russia pulled off the comeback win. C Nikita Monakhov finished with 3 RBI and veteran SS Artemiy Artamonov had two runs, three hits and four RBI.
•  Spain 6,  France 0. Leslie Nacar (6 IP), Andrés Pérez (2 IP) and Iván Granados (1 IP) combine on the whitewash as Spain finishes the first round unbeaten. 1B Jesús Ustariz goes 3 for 4 with two doubles, a run and a RBI while SS Luis Guillorme has a run and two RBI. 3B Maxime Lefevre goes 2 for 3 with a double and a walk as France's top star. Lucas Serafin gives up 4 runs in 6 2/3 IP in the loss but only one is earned; RF Leonel Cespedes makes two errors.
•  Germany 3,  Czech Republic 1. Germany's Enorbel Marquez and the Czech Republic's Radim Chroust engaged in a pitching duel, neither allowing a run through 7 and a half innings. In the bottom of the 8th, 3B Petr Zýma doubled to chase Marquez. Tim Stahlmann relieved and walked RF Michal Ondráček on four pitches. 2B Jakub Hajtmar bunted the runners over, then PH Jakub Voják was intentionally walked to load the bags. Max Schmitz relieved Stahlmann and walked SS Martin Schneider to force in a run. That brought up the Czech's #3 and #4 batters, two sluggers with US pro experience - CF Matěj Hejma and 1B Jakub Sládek. Schmitz promptly fanned both batters, Sládek on a full count to keep it a one-run deficit. In the top of the 9th, veteran C Simon Gühring had a one-out single, finally knocking out Chroust. Daniel Mráz came in to try to close it out. 1B Max Boldt greeted the reliever with a single to put men on the corners and Kevin Kotowski pinch-ran for Boldt and stole second. DH Christopher Howard singled to tie the game. Mráz retired 3B Ludwig Glaser for out number two but walked RF Shawn Larry. CF Eric Brenk singled to score Kotowski and put Germany ahead and 2B Jendrick Speer singled in Howard with an insurance run. Schmitz then went 1-2-3 in the 9th to end it.
•  Italy 22,  Croatia 4. Gianfranco Rizzo is the winning hurler for Italy while Matko Dabo gives up 10 hits, 4 walks and 12 runs (10 earned) in 2 1/3 IP in the loss. Italy bats .500 (21 for 42) in the 7-inning mercy rule game. RF Alex Liddi (3 RBI), 1B Alex Sambucci (3 R), DH Jairo Ramos (4 H, 3 R), 2B Alessandro Vaglio (4 R, 3 H, 3 RBI), 3B Erick Epifano (3 R), SS Mattia Mercuri (4 RBI) and CF Stefano De Simoni (4 H, 3 RBI) all shine for Italy; Liddi and Vaglio both go deep. CF Franko Vrlić Kovačić (3 for 4, R, RBI) and DH/P Ross Vukovich (2-run homer) are bright spots for Croatia.
•  Belgium 18,  Greece 1. Belgium scores sixteen runs in two innings and the game ends after 4 1/2 with a mercy rule. DH Hans Heyrman (3 R, 3 RBI), RF Thomas De Wolf (2 R, 3 RBI) and 3B Rob Lewis (2 R, 3 RBI) pace the explosive offense. Kyran Weemaels gets the win while Alex Gounaris takes the loss.
•  Netherlands 8,  Sweden 3. Sweden looked like it had a chance for an upset for a third of the game. They scored twice in the first off Jim Ploeger and LF Randolph Oduber threw out a runner at home to prevent a third run. Sweden led 3-1 after 3, but they replaced starter Mikael Fasth at that point and Albin Sivard and Simon Andersson combined to allow four runs in the 4th and the Netherlands did not look back. SS Nico Filice scored twice for Sweden.

September 14

• 7th/8th place game:  France 7,  Sweden 5. The last two 6th-place finishers (Sweden in 2012, France in 2014) squared off. For France, it was a disappointing end to a year in which they stunned Spain in the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. For Sweden, it was a nice rebound after having barely qualified.

France struck first when 3B Maxime Lefevre doubled in CF Frédéric Hanvi in the first against Emil Sahlin. Sweden tied it in the 4th versus Leonel Cespedes when 2B Matt Merrifield grounded in 3B Joel Johnson. France took the lead for good in the 4th when LF Bastien Dagneau doubled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by SS Felix Brown. They tacked on two more in the 5th and led 7-2 entering the 9th. Pierrick Lemestre relieved Cespedes but had trouble closing it out. CF Pontus Byström hit into a two-base error by RF Norbert Jongerius. After two outs, PH Daniel Johnson singled and RF Johan Klarberg hit a two-run triple to make it 7-4. SS Nico Filice singled in Klarberg and Joel Johnson doubled for his third hit, putting the potential tying run in scoring position. Lemestre recovered to fan Merrifield to end it.

Lefevre finished with 3 hits and 4 RBI while Hanvi scored three runs.

September 15

•  Czech Republic 4,  Belgium 3. In a close game, the Czechs blow a shot in the bottom of the first against Ben Van Nuffel. LF Petr Síla opens with a walk and SS Martin Schneider doubles, but Síla is gunned down at home. In the bottom of the third, 2B Jakub Hajtmar hit a one-out double and Schneider hit a two-out double to make it 1-0, the only run Van Nuffel had allowed in 6 1/3 IP. In the top of the 4th, Belgium tied it against Marek Červenka (the only run in five innings against him). CF Steven De Lannoy singled with one out and advanced on a wild pitch. 3B Robin Roevens hit into an error by Síla, one of five Czech miscues. 1B Jamie Verheyleweghen grounded in De Lannoy. In the top of the 7th, Belgium took the lead. Facing Petr Minařík, Verheyleweghen hit into an error by Schneider. C Tim Veraghtert bunted him over and PH Rob Lewis grounded the runner to third. A wild pitch made it 2-1. In the top of the 9th, against Jan Novák, Veraghtert drew a one-out walk. With two outs, LF Sam Buelens hit into Schneider's third error. On a grounder by SS Benjamin Dille, Veraghtert got caught in a run-down to end the inning, blowing a crucial chance to pad the lead. In the bottom of the 9th, Thomas De Wolf got one out away before LF Michal Ondráček singled and advanced on a wild pitch. 3B Petr Zýma had his third hit, tying the Belgian team, scoring the tying run. In the top of the 10th, De Lannoy singled off Novák to score Buelens with the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the 10th, the Czechs struck back against De Wolf as CF Matěj Hejma doubles in Zýma and 3B Daniel Vavruša.
•  Greece 3,  Russia 1. Greece gets their first win, hoping to avoid relegation. SS Jamie Lekas and CF Max Warren opened the game with singles off Andrey Lobanov. After a bunt and a pop-out, 1B Dimitri Kourtis hit a two-run single. In the 4th, C Christian Christopoulos doubled, RF Costa Kapothanasis singled and with one out, Lekas hit a sacrifice fly. Anton Kuznetsov pitched shutout relief from the 6th to the 9th. Meanwhile, though, Russia had not scored off Jonathan Kountis through 7. They finally got through for one run in the 8th. With two outs, 2B Frank Bulte hit into an error by 3B Alex Gounaris. SS Artemiy Artamonov singled and C Nikita Monakhov doubled to make it 3-1 and put the potential tying run in scoring position, but Kountis got DH Daniil Khomyakov (the cleanup man) on a grounder. Kountis went the distance with 134 pitches, 6 hits, two walks and nine strikeouts.
•  Italy 12,  Germany 0. After the day opened with two close games, the Italians routed Germany to improve their chances of making the Bronze Medal game at least. Junior Oberto went the distance, allowing four hits (two to CF Eric Brenk) and one walk. Andre Hughes took the loss; Italy led 3-0 after 6 before exploding it off the bullpen. 2B Alessandro Vaglio (3 for 3, 2 HBP, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI) and LF Sebastiano Poma (2 H, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI) led a strong offense.
•  United Kingdom 6,  Croatia 2. Britain becomes the last team to get a win as Cody Chartrand tossed six innings and Conrad Cornell adds two more before a 9th-inning, two-run homer. DH Maikel Azcuy and SS Nateshon Thomas each have a run and two RBI for Britain. Danijel Levak takes the loss.
•  Netherlands 1,  Spain 0. While no winless teams were now left, two unbeaten ones remained. Spanish starter Ricardo Hernandez, who had experience in the Dutch Hoofdklasse was perfect through three. In the top of the fourth, with one out, 3B Yurendell de Caster singled, 1B Curt Smith doubled and DH Gianison Boekhoudt walked. Hernandez recovered to get RF Kalian Sams on a liner and LF Randolph Oduber on a fly. In the top of the 5th, C Dashenko Ricardo singled and 2B Dwayne Kemp bunted into a force at second. SS Stijn van der Meer singled to put men on the corners, then CF Chris Garia hit a sacrifice fly. Jorge Balboa and Rhiner Cruz worked 4 1/3 shutout innings of relief for Spain. Their offense, though, managed no runs against Shairon Martis (6 H, 0 BB in 7 IP) then Tom de Blok and Loek van Mil each tossed a perfect inning.

September 16

•  Germany 14,  Belgium 2. Jan-Niclas Stöcklin and Sascha Koch hold Belgium to two runs while 3B Eric Brenk drives in 5 and C Christopher Howard three. Steve De Saedeleer takes the defeat.
•  United Kingdom 19,  Greece 2. Great Britain kept up their spot in the 2019 European Championship (originally slated for 2018, but moved back a year in May 2017) while Greece was forced to the qualifiers in the 2017 B-Level European Championship. Britain wins their last two after starting 0-5. 2B Richard Klijn has 4 hits, SS/3B Nateshon Thomas two doubles, a homer and four RBI, 1B Zach Wiley three runs and 3B Callum Murphy goes 3 for 3 with two runs and two RBI for an explosive infield. Matthew Maitland gets the win, Dimitri Kourtis the loss.
•  Spain 9,  Czech Republic 3. Spain bangs out 17 hits in rebounding from their first loss, with 3 apiece from SS Luis Guillorme (3 R) and CF Engel Beltre, while LF Daniel Martinez drives in 3. Lowuin Sacramento is the beneficent of the offense, getting the win. Boris Bokaj is roughed up in the loss.
•  Croatia 13,  Russia 0. Croatia holds their spot in the 2019 European Championship while Russia joins Greece in having to re-qualify in 2017. In a 7-inning mercy rule romp, Antonio Horvatić tosses a four-hit, no-walk masterpiece, having gotten both of Croatia's wins, while Denis Leonov is the losing hurler. RF Nikola Sertić goes 4 for 4 with 3 runs while C Philip Smith (2 R, 3 RBI) and CF Dario Colović both go deep.
•  Netherlands 6,  Italy 5. The Kingdom of the Netherlands was the first team to qualify for the finals but it was a battle with their long-time rival. They were without Roger Bernadina, their most-experienced major leaguer, as he quit the team after being benched for not showing up at a practice. In the bottom of the first, 3B Yurendell de Caster hit a solo shot off Luca Panerati for the first of his three hits. In the bottom of the second, LF Randolph Oduber hit a one-out triple but was stranded. In the bottom of the third, the Orange blew another shot. CF Chris Garia walked, chasing starter Panerati in favor of Tiago Da Silva. 1B Curt Smith had a two-out single to put men on the corners but again they stranded the runners. Da Silva finished with five shutout innings of relief, scattering six hits.

Diegomar Markwell had blanked the Azzurri for five innings, allowing only one hit. SS Erick Epifano singled and advanced on a botched pick-off attempt. 3B Alex Liddi singled to put men on the corners. Berry van Driel relieved. With one out, DH Jairo Ramos hit a RBI single to tie it. 2B Alessandro Vaglio's sacrifice fly scored Liddi, one of three runs for Liddi today. In the top of the 8th, Liddi doubled off Tom de Blok. Loek van Mil relieved and Ramos had a one-out RBI single. With two outs, CF Stefano Desimoni walked but RF Nick Nosti grounded out to leave Italy's lead at 3-1.

In the bottom of the 8th, Frailyn Florian relieved Da Silva but lasted one batter, walking DH Gianison Boekhoudt. Dudley Leonora pinch-ran. Carlos Teran relieved and hit Oduber with one out. With two away, 2B Dwayne Kemp doubled to cut the lead back to one. On a single by SS Stijn van der Meer, the ball hit Kemp, ending the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, the Netherlands were down to their last shot. De Caster had a one-out single then Teran plunked Smith. Nick Pugliese relieved and retired Leonora to move one out away but RF Kalian Sams greeted hit a game-tying single but Oduber whiffed to force extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, Kevin Kellij became the 5th pitcher for the Netherlands, with the two runners starting aboard under the Schiller Rule. On a double steal, an error by C Dashenko Ricardo scored one run. With one out, backup DH Alex Sambucci hit a sacrifice fly to put Italy ahead, 5-3. In the bottom of the 10th, PH Nick Urbanus singled off Pugliese. Kemp hit into a 5-4-3 double play, scoring Sams. Down to their last out for the second time, van der Meer singled in Oduber then stole second. Garia singled to bring in van der Meer with the winner.

September 17

•  Italy 3,  Czech Republic 2. In the bottom of the first, Italy went ahead with two outs when 3B Alex Liddi tripled off Martin Schneider and DH Giuseppe Mazzanti doubled. In the top of the 4th, RF Jakub Malik homered off José Escalona to tie it. The Italians quickly retook the lead in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, 1B Alex Sambucci singled and 2B Alessandro Vaglio hit into a two-base error by 3B Daniel Vavruša. C Mattia Reginato hit a two-run single. It remained 3-1 until the 8th. CF Matěj Hejma doubled off Frailyn Florian and Malik drew a walk. C Petr Čech bunted into an error by former major leaguer Liddi to load the bases. DH Martin Červenka hit into a run-scoring force to make it a one-run game. Filippo Crepaldi relieved Florian and got the job done, fanning PH Jakub Voják and getting Vavruša to end the threat. In the bottom of the 9th, LF Adam Hajtmar singled and was bunted over by his brother, SS Jakub Hajtmar. Crepaldi retired 2B Petr Zýma and Hejma to end the inning and notch the save. Gianfranco Rizzo got the win.

•  Spain 3,  Germany 0. Spain punched their ticket to the finals for the first time since 1955, meaning Italy will get the Bronze. They do it in dramatic form as Daniel Alvarez and Rhiner Cruz combine on a no-hitter. Max Boldt is hit in the 4th for the first German baserunner; they will get one more hit-by-pitch and a walk only. Meanwhile, Sven Schüller, Enorbel Marquez, Tim Stahlmann and Andre Hughes blank Spain for 7 innings. In the 8th, Lukas Steinlein becomes the fifth German hurler. With one out, he gives up a single to CF Jesús Golindano and walks 3B Jesús Golindano. Max Schmitz relieves but on his first pitch, DH Fernando Martínez hits a three-run homer to decide the game.

•  Netherlands 12,  Belgium 3. The last game of the first round does not affect the standings and ends as expected, with a rout by the Netherlands. CF Chris Garia fills in fine for the departed Bernadina, getting 4 hits and 4 RBI. 3B Yurendell de Caster adds 3 hits and SS Stijn van der Meer scores three times as the Dutch get 17 hits and 9 walks. Orlando Yntema gets the win and Jim Ploeger has a 3-inning save, while Terrence Antonacci takes the loss. RF Thomas De Wolf goes 2 for 3 with two walks and two RBI for Belgium.

September 18

• Finals:  Netherlands 3,  Spain 2. 3,350 fans came out for the finale as the hosts defended their title, winning their 22nd European Championship in an extra-inning contest. They did it on a somewhat shorthanded note as Bernadina had quit the team and fellow outfield starter Kalian Sams missed 7 innings as his son was being born; he rushed to the field after the birth to join the club late. The Netherlands struck against Leslie Nacar in the second. DH Gianison Boekhoudt doubled, LF Dwayne Kemp was hit by a pitch and RF Randolph Oduber bunted into an error by Nacar to load the bases. 2B Nick Urbanus hit a two-run single up the middle, Oduber taking third. On a grounder by C Dashenko Ricardo, though, Oduber was thrown out headed home. SS Stijn van der Meer flew out, sending Urbanus to third. A walk to CF Chris Garia loaded the bases but Nacar fanned 3B Yurendell de Caster to prevent more damage. Antonio Noguera relieved Nacar in the 3rd and did an excellent job of relief (5 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 R).

The Dutch yanked starter Rob Cordemans after four shutout innings, turning to Lars Huijer. Huijer tossed three shutout innings but had some challenges. In the 6th, Spain had three hits and a walk but a double play erased one of the runners and Huijer retired 1B Jesús Ustariz to end the jam. In the 8th, former major leaguer Shairon Martis relieved Huijer. 2B Oscar Angulo and CF Engel Beltre both singled but Ricardo made a big play, picking off Angulo from second. Martis whiffed 3B Jesús Golindano. For the second day in a row, DH Fernando Martínez hit a multi-run homer in the 8th, drilling a two-run shot to right to tie it. Martis K'd Ustariz to end the inning.

Loek van Mil went 1-2-3 in the top of the 9th (needing 7 pitches) and Andrés Pérez had a similarly efficient bottom of the 9th (10 pitches). In the top of the 10th, SS Luis Guillorme bunted the starting runners over but van Mil struck out both Angulo and Beltre to keep the game even. In the bottom of the tenth, Pérez plunked Garia to load the bases. De Caster then singled to score Ricardo with the winning run.

Final Standings

1.  Netherlands
2.  Spain
3.  Italy
4.  Germany
5.  Czech Republic
6.  Belgium
7.  France
8.  Sweden
9.  United Kingdom
10.  Croatia
11.  Greece
12.  Russia

Awards

• MVP: Stijn van der Meer, Netherlands SS
• Outstanding Defensive Player: Luis Guillorme, Spain SS