2021 European Championship

The 2021 European Championship was the 36th European Championship. It was held in Turin, Italy from September 12 to September 19, 2021. It is the largest European Championship to date, with an expansion of four teams (to 16) from 2019, the first expansion since 1997. All twelve teams return from 2019 ( Austria,  Belgium,  Croatia,  Czech Republic,  France,  Germany,  United Kingdom,  Israel,  Italy,  Netherlands,  Spain and  Sweden) plus the four victors of the 2021 European Championship Qualifiers ( Greece,  Russia,  Slovakia and  Ukraine). Greece and Russia had played as recently as 2016 and Ukraine had last appeared in 2010, while Slovakia was a newcomer.

Also see 2021 European Championship (Rosters)

Games

September 12

•  Czech Republic 6,  Sweden 1. RF Marek Chlup goes 3 for 3 with two doubles, two runs and a RBI in his Czech national team debut, while veteran CF Matěj Hejma drives in three and Boris Bokaj allows one run in seven for the win. SS Daniel Johnson drives in C Markus Melendez with the only Swedish run, while Jakob Syrén takes the loss.
•  Croatia 8,  Germany 2. Croatia scores a huge upset (having finished 11th and 10th the past two Euros to Germany's 6th and 4th). Import players lead the way: SS Jose Herrera has 3 hits, C Philip Smith hits a 3-run homer and Jose Diaz strikes out ten and allows three hits in eight shutout innings. 46-year-old Enorbel Márquez, fresh off being the MVP of the Bundesliga finals, struggles in the loss. RF Shawn Larry draws four walks for Germany.
•  Austria 12,  Belgium 11. In an exciting back-and-forth game, Belgium scores four unearned runs off Tobias Kiefer in the 4th, but Austria comes back against Drew Janssen to take a 7-4 lead. Belgium goes six in the 8th off Mo Hackl and Jak Simonsen to lead 11-9 going into the bottom of the 9th and Kenny Van Den Branden gets the first two outs. #9 hitter CF Dominik Talir and SS Moritz Scheicher then single, 2B Philipp Eckel walks and LF Ferdinand Obed clears the bases with a three-run double to left-center for a dramatic ending. Scheicher and Eckel each score four runs today, while Obed drives in six. Nico Schadler wins in his national team debut. LF Benjamin Goffaux drove in three for Belgium.
•  Italy 13,  Greece 3. DH Alberto Mineo drives in five runs, while LF Dario Pizzano and SS Noel Gonzalez each score three times. Claudio Scotti fans nine in five hitless innings of work to beat Nick Pantos. RF Ari Sechopoulos drives in two of Greece's runs.
•  Netherlands 11,  Slovakia 0. As expected, the newcomers stand little chance against the defending champions. 3B Junior Martina drives in four, while Mike Bolsenbroek gets the victory as the Dutch hurlers fan 18 in a 7-inning mercy rule win. Marko Vykoukal allows one unearned run in two innings to take the loss, but is his team's top hurler today. Player-manager 2B Martin Brunegraf gets the first hit for Slovakia in a European Championship.
•  Spain 15,  Ukraine 0. This one is even more lop-sided, a five-inning mercy rule game, in Ukraine's first Euros in 11 years (against 2019's 3rd-place team). CF Vladyslav Kosenko and DH Dmytro Limarenko have the only Ukrainian hits off Carlos Sierra, Leslie Nacar and Ricardo Hernández. Sergii Shtapura is roughed up for eight hits and seven runs (six earned) in one inning for the loss. C Gabriel Lino drives in four, while SS Edison Valerio and LF Daniel Jiménez each score three times.
•  Israel 2,  Russia 1. In a rematch of 2019 B-Level European Championship finalists, Israel edges Russia in another close game. Joey Wagman (3 H, 1 R in 8 IP) and Andrey Lobanov (4 H, 1 R, 10 K in 7 IP) have a fine pitching duel for most of the game. In the top of the 10th, with the Schiller Rule in place, Israel's Charles Rossman gets 1B Yan Pérez to hit into a double play and strikes out LF Viacheslav Vasilev. In the bottom of the inning, PH Ophir Katz bunts into an error by Adrian Rodríguez and a balk scores RF Jordan Petrushka with the winner.
•  United Kingdom 7,  France 2. RF Grant Kerry drives in four while Liam Sabiston gets the win with 2 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings of relief, beating veteran Owen Ozanich.

September 13

•  Sweden 11,  Slovakia 0. Slovakia's second game is a copy of their first - a 11-0, 7-inning mercy rule loss. Michal Puškár allows one run in four before fading in the 5th, while backup SS Matej Grendža-Donský and 1B Jakub Ižold each have two hits. Oskar Syrén pitches the complete game shutout, while the offense includes three hits from 2B Trolle Brandt and 2 doubles, 2 runs and 2 RBI from LF/RF Peter Johannessen.
•  Croatia 9,  Ukraine 3. It is 3-3 entering the 9th before Croatia explodes for six runs. 3B Ronnie Krsolovic goes 3 for 3 with two doubles and four RBI, while DH/P Antonio Horvatić has 3 hits and pitches 3 shutout, hitless innings for the win. Heorhii Hvrytishvili allows only four hits and two runs (one earned) in seven but Andrii Kostashchuk is hit hard in relief for the loss. SS Kostiantyn Chukhas has two hits, a run and a RBI for Ukraine.
•  Greece 14,  Austria 13. For the second day in a row, Austria is involved in a high-scoring contest decided at the last moment. This time, they lead 7-2 entering the 8th before Greece scores three in the 8th and two in the 9th. Austria then scores five in the top of the 10th before 3B Dimitri Kourtis hits a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the 10th to cap a five-run inning for Greece. Kourtis then moves to the mound and pitches a scoreless 11th, as does Nico Schadler. In the top of the 12th, 1B/3B Felix Zimmerle scores on a passed ball to give Austria the lead again. But in the bottom of the 12th, Austria makes two run-scoring errors to blow the game, the last on a dropped fly with two outs. Kourtis gets the win and ties C Antonio Torres with four RBI, while RF/1B Ari Sechopoulos scores three for Greece. For Austria, SS/P Moritz Scheicher and 3B/SS Marcel Mariette each drive in three, while Zimmerle and RF Georg Stemmer each score three.
•  Spain 15,  Germany 2. Spain again dominates, while Germany continues a woeful tournament. SS Edison Valerio (4 H, 3 R, 3 RBI) and RF Lesther Galván (3 H, 4 RBI) power the offense, while 3B Leomartires Rodriguez hits a grand slam and Andrés Pérez gets the win over Sven Schüller.
•  Russia 7,  United Kingdom 6. Both teams go to 1-1. Russia goes up 7-0 after 4 against Paul Kirkpatrick and Ethan Solomon, while Denis Leonov allows only one run in the first seven. Leonov flags in the 8th and Britain starts a comeback, moving within a run with two on in the 9th before Adrian Rodríguez gets 3B Ben Andrews on a game-ending fly to save it for Leonov. SS David Castillo has 3 hits for Russia while RF Geidys Soler drives in four. SS Aaron Singh scores three and falls a triple shy of a cycle for Britain.
•  Israel 10,  France 0. Israel's second win goes much smoother than their first, while France falls to 0-2. D.J. Sharabi and Ben Wanger combine on a four-hitter, walking one and fanning ten. 3B Assaf Lowengart homers twice and drives in six, while 2B Mitch Glasser reaches in four of five plate appearances. Marc-André Habeck takes the loss.
•  Italy 14,  Belgium 3. The hosts again pull off a blowout, with C Alberto Mineo driving in seven and falling a double shy of a cycle, while LF Dario Pizzano drives in 3 and 3B Leo Ferrini scores three. Angelo Palumbo gets the win, Brendan Verspreet the loss. SS Dennis De Quint reaches three times for Belgium.
•  Netherlands 11,  Czech Republic 1. The Dutch score 11 for the second straight day, this time against a much tougher opponent. RF/CF Ray-Patrick Didder drives in four and is a triple shy of the cycle while 3B Junior Martina scores 3. Kevin Kelly is the winning hurler, Marek Minařík the losing pitcher. CF Matěj Hejma hits a solo shot for the lone Czech run.

September 14

•  Israel 11,  United Kingdom 4. SS Ty Kelly (2 for 2, 3 BB, 2 2B, 2 R), 1B Ben Wanger (3 for 3, 2 BB, 3 R) and 3B Assaf Lowengart (3 RBI) lead Israel's offense as they finish pool play 3-0. Ivri Margolin pitches 3 1/3 hitless innings to start it, while D.J. Sharabi gets the win. DH Gabriel Rincones Jr. has 3 of Britain's 4 hits and 2 of their 4 runs. Spencer Kreisberg is the losing pitcher.
•  France 5,  Russia 4. This was a wild game as the teams combined for 19 walks but only 7 hits. SS Felix Brown drew four of France's ten walks, while RF Paolo Brossier drives in three and DH/P José Paula scores twice while exemplifying the pitching trend of the day (5 BB, 5 K, 0 H, 0 R in 2 IP); Quentin Moulin gets the win and Eric Moore the save. 1B Yan Pérez homers for Russia, while Vadim Balan (the first Moldovan in the minor leagues) walks four and allows three runs in two innings, though he allows just one run in taking the loss. The busy home plate umpire is Marco Taurelli. France and Russia joined Great Britain at 1-2, tied for 2nd in pool C for a spot in the top-8; the tiebreaker went to the Brits.
•  Germany 15,  Ukraine 5. Germany's woes continue early on, as Ukraine pounces on Lukas Steinlein for four runs in 1 1/3 IP and builds a 5-0 lead after 2 1/2. Germany then rallies against Yevhenii Tkachenko and the bullpen, with Andrii Boiko taking the loss; Germany scores in each of the last five frames of a mercy rule win. 3B Eric Brenk drives in 5, C Elias von Garßen drives in 3, RF Shawn Larry scores 3 and LF Lou Helmig goes deep twice as Lennard Stöcklin gets the win. 3B Denys Brechko goes 3 for 3 with two runs and two RBI for the Ukraine.
•  Netherlands 15,  Sweden 5. The Netherlands completes their sweep of pool play, The offense is supplied by veterans CF Roger Bernadina (4 SB, 3 R), RF Ray-Patrick Didder (3 R), C Dashenko Ricardo (4 H, 3 RBI) and SS John Polonius (3 RBI) as the Dutch go 9-for-9 in steals, while the youngsters take turns on the mound. After Kaj Timmermans gives up 5 runs (4 earned) in 3 2/3 IP, Jayden Gonesh (W) and Raf Cocu combine to allow one hit and no runs in the next 4 1/3 innings. Erik Marqvardsen is chased after one inning and four runs, while SS Daniel Johnson drives in three for the Swedes. It was the most runs the Netherlands had allowed in a European Championship since 1993 (also vs. Sweden).
•  Czech Republic 13,  Slovakia 3. In a matchup of the former component parts of Czechoslovakia, the Czechs win as expected. Radim Chroust gets the win, while LF Marek Chlup drives in 3 to lead a balanced offense. Martin Gieci (4 R, 3 ER in 5 IP) gives Slovakia yet another creditable turn by their starting pitchers, while DH/1B Mário Gottschall hits a two-run homer in the first to put Slovakia ahead. Slovakia is up 3-2 after 4 1/2 before Czechia comes back.
•  Belgium 5,  Greece 4. It was another close game in Pool A, where it looked like there would be a three-way tie at 1-2 (assuming Austria loses to Italy), resulting in the tiebreaker rules to determine who got the second spot in the top-8. The tiebreaker went to Belgium but it was extremely close as the three games between the two teams had all been one-run affairs. This game was 2-2 entering the 9th, when Greece got a two-run homer by C Antonio Torres off Kenny Van Den Branden for his second dinger of the day. In the bottom of the 9th, though, Dimitri Lettas walked three batters and hit one without getting an out to make it 4-3. Daniel Gosselin relieved and walked 2B Dennis De Quint to force in the tying run. DH Benjamin Dille flew out, then C Axel Poesmans singled to score RF Benjamin Goffaux with the winner.
•  Spain 12,  Croatia 0. After a strong 2-0 start to ensure their best placement in years, Croatia falls pretty flat against the Spanish juggernaut as Orlando Rodriguez, Ernesto Pino, Jorge Balboa and Rhiner Cruz combine on a 7-inning mercy rule no-hitter. CF Engel Beltre scores four times while SS Edison Valerio drives in four. Pavao Karin takes the loss.
•  Italy 14,  Austria 1. Italy joins the other top-four teams from 2019 in going 3-0 in pool play this year. RF Noel Gonzalez (3 RBI), 3B Leo Ferrini (3 R), 1B Vito Friscia (4 RBI) and 2B Mattia Mercuri all homer while Mattia Aldegheri, Nicola Garbella and Alex Bassani (W) combine to strike out 12. Austria's only run comes when 3B Marcel Mariette drives in C Sammy Hackl after two straight games of double-digit runs. Omar Dueñas takes the loss as Austria's pitching again gives up double-digit runs.

September 15

•  Russia 15,  Ukraine 5. At least they were meeting on the ballfield rather than again on the battlefield. 2B Yunior Valiente (4 for 5, 3 R, 3 RBI) and RF Viacheslav Vasilev (4 RBI) pace the offense for Russia while Anton Trusov gets the win over Mykola Liakhovetskyi. RF Dmytro Limarenko draws 3 of Ukraine's 11 walks and also doubles in his lone at-bat as Russian pitchers are again wild.
•  Germany 3,  France 2. Two teams having disappointing tourneys to wind up in the bottom-8 pool squared off. Eric Brenk saves it for Maurice Wilhelm, while LF Lou Helmig raps three hits. For France, CF Léo Jiminian goes 2 for 4 with a RBI while Esteban Prioul takes the defeat.
•  Austria 4,  Slovakia 3. Slovakia comes close to their first win, only to fall. LF Ferdinand Obed hits the winning two-run homer, while Tobias Kiefer saves Thierry Letouzé's win. Jakub Ižold goes the distance in the loss. CF Tomáš Biskorovájny drives in a pair, while C Mário Gottschall has three hits.
•  Sweden 10,  Greece 0. Ben Johnson pitches a four-hitter while C Markus Melendez scores three in a romp. Theon Bourdaniotis takes the decision for Greece.

September 16

•  Russia 14,  Austria 4. It is 5-4 before Russia explodes for eight runs in the 6th. RF Geidys Soler (3 R, 3 RBI), 2B Yunior Valiente (3 R) and CF Maxim Monakhov (3 RBI) pace the Russian offense while their pitchers walk nine but allow just one hit as James Paton, Anton Kuznetsov and Dmitry Shtykher stop Austria's high-powered offense. LF Ferdinand Obed's 3-run homer in the 1st is Austria's lone hit. Brian Fürböck takes the loss.
•  Germany 13,  Sweden 2. Enorbel Márquez increased his record for wins for Germany to 12 as the old-timer allowed one run in five, fanning seven, while counterpart Jakob Syrén was chased in the 1st. SS Alex Schmidt went 3-for-3, DH Simon Gühring hit a three-run homer, LF Lou Helmig scored three, 2B Marco Cardoso drove in 3 and 1B Elias von Garßen drove in three. For Sweden, CF Joel Johnson doubled twice and scored twice.
•  Italy 8,  Croatia 5. LF Dario Pizzano drove in three and Matteo Bocchi got the win as Italy moved into the semifinals. SS Jose Herrera drove in 3 for Croatia while DH/P/3B Antonio Horvatić had 3 hits. Jose Diaz was the losing hurler.
•  Spain 5,  Belgium 2. Spain had their first non-rout as they moved into the semifinals. Artuur Driessens held them to one run over the first five as Belgium kept it even before he tired in the 6th. SS Edison Valerio and 2B Oscar Angulo each had three hits while Jorge Balboa got the victory. 2B Dennis De Quint drove in both Belgian runs.
•  Israel 3,  Czech Republic 2. Israel avenges its only loss from the 2019 Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier and goes to the semifinals. Israel gets to Jan Novák in the 3rd on a walk by C Tal Erel, a double by SS Ty Kelly and a RBI grounder from Mitch Glasser. The Czechs tied it in the 4th when C Petr Čech draws a walk from Joey Wagman and RF Marek Chlup hits into an error by 3B Assaf Lowengart. Israel had a chance in the 6th against Marek Minařík when Glasser doubled and advanced on a grounder; Lowengart hit a fly to Chlup, who threw out Glasser at home. Chlup then homered in the 7th to put Czechia ahead. Israel battled back in the bottom of the 7th. RF Jordan Petrushka singled and LF Itai Goldner hit into an error by 3B Vojtěch Menšík. Wagman bunted a single to score Petrushka with the tying run and Erel hit into a double play, Goldner out at home, 4-5-2. The Czechs got two on in the top of the 9th but didn't score against Ben Wanger. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Goldner singled and advanced on an error by veteran 2B Jakub Hajtmar. Wagman then singled to center to bring in Goldner with the winner.
•  Netherlands 7,  United Kingdom 5. After not allowing five runs in a European Championship game from 1995-2019, the Netherlands had now done it twice this year, not looking nearly as dominant. They still went into the semifinals, making the most of five hits to score seven runs - three by LF Jiandido Tromp. Lars Huijer gives up 12 hits in turn but gets the win over Daniel Cooper; Wendell Floranus had the save. DH Gabriel Rincones Jr. and SS Aaron Singh each had three hits for Britain.

September 17

•  Ukraine 5,  Slovakia 4. The two winless teams squared off. It looked like Slovakia would have a chance at their first win at a European Championship when they chased Sergii Shtapura, who failed to retire a batter and allowed three runs. Heorhii Hvrytishvili came to the rescue (after starting the game at DH!), though, with nine innings of strong relief (5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 9 K). The comeback was led by the bottom of the order - 7/8/9 hitters 2B Roman Boiko (2 R), LF Kostiantyn Boiko (2 RBI) and 1B Oleksii Boiko (2 RBI). Marko Vykoukal allowed only two unearned runs in six, but Ukraine scores two in the 8th to tie it at 4. In the bottom of the 9th, Slovakia turns to Martin Lukačka. SS Kostiantyn Chukhas greeted him with a triple. 3B Denys Brechko walked and Hvrytishvili was intentionally walked. RF Ihor Lukin then drew another walk to force in Chukhas and give Ukraine its first win at the European Championship since 2007.
•  Greece 12,  France 9. This was a wild one. For a while, it was a pitching duel (odd given the final score!) as Owen Ozanich allowed only three hits and no walks in seven shutout innings (fanning eight) for France, while Jonathan Kountis allowed only two runs in the first seven (on a shot by 1B Andy Paz with SS Felix Brown aboard). After the starters left, the scoring picked up pace. Eric Moore succeeded Ozanich in the 8th and DH Dimitri Lettas doubled, then scored on a hit by 2B Max Warren. In the bottom of the 8th, France went back up by two when Kountis plunked CF Léo Jiminian, who stole second and scored on a hit by Paz.

In the top of the 9th, 3B Dimitri Kourtis singled off Robyn Clara, who had finished off for Moore in the 8th. Franklin De La Rosa relieved and got one out, but 1B Nick Halamandaris hit a game-tying blast. Given the WBSC tie-breaker rules, Greece started with two aboard in the 10th. 3B George Tsiflikiotis (Kourtis had moved to pitcher) bunted and all three were safe. José Paula struck out Warren but CF Alejandro Torres-Skerrett hit a sacrifice fly to score his brother, C Antonio Torres-Skerrett. SS Tom Roulis then singled in another run before Paula struck out Kourtis. Against Kourtis in the bottom of the inning, France got two quick outs but Jiminian singled in both runners to tie it.

In the 11th, RF Ari Sechopoulos hit into a force at second and Halamandaris's sacrifice fly scored Roulis to make it 6-5. France came back against Kourtis again as Paz walked and DH Luis Delogu hit a sacrifice fly, but Kourtis escaped further harm. In the top of the 12th, Greece really blew it open, doubling their runs for the day. Antonio Torres-Skerrett doubled in a run. Paula struck out Lettas but Tsiflikiotis singled and an error on the play made it 9-6. Quentin Moulin relieved and walked Warren then struck out Alejandro Torres-Skerrett. Roulis doubled in two more. Kourtis walked and a Sechopoulos single made it 12-6 before Halamdanaris fouled out. Nick Pantos relieved Kourtis and it was now France's attempt to rally. PH Jacques Boucheron drew a walk from Pantos but the next two were retired while a passed ball made it 12-7. A double by Brown cut it to 12-9 and Paz walked, making Delogu the potential tying run, but he hit into a 4-6 force to end the crazy contest. France, already ensured of its lowest finish in a European Championship before today, was now headed to the 15th/16th place game after finishing 6th or 7th the prior three Championships.

•  United Kingdom 12,  Belgium 11. This was also an exciting affair that started as a fine pitching duel. Robin Roevens of Belgium allowed 2 runs in 6 while Britain's Alex Webb gave up two unearned runs in six. The bullpens could not keep up, as Britain scores six in the 7th and leads 11-3 going into the bottom of the 8th before Belgium ties it with a eight-run frame! C Shamoy Christopher opens the 9th with a double off Yves Poesmans and 1B Zachary Stroman walked. Roevens returned to the mound (having played third base in the 7th and 8th) and CF Nateshon Thomas laid down a bunt hit. 2B Kent Blackstone hit into a force at home, then DH Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit into the game-winning force. Christopher Messer showed a reliever could succeed today by striking out the side in the bottom of the 9th to get the win (he had also struck out the last two batters in Belgium's big 8th). Stroman finished 3-for-3 while 3B Alex Crosby had 3 hits and 3 runs. Roevens not only was Belgium's top pitcher but also scored three runs.
•  Netherlands 9,  Spain 8. The Netherlands returns to the finals, like every past appearance, but it is not an easy affair. Spain jumped ahead in the first when SS Edison Valerio hit a two-run shot off Mike Bolsenbroek. The Netherlands come back for five in the third against Carlos Sierra and Ernesto Pino. They carry a 9-3 lead into the 8th thanks to three runs apiece from LF Jiandido Tromp and CF Roger Bernadina, 3 hits from RF Ray-Patrick Didder and 3 RBI apiece from 1B Sharlon Schoop and C Dashenko Ricardo. After four shutout innings of relief, Shairon Martis struggles in the 8th, serving up a 3-run homer to LF Lesther Galván to make it 9-6. In the bottom of the 9th, Wendell Floranus gets two quick outs but then CF Engel Beltre singles, Valerio walks and 2B Oscar Angulo singles (with a Didder error on the play) to cut the deficit to two. 1B Jesús Ustariz singled in Valerio (Valerio's 4th run) to make it 9-8. Floranus recovered to get LF Daniel Jiménez to hit into a game-ending force.
•  Czech Republic 17,  Croatia 2. SS Martin Schneider (3 H, 3 RBI), CF Matěj Hejma (5 RBI) and 3B/2B Vojtěch Menšík (4 R) lead a powerful Czech offense today, while Ondřej Satoria gets the win over Borna Strelec. C Philip Smith has two hits, a run and a RBI for Croatia.
•  Israel 11,  Italy 5. Israel moved to the Gold Medal Game for the first time, beating Italy (a frequent finalist) in a fairly one-sided game. And it wasn't one of their American ringers doing the mound work either primarily, as veteran Shlomo Lipetz got the win, allowing four runs in six. Fellow native Israeli Tal Erel, the catcher, scored three runs from the 9th spot in the order while 2B Mitch Glasser drove in four. Former Pirates farmhand Claudio Scotti walked seven and allowed four runs in one inning then Nicola Garbella took the loss. LF Dario Pizzano, 1B Vito Friscia and CF Federico Celli homered for Italy.

September 18

• 15th/16th place game:  France 6,  Slovakia 5. Slovakia once again falls just short of their first European Championship win. France, meanwhile, just barely avoided finishing 16th, after usually being 7th or 8th in recent years! CF Léo Jiminian and SS Felix Brown led off the game with walks from Michal Puškár, 1B Luis Delogu drew a one-out walk and a wild pitch made it 1-0. Slovakia wasted no time coming back against Gédéon Coste. DH Martin Brunegraf hit a one-out single, then CF Tomáš Biskorovájny singled him in and 1B Mário Gottschall doubled for a 2-1 lead. In the top of the second, RF Paolo Brossier drew Puškár's fourth walk and DH Nolan Soliveres was hit. Slovakia took out the wild hurler in favor of Martin Gieci. Brossier stole third and LF Martin Vissac hit into a force, Brossier scoring to tie it.

Slovakia retook the lead in the bottom of the second. C Matej Rudohradský hit into a Brown error and 2B Daniel Just laid down a bunt hit. After a sacrifice, SS Matej Grendža-Donský singled to right for a 3-2 edge. Slovakia loaded the bases with two outs but Gottschall hit into an inning-ending force. In the top of the third, France retied it as C Andy Paz singled, advanced on a grounder and scored on a hit by 3B Louis Brainville. Slovakia chased Coste with two outs in the third then Nicolas Antoine relieved. Slovakia got men on the corners in the 5th but Esteban Prioul relieved Antoine and struck out Just and RF Adam Zacko to preserve the tie. Slovakia scored in the 6th, Brunegraf coming home on an error by Brainville.

In the top of the 8th, France finally scored off Gieci. LF José Paula (Vissac had moved to 2B) led off with a triple and Brainville singled in the former minor leaguer. Brossier bunted him over and Marek Bošanský took over for Gieci, who had down a fine job. He walked DH Bastien Dagneau (who had replaced Soliveres) but Vissac and Jiminian were retired to leave it at 4-4. Slovakia loaded the bases against Mathis Nayral in the 8th but 3B Denis Pakši went down swinging. Paz doubled with one out in the 9th and made it to third on a Delogu fly but Paula flew out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Rudohradský hit into an error by Brown. Backup 2B Michal Ešmír bunted the runner over and PH Martin Lukačka hit into Brown's third error, but PR Markus Racík was thrown out trying to score from second on the play. Robyn Clara succeeded Nayral and got Grendža-Donský on a fly.

Racík stayed in as the pitcher. After the starting runners were placed under the extra-inning rule, Brainville bunted but they got Delogu on third. Brossier flew out, then Dagnieu singled in Paula for a 5-4 lead, France's first since the 1st. Vissac struck out and France led 5-4 going into the bottom of the 10th. With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Clara walked Biskorovájny and wtih two outs, he walked LF Michal Noga to force in the tying run. Clara whiffed Pakši to send it to the 11th. Jiminian led off the 11th with a bunt single off Lukačka (now in to pitch) to load the bases. Brown grounded to Ešmír, who threw home but an error let Dagneau score and France took a 6-5 lead. Paz hit into a 1-2-3 double play and Delogu went down looking. In the bottom of the 11th, Clara struck out RF Juraj Bartók. Ešmír flew to center and Jiminian fired home to get Noga for the game-ending 8-2 double play.

• 13th/14th place game:  Ukraine 5,  Greece 4. Ukraine finishes 13th in their first Euros in 11 years as Kostiantyn Chukhas goes the distance, LF Kostiantyn Boiko scores twice and 1B Yurii Shvets drives in a pair. Alex Gounaris takes the loss, while RF Ari Sechopoulos reaches four times for Greece.
• 11th/12th place game:  Austria 5,  Sweden 0. Austria turns to 43-year-old Christian Tomsich, the lone remaining player from their first European Championship team, and he dazzles, allowing three hits in seven shutout innings. Tobias Kiefer closes it with two hitless frames, while 3B Felix Zimmerle and RF Richard Alzinger go deep. Oskar Syrén pitches well in the loss.
• 9th/10th place game:  Germany 4,  Russia 1. Germany has its worst finish in 18 years but finishes with wins in their last four games at least, while Russia fares okay in its return to the field. Russia went ahead in the 1st against Sven Schüller when 1B Yan Pérez drove in SS David Castillo but Schüller finished with 10 K, 4 H and 1 R in 7 IP, Luca Hörger working the last couple for the save. Germany came back to tie it against Andrei Lobanov in the 4th then go ahead in the 7th against Denis Leonov. 3B Eric Brenk drove in a pair.
• 7th/8th place game:  Croatia 12,  Belgium 8. Croatia has their best finish ever, topping their 8th-place marks of 2001 and 2007. They did it with a pair of veterans, 36-year-old Mario Manojlov driving in 3 and Slobodan Gales allowing one unearned run in five innings of relief after a rough start by Marin Tadić. LF Andrew Jones has four hits, four runs and three RBI. Drew Janssen took the loss, while 3B/LF Robin Roevens was a homer short of a cycle for Belgium.
• 5th/6th place game:  Czech Republic 8,  United Kingdom 5. The Czechs maintain their hold on 5th place, having now finished there in four of the last five European Championships and three in a row. Martin Schneider allowed one hit in three shutout innings to save the game for Boris Bokaj; Schneider also drove in a pair from the leadoff spot, starting the day at shortstop. Spencer Kreisberg took the loss, while 3B Ben Andrews hit a three-run homer for Britain.

September 19

• Bronze Medal Game:  Italy 2,  Spain 0. Used to playing for the Gold, Italy settles for Bronze, beating the nation with the most Bronzes. In a year of some big offensive games, it was a fine pitching match-up with Tiago Da Silva taking the mound for Italy and Elián Leyva. Spain challenged in the 4th against Da Silva as 2B Oscar Angulo and 1B Jesús Ustariz singled. LF Daniel Jiménez bunted and Da Silva threw to third to nab Angulo, then RF Lesther Galván hit into a double play to end the threat. Spain also got two on with one out in the 5th but CF Engel Beltre also hit into a double play. In the top of the 6th, Spain got yet another threat as SS Edison Valerio walked and Ustariz and Jimenez hit back-to-back one-out singles, but on the latter hit LF Andrea Sellaroli threw out Valerio at home. In the top of the 7th, Spain has another thwarted rally, this time against Matteo Bocchi. C Gabriel Lino doubled and DH Yancarlo Franco singled. 3B Leomartires Rodriguez grounded to first and Vito Friscia fired home to get Lino. Beltre then hit into a force and Valerio grounded out to end that bid. Jorge Balboa took over for Leyva in the 7th. With one out, Friscia and C Alberto Mineo singled. With two outs, Balboa walked 2B Leo Ferrini. Fernando Baez relieved Balboa but the veteran walked DH Alessandro Deotto to force in Friscia with the winner. A wild pitch let in Mineo to make it 2-0. Bocchi faced the minimum in the 8th and Alex Bassani went 1-2-3 in the 9th, striking out Lino and Franco to finish the save.

• Gold Medal Game:  Netherlands 9,  Israel 4. Israel not only won its first medal ever, they gave the dominant team in European history a run for their money, leading after 6 1/2 innings before fading.

J.C. Sulbaran of the Netherlands and Joey Wagman of Israel each had a 1-2-3 1st. After the first inning, Ben Wanger took over for Wagman. 2B Sharlon Schoop greeted him with a single, the first of his four hits (matching the entire Israeli contingent). DH Denzel Richardson hit into a force, stole second and scored on a two-out single by 1B Juremi Profar. It remained 1-0 until the top of the 4th when Sulbaran ran into control problems, walking SS Ty Kelly and 2B Mitch Glasser and (with one out) 3B Assaf Lowengart. CF Robb Paller's sacrifice fly brought in Kelly with the tying run. That called for another Kelly, Kevin Kelly relieving Sulbaran. 1B Jordan Petrushka greeted him with a RBI single for a 2-1 lead.

The Dutch got two on in the fourth but Profar hit into an inning-ending double play. In the 5th, LF Jiandido Tromp hit a two-out double and CF Roger Bernadina walked but RF Ray-Patrick Didder hit into a force. Israel built their lead in the 6th when Wanger singled and Lowengart homered to deep left to make it 4-1, the upset odds increasing. Young Aaron de Groot took over and closed out the inning.

Israel got two on in the 7th against Mike Groen but Wanger hit into a twin killing. To that point, Wanger had allowed one run in five innings of relief, but the Netherlands opened the 7th with singles from SS John Polonius and Tromp, chasing Wanger in favor of Charles Rossman. Bernadina gave him a rough greeting, The Shark smacking a three-run homer. Didder singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored when backup DH Dwayne Kemp bunted into a Rossman error. The Netherlands was now up, 5-3.

The Dutch went to closer Wendell Floranus for the 8th and he struck out the side of Lowengart, Paller and Petrushka. In the bottom of the 8th, Shlomo Lipetz (on one day off after his start Friday) hit Bernadina and Didder with one out and Schoop doubled them in. With two away, C Dashenko Ricardo hit the game's third home run and it was now 9-4. Floranus retired PH David ibn Ezra, LF Itai Goldner and C Tal Erel in order to wrap up the save and end the tournament.

Standings

• 1.  Netherlands
• 2.  Israel
• 3.  Italy
• 4.  Spain
• 5.  Czech Republic
• 6.  United Kingdom
• 7.  Croatia
• 8.  Belgium
• 9.  Germany
• 10.  Russia
• 11.  Austria
• 12.  Sweden
• 13.  Ukraine
• 14.  Greece
• 15.  France
• 16.  Slovakia

Awards

• MVP: Roger Bernadina, Netherlands CF
• Outstanding Defensive Player: Mattia Mercuri, Italy 2B