2024 European Championship Qualifier

The 2024 European Championship Qualifiers were held for three spots in the 2025 European Championship. Trying to return after playing in the 2023 European Championship were  Hungary and  Austria ( Ukraine was a late withdrawal so the war-ravaged country was not able to defend their spot from the 2023 Euros even though they had finished ahead of Hungary and Austria), while  Slovenia and  Slovakia were trying to return after a hiatus from the Euros; 9 other nations were trying for their first European Championship appearances.

July 22

Beograd

•  Slovenia 11,  Turkey 1. American import Lucas Favretto strikes out nine and Jaka Smolnikar saves the win, while Fatih Büker takes the loss. Turkey takes a 1-0 lead in the 4th but Slovenia rallies. DH Žan Primožič has three hits and C Matic Lešnjak scores three times.
•  Hungary 12,  Serbia 2. Hungary begins their title defense well as Robert Ogg allows one run in five and CF Vincent Temesvary raps three hits. Christian Bokich is the losing hurler.

July 23

Beograd

•  Slovenia 4,  Slovakia 2. Slovenia goes to 2-0 as CF Žiga Verbek drives in a pair and Stephen Krauthaker saves Žan Primožič's win over Jakub Ižold. C Mário Gottschall leads Slovakia, with two hits and a RBI.
•  Serbia 15,  Turkey 0. Sava Dupor strikes out ten in four innings of one-hit ball (2B Selim Coskun getting Turkey's lone hit) and Alex Rivera closes it out. Sava's brother Draza Dupor goes 3-for-3 with 3 runs and 3 RBI. Ahmet Ekmekci takes the defeat.

July 24

Beograd

•  Hungary 13,  Slovakia 1. The two most recent European Championship participants in the pool square off and it's a one-sided game. Sean Fekete gets the win over Martin Gieci while SS Bálint Piros and RF/CF James Dutton both have 3 hits, 3 runs and 3 RBI. 3B Martin Brunegraf drives in 1B Mário Gottschall with Slovakia's lone tally.
•  Serbia 6,  Slovenia 2. Aleksandar Vlaisavic pitches four no-hit innings to save the win for Nikolas Jukovic. 3B Alex Rivera drives in 3. Tevž Gantar goes the distance for Slovenia.

Kutno

•  Romania 9,  Finland 0. Only two errors prevent Eduard Pirvu from a perfect game as he allows no hits or walks. SS Razvan Ivan drives in six runs. Leevi Hyytiäinen is the losing pitcher.
•  Lithuania 8,  Poland 3. The pool hosts drop their opener as DH Kestas Vilimas has three hits and Vilius Paikovas goes two shutout innings for the win. 3B/P Jakub Wojtczak hits a two-run homer for Poland but gets the loss.

July 25

Archerstown

•  Norway 14,  Bulgaria 3. P/RF Lars Liguori allows one hit and no runs in 4 1/3 IP, also going deep at the plate and driving in three; the win goes to Benjamin Davis and the loss to Panayot Zhaltov, who throws 152 pitches in a complete game. C Yoanis Aleksandrov homers and has two hits for Bulgaria.
•  Republic of Ireland 2,  Austria 0. The hosts beat the team defending its spot in the Euros. Keelan Smithers, Liam Dvorak and Patrick Mitchell strike out 17 in a two-hitter while 3B David Gallagher plays a role in both runs. Christian Tomsich gets the loss. Austria's lone hits come from 1B Philipp Eckel and 3B Moritz Scheicher.

Beograd

•  Hungary 16,  Slovenia 2. Ádám Piros strikes out 11, while 1B Graeham Luttor hits a grand slam and a two-run homer, Hungary cruising to 3-0. Rok Čuček is the losing pitcher.
•  Slovakia 12,  Turkey 1. Juraj Bartók and Adam Zacko strike out 14 in a combined three-hitter, with CF Martin Gieci homering and driving in five, to give Slovakia its first win of the tournament. Ahmet Ekmekci falls to 0-2, while 3B Mert Tekeci has two of Turkey's three hits and their lone run.

Kutno

•  Lithuania 15,  Romania 5. CF Vytas Valincius homers twice and drives in four to back winning hurler Gytis Morkūnas. Iulian Serban leads Romania with two RBI but is also the losing pitcher.
•  Poland 7,  Finland 4. Mateusz Szustek gives Poland their first win while 1B Arthur Kowara drives in three. Konsta Kurikka strikes out 8 in 4 innings but gets the loss. 2B Tomi Vuorinen has a run and a RBI for Finland.

July 26

Archerstown

•  Austria 19,  Norway 2. C Tobias Werner scores an impressive six runs in seven innings despite getting one hit (he had four walks and one HBP) with LF Ferdinand Obed driving in six. Eoghan McGarry defeats Alexander Deutsch. C Tye Brødsjø has two hits, a run and a RI for the Norwegians.
•  Bulgaria 5,  Republic of Ireland 0. All four teams in Ireland are tied at 1-1 after Evgenii Chernozemsky strikes out 10 in a 127-pitch complete game, defeating former major leaguer Ryan O'Rourke. 1B Teodor Dimitrov drives in 3 off the bench.

Beograd

•  Hungary 16,  Turkey 0. Hungary finishes pool play unbeaten while Turkey goes winless. Zeno Illes and Viktor Boda throw a two-hitter while DH Graeham Luttor goes 3-for-3 with 3 runs. DH Mert Tekeci and 1B Ramazan Alacaöz have the Turkish hits, while the decision goes to Furkan Güven.
•  Serbia 6,  Slovakia 5. The hosts go on to the championship as Christian Bokich throws 154 pitches in a 11-K effort, going the distance. 2B Jose Ceballos leads a balanced offense (2 H, R, RBI). Martin Gieci drives in a pair but takes the loss.

Kutno

•  Lithuania 14,  Finland 2. Lithuania sweeps through pool play. #9 hitter RF/CF Mantas Aidukas has two runs and three RBI, the win going to John Barry. Tomi Vuorinen only lasts one inning in the loss. C Jose Mesa reaches three times for Finland.
•  Poland 17,  Romania 4. CF Filip Sarota falls a triple shy of a cycle, scores 3 and drives in 4 as the hosts rout to move to the title match. Radosław Zajda defeats George George.

July 27

Archerstown

•  Austria 14,  Bulgaria 4. Austria moves on to the title game, Nico Schadler defeating Martin Shopski. SS Dan Kawanishi has four hits and four RBI. 3B Evgenii Chernozemsky draws 3 walks, scores one and drives in another for Bulgaria.
•  Republic of Ireland 6,  Norway 3. The hosts join Austria in the pool finale as Mitchell Hillert and Patrick Mitchell combine to strike out 11 and SS Brendan Flaherty has a four-hit day. Lars Liguori is the losing hurler, while C Tye Brødsjø has two hits and a RBI.

Beograd

•  Hungary 11,  Serbia 1. Hungary was the dominant team in this year's qualifiers and that remained so as they locked up a return trip to the Euros. Robert Ogg and Ádám Piros strike out 10 while they chase Sava Dupor in the second. RF James Dutton and DH Sean Fekete drive in three apiece and SS Bálint Piros raps three hits. 3B Uros Culum reaches three times for the hosts.

Kutno

•  Lithuania 10,  Poland 9. After just missing out in 1996, 2008, 2018 and 2019 qualifiers, Lithuania finally makes it to a European Championship. Dovydas Neverauskas and Eimantas Žičkus strike out 15, Žičkus escaping a bases-loaded jam in the 9th. CF Vytas Valincius has three hits and 2B Domas Kamandulis three RBI. Szymon Dwojakowski gets the loss, while 3B Jakub Wojtczak (3 R) and 1B Arthur Kowara (3 RBI) lead Poland to a near-victory.

July 28

Archerstown

•  Austria 14,  Republic of Ireland 3. Austria avenged their opening loss in returning to the Euros. 2B Philipp Eckel scored three times, RF Andreas Lastinger drove in 3 and Mo Hackl allowed one run in six. Brendan Kenneally gives up six runs in two innings. The Irish offense is paced today by RF Trajan Finarelli, who has a run, two hits and a RBI.

MVP

• In Archerstown, the MVP went to Austrian SS Dan Kawanishi, who hit .421/.450/.737 (though he fielded .813); he led the pool in both hits (8) and RBI (8).
• The MVP of the Beograd pool was Hungarian hurler Robert Ogg, who was 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 15 K in 11 IP.
• Lithuanian 2B Domas Kamandulis was MVP of the Poland pool, going deep in three of 11 at-bats to bat .364/.385/1.182.