2023 European Baseball Championship

The 2023 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. It was held in five cities in the Czech Republic, from September 24 to October 1, 2023. The championship marked the first time in history, excluding three occasions when they did not enter the tournament, that the Netherlands did not feature in the final, having lost 7-6 to Spain in the semi-finals.^[1]

2023 European Baseball Championship

Tournament details
Country	Czech Republic
Dates	24 September – 1 October
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	Spain
Runner-up	Great Britain
Third place	Netherlands
Fourth place	Germany
Tournament statistics
Games played	48
Attendance	23,438 (488 per game)
Awards
MVP	Wander Encarnación
← 2021 2025 →

Qualification

The top 14 teams of the 2021 European Championship qualified automatically for the tournament. After the expulsion of Russia, who had finished 10th, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the remaining three spots were filled through a qualification tournament, that saw Hungary, France and Switzerland qualify.^[2] Slovakia was the only team from the 2021 championship that did not qualify in 2023.

Team	Qualification method		Team	Qualification method
Netherlands	2021 European Baseball Championship		Germany	9th, 2021 European Baseball Championship
Israel	2021 European Baseball Championship		Austria	11th, 2021 European Baseball Championship
Italy	2021 European Baseball Championship		Sweden	12th, 2021 European Baseball Championship
Spain	4th, 2021 European Baseball Championship		Ukraine	13th, 2021 European Baseball Championship
Czech Republic	5th, 2021 European Baseball Championship		Greece	14th, 2021 European Baseball Championship
Great Britain	6th, 2021 European Baseball Championship		Hungary	Qualifier tournament winner[2]
Croatia	7th, 2021 European Baseball Championship		France	Qualifier tournament winner[2]
Belgium	8th, 2021 European Baseball Championship		Switzerland	Qualifier tournament winner[2]

Venues

The tournament took place in six different stadiums across the Czech Republic.^[3]

Prague	Třebíč	Brno	Brno
Eagles Park	Stadion Na Hvězdě	Sports area Hroch	YD Baseball Arena
Matches: 6	Matches: 10	Matches: 6	Matches: 14 (including final)
Ostrava	Prague Ostrava Brno Třebíč Blansko 2023 Baseball European Championship venues		Blansko
Arrows Park			Strawberry Field
Matches: 6			Matches: 6

Group stage

The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals. The bottom two teams entered the 9th–16th place play-offs.^[4][5]

All times are local, CEST (UTC+2).^[5]

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	RF	RA	RD	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Spain	3	3	0	36	2	+34	1.000	—	Qualified for Quarterfinals		—	9–0	14–1	—
2	Czech Republic (H)	3	2	1	23	9	+14	.667	1			—	—	14–0	9–0
3	Greece	3	1	2	12	34	−22	.333	2	Qualified for Relegation Round		—	—	—	11–6
4	Austria	3	0	3	7	33	−26	.000	3			1–13	—	—	—

Source: ^[6]
(H) Hosts

24 September 2023 (2023-09-24) 11:00	Greece	1–14 (F/7)	Spain	Arrows Park, Ostrava Attendance: 173 Umpires: Mojmír Jankovič (HP), Fabien Carrette-Legrand (1B), Tiska Tiihonen (3B)
	LP: Dimitrios Kourtis (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Anderson de León (1–0)
	HR: Kasey Caras (1)		HR: Omar Hernandez (1), Gabriel Lino (1), Edison Valerio (1)

24 September 2023 (2023-09-24) 18:00	Austria	0–9	Czech Republic	Arrows Park, Ostrava Attendance: 1,980 Umpires: Christopher Feuerecker (HP), Richard Wessel (1B), Fabien Carrette-Legrand (3B)
	LP: Christian Tomsich (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Tomáš Ondra (1–0)
			HR: Matěj Menšík (1), Martin Červenka (1)

---

25 September 2023 (2023-09-25) 11:00	Spain	13–1 (F/8)	Austria	Arrows Park, Ostrava Attendance: 312 Umpires: Fabien Carrette-Legrand (HP), Tiska Tiihonen (1B), Mojmír Jankovič(3B)
	WP: Jorge Balboa (1–0)	Boxscore	LP: Julian Faulhaber (0–1)
	HR: Andrés Angulo (1), Edison Valerio (2)

25 September 2023 (2023-09-25) 17:40	Greece	0–14 (F/7)	Czech Republic	Arrows Park, Ostrava Attendance: 1,576 Umpires: Richard Wessel (HP), Christopher Feuerecker (1B), Tiska Tiihonen (3B)
	LP: Jonathan Kountis (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Ondřej Satoria (1–0)
			HR: Eric Sogard (1), William Escala (1)

---

26 September 2023 (2023-09-26) 11:00	Austria	6–11	Greece	Arrows Park, Ostrava Attendance: 286 Umpires: Tiska Tiihonen (HP), Mojmír Jankovič (1B), Richard Wessel (3B)
	LP: Ryan Rupp (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Peter Maestrales (1–0) Sv: Dimitri Lettas (1)
	HR: Sammy Hackl (1), Felix Zimmerle (1)		HR: Kasey Caras (2), Panagiotis Dudunakis (1), Ari Sechopoulos (1)

26 September 2023 (2023-09-26) 17:40	Czech Republic	0–9	Spain	Arrows Park, Ostrava Attendance: 2,017 Umpires: Christopher Feuerecker (HP), Richard Wessel (1B), Fabien Carrette-Legrand (3B)
	LP: Marek Minařík (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Pablo Guillén (1–0)
			HR: Gabriel Lino (2), Wander Encarnación (1), Omar Hernandez (2)

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	RF	RA	RD	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Great Britain	3	3	0	37	13	+24	1.000	—	Qualified for Quarterfinals		—	4–0	—	22–3
2	Sweden	3	2	1	25	14	+11	.667	1			—	—	8–3	—
3	Italy	3	1	2	28	21	+7	.333	2	Qualified for Relegation Round		10–11	—	—	15–2
4	Hungary	3	0	3	12	54	−42	.000	3			—	7–17	—	—

Source: ^[6]

24 September 2023 (2023-09-24) 11:00	Hungary	2–15 (F/7)	Italy	Třebíč Na Hvězdě, Třebíč Attendance: 168 Umpires: Edwin Louisa (HP), Sergii Bolilyi (1B), Jason Lillebo (3B)
	LP: Sean Fekete (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Mattia Aldegheri (1–0)

24 September 2023 (2023-09-24) 17:30	Sweden	0–4	Great Britain	Třebíč Na Hvězdě, Třebíč Attendance: 183 Umpires: Vladimir Richter (HP), Alex Lazaro (1B), Sergii Bolilyi (3B)
	LP: Benjamin Johnson (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Austin Hassani (1–0)

---

25 September 2023 (2023-09-25) 11:00	Hungary	3–22 (F/5)	Great Britain	Třebíč Na Hvězdě, Třebíč Attendance: 190 Umpires: Sergii Bolilyi (HP), Jason Lillebo (1B), Edwin Louisa (3B)
	LP: Ádám Piros (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Jacob Esch (1–0)
			HR: Nick Ward (1)

25 September 2023 (2023-09-25) 17:30	Italy	3–8	Sweden	Třebíč Na Hvězdě, Třebíč Attendance: 260 Umpires: Alex Lazaro (HP), Vladimir Richter (1B), Jason Lillebo (3B)
	LP: Gabriele Quattrini (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Per Sjörs (1–0)
			HR: Joel Johnson (1)

---

26 September 2023 (2023-09-26) 11:00	Sweden	17–7 (F/8)	Hungary	Třebíč Na Hvězdě, Třebíč Attendance: 82 Umpires: Jason Lillebo (HP), Edwin Louisa (1B), Alex Lazaro (3B)
	WP: Oskar Syrén (1–0)	Boxscore	LP: Robert Ogg
	HR: Leonard Bäckström (1)		HR: Graeham Luttor (1)

26 September 2023 (2023-09-26) 17:30	Great Britain	11–10	Italy	Třebíč Na Hvězdě, Třebíč Attendance: 360 Umpires: Sergii Bolilyi (HP), Alex Lazaro(1B), Vladimir Richter (3B)
	WP: Chris Messer (1–0) Sv: Demoi Hodge (1)	Boxscore	LP: Alex Bassani (0–1)
	HR: Nick Ward (2), Harry Ford (1, 2)		HR: Robel Garcia (1, 2)

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	RF	RA	RD	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Netherlands	3	3	0	40	5	+35	1.000	—	Qualified for Quarterfinals		—	9–0	15–2	—
2	France	3	2	1	13	10	+3	.667	1			—	—	—	10–0
3	Croatia	3	1	2	14	19	−5	.333	2	Qualified for Relegation Round		—	1–3	—	11–1
4	Ukraine	3	0	3	4	37	−33	.000	3			3–16	—	—	—

Source: ^[6]

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	RF	RA	RD	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Germany	3	3	0	32	9	+23	1.000	—	Qualified for Quarterfinals		—	2–0	—	—
2	Israel	3	2	1	25	11	+14	.667	1			—	—	14–1	11–8
3	Switzerland	3	1	2	13	31	−18	.333	2	Qualified for Relegation Round		5–15	—	—	—
4	Belgium	3	0	3	14	33	−19	.000	3			4–15	—	2–7	—

Source: ^[6]

Play-offs

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	28 September, 12:00
	D1  Germany	6
					29 September, 12:00
	C2  France	5
					Germany	4
	28 September, 18:30
					Great Britain	8
	B1  Great Britain	12
									1 October, 18:30
	A2  Czech Republic	2
									Great Britain	2
	28 September, 18:30
									Spain	11
	C1  Netherlands	12
					29 September, 18:30
	D2  Israel	2
					Netherlands	6
	28 September, 12:00
					Spain	7			3rd Place
	A1  Spain	18
									1 October, 12:00
	B2  Sweden	3
									Germany	4
									Netherlands	5

Placement round 5th–8th place

	Classification games				5th place
	29 September, 18:30
	France	1
					30 September, 18:30
	Czech Republic	11
					Czech Republic	5
	29 September, 12:00
					Israel	1
	Israel	6
	Sweden	4
					7th place
					30 September, 12:00
					France	13
					Sweden	0

Relegation rounds

	Relegation round				9–12th places				9th place
	28 September, 10:00
	D3   Switzerland	9
					29 September, 12:00
	A4  Austria	2
					Switzerland	3
	28 September, 12:00
					Italy	12
	B3  Italy	15
									30 September, 18:30
	C4  Ukraine	0
									Italy	6
	28 September, 15:00
									Croatia	5
	A3  Greece	4
					29 September, 18:30
	D4  Belgium	5
					Belgium	5
	28 September, 18:30
					Croatia	7			11th place
	C3  Croatia	9
									30 September, 12:00
	B4  Hungary	2
									Switzerland	3
									Belgium	8

13–16th places classification

	13–16th places				13th place
	29 September, 10:00
	Austria	0
					30 September, 15:00
	Ukraine	9
					Ukraine	4
	29 September, 15:00
					Greece	8
	Greece	19
	Hungary	14
					15th place
					30 September, 10:00
					Austria	15
					Hungary	5

Home runs

There were 74 home runs hit in 48 games, for an average of 1.54 home runs per game.^[7]

4 homeruns

• Nick Ward
• Omar Hernandez

3 homeruns

• Martin Červenka
• Harry Ford
• Juremi Profar

2 homeruns

• Drew Janssen
• Philip Smith
• Eric Sogard
• Vincent Ahrens
• Shamoy Christopher
• Kasey Caras
• Graeham Luttor
• Robel Garcia
• Ray-Patrick Didder
• Sicnarf Loopstok
• Dashenko Ricardo
• Engel Beltre
• Wander Encarnación
• Gabriel Lino
• Edgar Rondón
• Edison Valerio
• Noah Williamson

1 homerun

• Sammy Hackl
• Felix Zimmerle
• Benjamin Goffaux
• Antonio Horvatić
• Arnošt Dubový
• William Escala
• Matěj Menšík
• Ernesto Martinez
• David Grimes
• Shawn Larry
• Yannic Walther
• Panagiotis Dudanakis
• Ari Sechopoulos
• Ryan Lavarnway
• Robb Paller
• Benjamin Rosengard
• Federico Celli
• Rogear Bernadina
• Ademar Rifaela
• Andrés Angulo
• Leonard Bäckström
• Joel Johnson
• Tommy Lindell

Final standings

Rk	Team	W	L	Pct.	R	RA
	Spain	6	0	1.000	72	13
	Great Britain	5	1	.833	59	30
	Netherlands	5	1	.833	63	18
4	Germany	4	2	.667	46	23
5	Czech Republic	4	2	.667	41	23
6	Israel	3	3	.500	34	32
7	France	3	3	.500	32	27
8	Sweden	2	4	.333	32	51
9	Italy	4	2	.667	61	29
10	Croatia	3	3	.500	35	32
11	Belgium	2	4	.333	32	47
12	Switzerland	2	4	.333	28	53
13	Greece	3	3	.500	43	57
14	Ukraine^	1	5	.167	17	60
15	Austria^	1	5	.167	24	56
16	Hungary^	0	6	.000	33	97

^ - Relegated to B Pool European Qualifier

References

1. https://www.wbsceurope.org/en/events/2023-european-baseball-championship/schedule-and-results/box-score/115981
2. "Men's European Baseball Qualifiers by the view of WBSC Europe Baseball Commission". Retrieved 23 September 2023.
3. "European Baseball Championship Fields". Retrieved 23 September 2023.
4. "Tickets now on sale for the Baseball European Championship 2023 in Czech Republic". WBSC Europe. 2 March 2023.
5. "Eurobaseball 2023" (PDF). WBSC Europe. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
6. "2023 European Baseball Championship – Standings". Retrieved 23 September 2023.
7. "Stats". WBSC. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

External links

• Official website
• WBSC Europe tournament website