Spain and the Netherlands have reached the final of the European Championship, while Italy and the Czech Republic will play for third place. The relegated teams are Ireland and Lithuania.
The first semi-final was very dramatic, and Spain's victory was decided by the 7th inning overtime. Italy entered the game with a one-run lead, but lost it in the top of the inning after a home run by Marco Rodriguez. That was the impetus for Italy's coach to replace starter Taschini. But his replacement, Zingarelli, was not as dominant as the Italian team had hoped, and a two-run shot by Pablo Costales sent Spain to the finals.
The second semi-final between the Czech Republic and the Netherlands took a very different course. The defending champion took on the home team without respect. In the very first inning, they went into the pitching and defense of the Czech players without respect and the result was 7 points on their side. The Czechs were unable to respond adequately and the Dutch team was able to enjoy their advancement to the finals after winning 8:2.
In the group for 5th-8th place, Germany won 3-0 against Great Britain and will play for the final 5th place. But surely this is a weak patch for this team after last year's bronze.
France was down 0:2 to Israel, but in the end they beat their opponents 6:3, even though Israel hit more shots. Mathis Nayral pitched a complete game with eight strikeouts. France will face Germany.
Ireland lost their hopes of getting their first win in the game against Austria in the 5th inning, receiving a total of 7 runs. Austria eventually won by 12:2 and will play for the final 9th place.
The game between Lithuania and Belgium unfortunately had to be decided from the table. Lithuania was winless so far in the tournament, but they played an even game with Belgium and even took the lead. Unfortunately, there was then a mistake by the Lithuanian management who did not keep track of the number of pitches the starting pitcher was throwing. For violation of this rule the game was then called in favor of Belgium. Lithuania is therefore relegated and will play Ireland for the final 11th place.
