Netherlands tops Italy to win U-18 European Championship, both advance to WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup
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<p>The Netherlands beat host Italy, 6-2, in the final of the <strong><a href="https://www.wbsceurope.org/en/events/2021-u-18-european-baseball-championship/schedule-and-results" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="2021 U-18 European Baseball Championship (opens in a new tab)">2021 U-18 European Baseball Championship </a></strong>in Macerata. Both the Netherlands and Italy -- as the European champion and runner-up -- have qualified for the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup.</p>
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<p>The U-18 European final was locked at 1-1 after six innings. In the top of the seventh, the Dutch got to Italian reliever Edoardo Zingarelli and opened the score with five runs on four hits. Jesse Velders hit a two-RBI double, and Sem Kuijper hit a two-out and three-RBI double.</p>
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<p>Reliever Stij Van der Schaaf earned the win for the Netherlands, going 4.1 innings and allowing only one run in the bottom of the seventh.</p>
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<p>In the bronze medal game, Germany beat Spain, 10-0.</p>
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<p>The WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup is scheduled from 10 to 19 September in Bradenton, Florida.</p>
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<p>Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan were the first teams to be awarded the right to participate in the 2021 WBSC Baseball World Cup, as the U-18 Asian Championship was cancelled.</p>
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<p><a href="https://u18bwc.wbsc.org/en/2021"><img src="https://static.wbsc.org/assets/cms/shares/U-18_Baseball_World_Cup.JPG" alt="U-18 Baseball World Cup" width="100%" height="auto"></a></p>
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