The Czech Republic welcomes the Senior European Baseball Championship for the third time after presenting the international competition in 2005 and co-hosting the Euros with Germany in 2014. Team Italy hopes to dethrone four-time defending champion the Netherlands and recapture the Euro championship after an elusive 11-year absence. The Italians have won the European title 10 times, while the Dutch have dominated the tournament with 24 gold medal finishes. Most recently, Team Italy placed third when hosting the 2021 European Baseball Championship in Piemonte.
A total of 16 countries are competing in the 2023 European Baseball Championship. Host Czech Republic along with Spain, Austria and Greece make up Group A. Team Italy is in Group B with Hungary, Sweden and Great Britain. The Netherlands, France, Ukraine and Croatia battle in Group C. Newcomer Switzerland faces Germany, Israel and Belgium in Group D. The two top finishers of each group advance to the quarterfinals.
The Team Italy Group B schedule is as follows:
Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 11 am (local time): Hungary-Italy in Trebic
Monday, September 25, 2023 at 5:30 pm (local time): Italy-Sweden in Trebic
Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at 5:30 pm (local time): Great Britain-Italy in Trebic
If Team Italy wins Group B, the Italians advance to the quarterfinals in Brno.
The top seed from Group B will play the second seed from Group A (Austria, Czech Republic, Greece and Spain) in the quarterfinal on Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 12 noon (local time).
The winner of the quarterfinal game will advance to the semifinal and play the winner of the game between the top seed in Group A and the second seed in Group B on Friday, September 29, 2023 at 6:30 pm (local time)
The winner of the semifinal game will move on to the final on Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 6:30 pm (local time) in Brno, while the loser will battle for the bronze medal game earlier in the day at 12 noon (local time). Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
2023 EUROPEAN BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
