After suffering 1-0 and 2-1 losses to Romania in the best-of-three battle for fifth place at the U17 European Baseball5 Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria on Saturday, November 19, 2022, Team Italy manager Maurizio Balla remained optimistic that his squad's sixth-place finish in its international competition debut was a positive experience. He said, "The team played two excellent games against Romania on defense, but we came up short on offense. The overall experience is still positive. We will need to work for the future."
Team Italy qualified for the U17 European Baseball5 Championship quarterfinals and then lost France 2-0. The Italians bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Belgium to earn the right to battle Romania in the placement round. Team Italy manager Maurizio Balla concluded, "We have a good foundation now, but there is still a lot to work to do with our serve. We will meet again at the CONX convention in Rimini to deliver a presentation on Baseball5. Everyone on the squad played really well and represented Team Italy for the first time with confidence. I think Filippo Sabatini was our offensive MVP, while Beatrice Deregibus was our best woman athlete during the competition."
Gold medal winner France defeated Turkey in the U17 European Baseball5 Championship final, while Lithuania beat Czech Republic in the battle for the bronze on Saturday, November 19, 2022.
Congratulations to Team Italy manager Maurizio Balla, coach Paolo Vannini, delegation manager Isabella Dalbesio and players Beatrice Deregibus, Chiara Pecorelli, Filippo Sabatini, Riccardo Sana, Alessandro Micheli, Giada Cardani, Arianna Ponzi and Iacopo Cavedon. Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
U17 European Baseball5 Championship Results
U17 European Baseball5 Championship Final Standings
