Netherlands wins U-22 Women’s Softball European Championship

PARDUBICE, Czech Republic — The Netherlands are the new U-22 Women’s Softball European Champions after dominating the 34-game tournament. Russia, hoping to repeat their 2014 victory, was unable to match the strong Dutch, losing 8-0 to settle for silver. Czech Republic earns bronze with a 9-7 victory over Slovakia.

The Netherlands entered the final game with an undefeated record to face the defending champions, Russia. After a slow start, the Dutch blew the game open in the second scoring six runs. They continued their assault, adding two additional unanswered runs in the fourth to earn the title of U-22 European Champions.

Czech Republic and Slovakia met earlier for the bronze medal game. The Czechs, confident they had secured the victory with a 6-0 lead, made several errors allowing Slovakia to tie the game 6-6 in the bottom of the 6th inning. The game was forced into extra innings where the Czech Republic scored three runs and the eventual 9-7 victory.

Final Standings:

Gold: Netherlands
Silver: Russia
Bronze: Czech Republic
4th: Slovakia
5th: Poland
6th: Greece
7th: Ukraine
8th: Lithuania

Final stats can be viewed here.

Watch the final two days of the tournament here, compliments of Playo.tv.