2012 European Championship starts on Friday in Netherlands

06/09/2012

The premier event in European Baseball, the 2012 European Championship, will start on Friday, September 7. The Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is the host of the tournament, which brings 12 teams to the Netherlands.

The premier event in European Baseball, the 2012 European Championship, will start on Friday, September 7. The Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is the host of the tournament, which brings 12 teams to the Netherlands.

Italy is the defending champion, having dispatched the Dutch team two years ago in the finals in Stuttgart, Germany. However the team of manager Brian Farley is coming fresh of the title at the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup in Panama and is eager to get back on the European throne in front of their fans in Rotterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht.

Teams are split into two pools of six teams apiece with the top three advancing to the second round. Another round robin will then determine the finalists for the Gold Medal Game. In Group A defending champion Italy, Spain, Greece, Russia, Sweden and Croatia battle for wins in the first round. In Group B host Netherlands takes on Germany, France, Great Britain, Czech Republic and Belgium.