The Italian national team has defended its title at the 2012 European Championship. The Squadra Azzurri defeated IBAF Baseball World Cup winner Netherlands 8-3 in the Gold Medal Game on Sunday afternoon in Rotterdam to claim the championship. The team of head coach Marco Mazzieri won the title with an undefeated 9-0 record, beating the Dutch host twice in the process.
While the second-round matchup between the two European Baseball powerhouses was decided by a walk-off RBI single of Mattia Reginato in the bottom of the ninth, the championship game featured little drama after Italy scored eight runs combined in the third and fourth en route to an 8-3 victory. MVP Lorenzo Avagnina crowned his tournament performance with a four-hit day and pitchers John Mariotti, Chris Cooper, Marco Grifantini and Nicholas Pugliese held the Dutch bats to six hits in nine innings.
Spain claimed the bronze medal at the 2012 European Championship, defeating Germany in the decisive second-round matchup on Saturday by a score of 8-6. The Czech Republic and Sweden completed the top six of the final standings.
Final Standings:
1.) Italy
2.) Netherlands
3.) Spain
4.) Germany
5.) Czech Republic
6.) Sweden
7.) Greece
8.) France
9.) Belgium
10.) Croatia
11.) Great Britain
12.) Russia
Individual Awards:
Leading Batter: Paco Figueroa (Spain)
Pitcher Best ERA: Luca Panerati (Italy)
Pitcher Best W/L Average: Luca Panerati (Italy)
Most Runs Batted In: Dewis Navarro (Spain)
Most Home Runs: Kai Gronauer (Germany)
Most Stolen Bases: Kalian Sams (Netherlands)
Most Runs Scored: Paco Figueroa (Spain)
Outstanding Defensive Player: Nick Urbanus (Netherlands)
Most Valuable Player: Lorenzo Avagnina (Italy)
