Italy, Czech Republic junior national softball teams prepare together ahead of World Cup, European Championship

Italy, Czech Republic junior national softball teams prepare together ahead of World Cup, European Championship
29/08/2020
The 25-game Summer Softball Challenge was played outside Milan by the U-18 and U-15 national teams from the two European nations and four local clubs.

The junior women’s softball national teams from the Czech Republic visited Italy from 24-27 August to compete in a WBSC-sanctioned Summer Softball Challenge, a series a friendly games held outside Milan. The U-18 and U-15 national teams from both countries played each other, and competed against four local clubs Bollate, Caronno Pertusella, Legnano and Saronno.

Both the Czech Republic and Italy have qualified for the U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup 2021 in Lima, Peru. Originally scheduled from 23-30 August 2020, the event had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The exact dates of the tournament in 2021 are yet to be confirmed.

The U-18 Czech national team had an almost perfect road trip with nine wins in 10 games, including a 4-1 record in the head-to-head series against the U-18 Italian national team. Their only loss came on Monday by a score of 2-0. The Czech team the other four matches against Italian opposition by scores of 5-0, 3-0, 10-0 and 11-5.

The Czech Republic and Italy will also play in next year’s U-18 European Championship in Prague, Czech Republic, from 19-24 July. This is a qualifier for the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup 2022.

In addition, the U-15 series between Italy and the Czech Republic finished 2-1 for the host team. Italy opened with a 1-0 win on Tuesday, but the Czech Republic came back with a 2-1 decision a day later. The rubber match was played on Thursday, and Italy defeated the visiting team by a score of 6-2.

The U-18 Italian national team will be back on the field on 7 September in Bologna, with 28 selected players split into two teams to play some scrimmage games.