Photo: Paul Stodart
The Great Britain Baseball U23s secured their spot in the European Championship semifinal on Thursday, 7 August with a 4-3 win over France in Třebíč. The victory secures GBR’s spot as the B2 team in Pool play and means that Great Britain will contend for a medal for the second consecutive U23 European Championship.
Zac Sohosky (1-0) got the start and had his best stuff early. Working around a leadoff single in the first, Sohosky then struck out 5 of the next 6 batters, all swinging. GBR, meanwhile, would get on the board in the second after being held scoreless in Wednesday’s game. An RBI single by GBR Captain Jake Lambdin scored Andrew Johnston and Cole Leclair to give GBR the 2-0 lead in the second.
Sohosky continued to cruise in the third, and Great Britain would add to their score. Tucker Stockman singled, reached second on Quinn Allen’s sacrifice bunt, moved to third on Jackson Kraemer’s single and scored on a wild pitch to make the game 3-0.
Sohosky continued to deal through the fifth, racking up 11 strikeouts and 12 on the day, before pinch hitter Dorian Bouniol led off the sixth inning for the second French hit of the game. The French side would not go quietly, however, and pushed two runs across to bring the game within one.
Charlie Collins would provide insurance for GBR in the bottom of the sixth, with a long single to score Johnston, and Manager Jonathan Cramman called on Alistair Morin to close out the contest. An error by the GBR infield allowed the third French run to cross the plate with two down in the inning, but Morin’s spectacular defensive play at first stranded the tying run aboard and secured the GBR win.
Lambdin led the GBR offense with a pair of runs batted in, while Sohosky and Morin combined for 14 French strikeouts in seven innings of work. Sohosky’s performance puts him in the lead for tournament strikeouts with 12.
With the win, Great Britain advances to the semifinals, with the remainder of today’s contests determining their opponent tomorrow at 13:30 CET/12:30 BST in Třebíč. The 2025 WBSC U23 European Baseball Championships can be watched on BaseballEurope.TV.
For the latest news and notes from GB Baseball at the 2025 U23 European Baseball Championships and more, make sure to follow Great Britain Baseball on Facebook, gb_baseball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, TikTok at @gbbaseball, and on the British Baseball Federation Website, britishbaseball.org.uk.