Great Britain Defeats Czechia 12-2; Advances To 2023 European Baseball Championship Semi Finals

Box Score

BRNO, CZECHIA – Great Britain advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 European Baseball Championships on Thursday, 28 September with a 12-2 eight inning run rule victory over host nation Czechia. With the win, Great Britain clinches a top 4 finish for the first time since 2007 and will play Germany tomorrow with a trip to the Championship Final on the line. 

Jake Esch got the start for Great Britain and kept Czechia off the board through the first two frames, while Great Britain was held scoreless by Czech starter Martin Schneider. In the third inning, Czechia would open the scoring, as Eric Sogard gave the visitors and hosts a two-run lead on a home run to left. 

Yet again, Great Britain would come from behind. Kennard Dawson led off the inning with a double, and advanced to third on Ray Mercer’s single. With two aboard, Jake Lambdin, making his first start in place of Julian Sanders, would loft a sacrifice fly to left for Great Britain’s first run of the game. Mercer then stole second, and advanced to third on an error, before Harry Ford’s sacrifice fly tied the game at two. Nick Ward then came to bat, and promptly launched his third home run in as many games to give GB their first lead, 3-2. 

Esch would get a second double play ball in the fourth but ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing a pair of one out singles. With two runners aboard, manager Drew Spencer made the call to the bullpen, and Joseph King (1-0) entered, promptly inducing a fielder’s choice and a fly out to end the threat. 

Great Britain's Shamoy Christopher rounds the bases after his first home run of the game (WBSC Europe)

Great Britain would extend their lead in the fifth. Lambdin reached on an error with one out, and Ford followed up with a single. The red-hot Ward then struck for a two-run double, and Great Britain’s lead was three. After Aaron Singh was retired, Ben Leid singled to left, scoring Ward, and chasing Schneider from the game. With new pitcher Jeffery Barto in the game, Shamoy Christopher took the second pitch he tossed and deposited deep over the left field wall for a two-run homer, and Great Britain led 8-2.

King would continue to dominate, scattering three hits and racking up five strikeouts across 3.2 scoreless innings of work, while the Great Britain offense continued to fire on all cylinders. Christopher would go deep for the second time to lead off the eighth inning, and GB rallied again. Mercer would double, scoring on Lambdin’s single, before Ford launched a two-run walk-off home run deep into the Brno night to finish the game by run rule. 

Joseph King throws a pitch during Great Britain's quarterfinal win over Czechia (WBSC Europe)

Through four games of the European Baseball Championships, Harry Ford leads three separate offensive categories - batting average (.643), runs batted in (12) and stolen bases (5), along with three home runs, tied with teammate Nick Ward for second in the Euros. Meanwhile, King’s 10 strikeouts are good for 3rd in the tournament.

With the victory, Great Britain clinches their best finish since 2007, when they won European silver for the second time in team history. It is the first time that Great Britain has advanced to the semifinals under the current tournament format. 

Great Britain will face Germany tomorrow, 29 September at MBS Brno with the winner advancing to the European Championship Final against the winner of Spain vs. The Netherland. First pitch is set for 12:00 CEST/11:00 BST.

The 2023 European Baseball Championships can be watched on Staylive, WBSC Europe’s newly announced streaming partner for the contest, at BaseballEurope.TV. GB fans can get a 10% discount on the tournament streaming package by using the code GREATBRITAIN10 at checkout.

For the latest news and notes from GB Baseball at the 2023 European Baseball Championships and more, make sure to follow Great Britain Baseball on Facebook, and gb_baseball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.

- #LetsGoGB –

Harry Ford celebrates after hitting his walk-off home run (WBSC Europe)