Great Britain Wins Silver Medal At 2023 European Baseball Championship; Third Medal In Programme History

Great Britain Baseball raises the second place trophy at the 2023 European Baseball Championship (WBSC Europe)

Great Britain Baseball won silver at the 2023 European Baseball Championships on Sunday, 1 October, as GB was defeated by Spain by a score of 11-2 at MBS Brno in Czechia in the Championship Final. It is the third time in programme history that Great Britain has taken home silver, with the most recent coming in 2007. It is also the second silver medal for the Great Britain Baseball Programme in 2023, with the U-23 team also collecting silver at the U-23 European Championships in Austria this August. 

Entering the Championship Final, both Great Britain and Spain were undefeated at the 2023 Tournament, with Great Britain notching victories over Sweden, Hungary, and, for the first time, Italy in Pool B, before defeating host Czechia in the quarterfinals and Germany in the semifinal. Spain, meanwhile, defeated Greece, Austria and Czechia in Pool A, followed by a quarterfinal victory over Sweden and a semifinal come-from-behind victory over defending champions The Netherlands.

While Spain and Great Britain had not played in the European Championships since 2010, a 5-1 decision to GB, the two teams met last year in Regensburg, Germany in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier, with Great Britain overcoming an 8-3 deficit to win 10-9 and qualify for the programme’s first-ever World Baseball Classic, played in March 2023. 

Austin Hassani (1-1) got his second start of the tournament for Great Britain, and former Texas Ranger Engel Beltre greeted him with a leadoff double. After a fly out to Ray Mercer in centre, Edison Valerio cracked an RBI single to give Spain an early lead. The next batter, Jesus Ustariz, doubled past the dive of Michael Flaherty at third base, and after a groundout to Flaherty, Andres Angulo doubled him home. A fourth double in the inning from Daniel Jimenez scored Angulo, and Wander Encarnacion’s flair to shallow right added a fifth. Great Britain trailed 5-0 before their first at-bat. 

Nick Ward celebrates after his first inning home run - his fourth home run of the championships (WBSC Europe)

Nick Ward would answer. The British shortstop and Philadelphia Phillies prospect launched the first pitch he saw from Spanish starter Pablo Guillen (2-0) into the Czech night and Great Britain was on the board.

Manager Drew Spencer, managing his second European Championship final of the year after the U23 Europeans, made the call to the bullpen, and Chris Messer entered in relief. Messer would work around a single by Beltre, getting a key double play ball, and a walk, and kept Spain off the board in the second. 

Both sides would trade scoreless frames until the bottom of the fourth. Walks to Ward and Ben Leid, and an inside pitch that hit Aaron Singh on the wrist loaded the bases with no outs. Kennard Dawson, the British Virgin Islands outfielder and the fan-voted MVP of the semifinal against Germany, worked an 11 pitch at-bat before sending a fly ball to left field, deep enough for Ward to scurry home for Great Britain’s second run. That would end the scoring for Great Britain however, and after four full innings, the score was 5-2 Spain.

Chris Messer delivers a pitch during the 2023 European Baseball Championship Final (WBSC Europe)

Messer continued to deal through the fifth before giving way to veteran Jake Esch in the sixth. Jimenez led off the inning with a single, and Encarnacion sent a ball over the right field wall to extend Spain’s lead. After Edgar Rondon singled to left, Beltre hit the second two-run homer of the inning to chase Esch, and Demoi Hodge entered in relief, retiring the side.

Great Britain would go down in order in the sixth, and Spencer would turn to Joseph King in the seventh. The flamethrowing St. Louis Cardinals prospect retired the side in order, striking out two, to send the game to the bottom of the inning. Great Britian were again retired in order, and the game moved to the eighth. 

King returned to the mound and was backed up by his teammates with Ray Mercer tracking down a long fly ball from Gabriel Lino on the warning track. After a Rondon strikeout, another long fly ball was hauled in by Dawson in left, and Great Britain would bat in the eighth. 

Spain’s pitching held Great Britain to one hit through the first seven frames, but a one-out single for Jake Lambdin off reliever Carlos Alvarez gave GB life. Alvarez, however, would come back to get both Harry Ford and Ward to strike out, stranding Lambdin and sending the game to the ninth.

King got the first two outs in the 9th quickly, but an error by Nateshon Thomas, who pinch-hit for Flaherty in the seventh, extended the inning, and Spain would capitalise. A single by Anguelo and a double for Jimenez added two runs for Spain, giving them an 11-2 lead in the ninth. A leadoff single and stolen base by Leid gave Great Britain a runner in scoring position, but pinch hitter Jackson Pritchard struck out and Dawson grounded to first before Rhiner Cruz struck out Thomas to clinch the title.  

This is the third time that Great Britain has played in the European Championship Final, and their third silver medal, previously winning silver in 1967 and 2007. It was the first time since 1967 that neither Italy nor The Netherlands have participated in the Championship Final. The European Baseball Championship have been won by four different nations since its inception in 1954 –The Netherlands (24), Italy (10), Spain (2) and Belgium (1). Spain’s win is the first over a Great Britain Senior team in competition since 2001, and the first loss on European soil for the GB side since 2021. 

Both the Great Britain Baseball Senior National Team and the Great Britain Women’s Senior National Fastpitch Team now hold European Silver Medals in their respective sports, with the GB Softball team’s silver coming at the 2022 European Softball Championships in Sant Boi, Spain. The next edition of the European Baseball Championships will take place in 2025, with Israel hosting for the first time.

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