London Mets bow out of Baseball European Federation Cup with a victory

Reigning British National Baseball League champions London Mets defeated Zürich Barracudas in Switzerland for their first victory of the 2024 WBSC Baseball European Federation Cup.

The Mets bounced back from a poor run of three consecutive defeats with victory in their final round-robin matchup.

Despite their victory, the Londoners failed to qualify for the finals as one of the two best-ranked teams in the first stage.

After finishing joint-third in the group with their Swiss opponents and Ireland’s Mariners, the Mets bowed out of the tournament with one win and three losses.

“Despite an overall dissapointing finish in the tournament, we finished strong with a good team win against Zurich. The bats showed up when we needed them, and we applied pressure in all facets of the game.

“We came in with high expectations, and unfortunately didn’t play to our full potential. However, we are still confident we belong at this level and will continue working to prove that in future tournaments,” said Mets pitcher Ryan McLaughlin.

Coming into the game, the Mets were the only team in the tournament without a win, and they quickly went about fixing that after scoring three runs in the first two innings thanks to the efforts of third baseman Jamie Dix.

Mets’ third baseman Jamie Dix contributed a two run single to help his team to victory

Picture : Jody Demay-Davies

He capitalised on an error to score the game's opening run before hitting a single into right field to bring in Zach Stroman and Jordan Edmonds.

The Barracudas equalised at the top of the third inning before the London side re-took their three-run lead by the end of the fourth inning.

A late surge from Zürich in the ninth inning brought them within one run of their opponents after only one out thanks to a two-RBI single from designated hitter Alexander Bruce.

Mets pitcher Chris Messer kept his nerve on the mound to retire the last two batters with a flyout and a strikeout to win the match and complete the save.

The London Mets return to domestic competition on Sunday 23rd June with a two-game series against city rivals the London Capitals at Finsbury Park.

The European Federation Cup concludes on Saturday when unbeaten Belgian team Hoboken Pioneers face Rättviks BSK from Sweden for a spot in the next WBSC Baseball European Cup.

Match Report by Michael Thomas