by MLB Europe

DAY 5 AND 6 RECAPS: 2015 MLB EUROPEAN ALL STARS FINISHES IN TOP TEN OF USA BASEBALL NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS EAST TOURNAMENT

With a 5-3 overall record, MLB Europe closed out its first ever appearance in the USA Baseball National Team Championships with a top ten finish. Overall, the team represented by eight different European countries outscored their opponents 44-13. The team pitching ERA was 0.98 for the tournament with 59 strikeouts in 8 games. The team batting average was .307. The team fielding percentage was .976, with the squad committing only 5 errors all tournament.

Batting leaders:

Boyd Tuhumury (Netherlands): .435 AVG, 7 RBIs, 5 runs scored.

Antonio Horvatic (Croatia): .412 AVG, 3 runs scored

Menno Lenting (Netherlands): .400 AVG, 6 RBIs, 5 runs scored

Ruben Prins (Netherlands): .389 AVG, 3 RBIs, 5 runs scored

Oliver Van der Weijst Severino (Holland) .333 AVG, 3 RBIs, 5 runs scored

Fred Walter (France): .333 AVG, 4 RBIs, 5 runs scored

Max Draijer (Netherlands): .304 AVG, 4 RBIs, 6 runs scored

Pitching Leaders:

Michelle Pomponi (Italy): 12 innings, 0.00 ERA, 17 Ks, 1 BB

Timo Van Lingen (Netherlands): 7 innings , 1.00 ERA, 4 Ks, 3 walks

Sascha Koch (Germany): 6 innings, 2.33 ERA, 13 Ks, 4 walks

Complete Stats at Gamechanger

GAME 6: POMPONI LEADS EUROPEAN ALL STARS WITH COMPLETE GAME SHUT OUT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7` R H E MPI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 EU 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 0

The European U18 All Star team shut out MPi 16U to reach the round of 16 after a brilliant pitching performance from Michelle Pomponi of Italy.

Pomponi went the distance and struck out 10 batters. He only allowed one walk in the contest. He threw 18 first pitch strikes to quiet the MPi bats, as the defense made zero errors behind him.

On offense, Ruben Prins’ double in the 2nd that scored Menno Lenting was the only run scored. Prins collected two hits on the day. Oliver Van der Weijst Severino, Boyd Tuhumury, Bor Starc and Lenting had the other hits for the MLB All Stars.

GAME 7: EU ALL STARS BOUNCED FROM MEDAL ROUNDS 5-2 TO JG BASEBALL OF CALIFORNIA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7` R H E EU 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 JG 1 0 1 0 0 3 - 5 6 0

The European U18 All Star team fell short of their bid to reach the quarterfinals with a 5-2 loss at the hands of JG Baseball of California.

The game was tied into the 6th, when JG scored 3 runs on a miscue in the outfield by MLB Europe.

Sascha Koch of Germany got the start and went two innings, striking out four. He was relieved by Daniel Mendelsohn, who helped Koch get out of a jam in the third inning. Mendelsohn struck out two in the frame. Diego Fabiani pitched the final 3.1 inning for MLB Europe, striking out three and talking two.

On offense, Oliver Van der Weijst Severino, Ruben Prins, Antonio Horvatic and Julian Rip each had a hit. Prins and Rip scored the team’s only two runs in the contest.

GAME 8: EUROPEAN ALL STARS DOMINATE PREMIER BASEBALL OF GEORGIA IN 10-0 MERCY RULE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7` R H E PG 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 2 EU 4 2 2 1 0 1 - 10 13 0

The European U18 All Star closed out the USA National Championships with a dominating 10-0 performance over Premier Baseball of Georgia. The win secured a 5-3 overall record and a top ten finish in the tournament.

MLB Europe used five pitchers in the contest with Marius Balandis of Lithuania getting the start. Balandis struck out four. Antoine Villard, Claudio Scotti, Jan Nebenfuhr and Antonio Horvatic each pitched an inning and only allowed a combined 2 hits.

On offense, Antonio Horvatic and Fred Walter paced the attack with three hits apiece. Filip Claus, Menno Lenting and Cesare Astorri each had two hits in the victory.

More information on the tournament and links to play-by-play action can be found here:

Photos by MLB Europe