The Baseball Champions League Europe debuted Friday under the WBSC umbrella.
In the past, Europe held annual club tournaments known as the Champions Cup and European Cup. In 2024, WBSC Europe announced a new Champions Cup format featuring four teams playing home-and-away matchups. Only clubs from Germany and Czechia participated, while the two traditional European baseball powers, Italy and the Netherlands, did not compete.
This year marked the first time European clubs competed together under the WBSC banner in the Baseball Champions League Europe. Eight teams played across two locations, with groups hosted in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Regensburg, Germany.
In Rotterdam, Europe’s most dominant club, Curaçao Neptunus, continued its impressive run. Neptunus entered the tournament undefeated in Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse play and maintained that momentum against Nettuno 1945, the Tenerife Marlins and the Heidenheim Heideköpfe. The Dutch powerhouse outscored opponents 24-4 en route to a 3-0 record. In its final two games, Neptunus threw 18 consecutive shutout innings to clinch a spot in the Final Four, scheduled for Sept. 26-27.
Neptunus was led on the mound by former league pitcher JC Sulbaran, who has spent the last nine seasons in the Hoofdklasse along with stints in Mexico and independent baseball in the United States. Sulbaran started the club’s second game against defending German champion Heidenheim and delivered seven shutout innings with six strikeouts to secure Neptunus’ Final Four berth. Neptunus opened the tournament with a 15-4 rout of Tenerife before closing pool play with a 3-0 victory over Nettuno.
The second team to advance from Rotterdam was defending Spanish champion Tenerife Marlins. Tenerife has been Spain’s dominant club this century, winning the domestic league 16 times since 2000, including 10 of the past 13 titles.
After being overwhelmed by Neptunus on opening day, Tenerife showcased its offensive firepower. Outfielder Lesther Galvan and catcher Ian Peres spearheaded the attack as the top two hitters in the group. The pair combined for five home runs, 16 RBIs and 27 total bases. After defeating Nettuno 16-6, Tenerife needed a win over Heidenheim on the final day of pool play to secure a Final Four berth.
Heidenheim jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Tenerife responded in the fourth inning with a two-run homer from Galvan. In the sixth, Jesús Ustariz and Galvan each delivered RBI singles to give Tenerife the lead. Peres followed with a towering two-run homer to extend the advantage to 6-3. Tenerife then erupted for seven runs in the eighth inning to cap a stretch of 13 unanswered runs and secure a 13-3 victory in eight innings.
Niklas Rimmel, who currently plays in Germany, pitched seven innings while allowing three unearned runs and striking out five. The win clinched Tenerife’s spot in the Baseball Champions League Europe Final Four.
In Regensburg, Parma, the 2024 Serie A champion, entered the tournament as the favorite to win the group. Parma opened against Czech powerhouse Draci Brno. After falling behind 2-0, Parma stormed back with a five-run third inning highlighted by Ericson Leonora’s grand slam.
Parma added one run in the seventh and three more in the eighth before Robel García capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth to seal a dominant 12-2 victory.
Parma then faced the Oosterhout Twins in its second game. After García homered in the first inning, Parma added an RBI double in the fifth to take a 2-0 lead. The Twins cut the deficit to 2-1 in the sixth, but Parma answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly and a safety squeeze to extend the lead to 4-1. Geraldo Manuel added a two-run single in the seventh as Parma cruised to a 6-2 victory.
Matteo Bocchi earned the win after allowing one run over six innings while striking out eight. The victory clinched Parma a berth in the Baseball Champions League Europe Final Four.
While the hosts in Rotterdam cruised to a perfect record, the host Regensburg Legionäre faced a much different outcome. After suffering a surprising loss to the Oosterhout Twins in their opener, the Legionäre entered their matchup against Draci Brno needing a win to keep their Final Four hopes alive.
Regensburg jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning before Draci answered with three runs in the bottom half. After tying the game, Draci scored once in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a 6-4 lead. A three-run sixth inning proved decisive as catcher José Colina delivered a two-run homer to push the lead to 9-4.
The Legionäre attempted a comeback with a three-run seventh inning aided by a two-run homer from Domenic Rauwolf, but Draci Brno held on for an 11-7 victory. The loss eliminated Regensburg from contention while keeping Draci alive heading into the final day of pool play.
On the final day of round-robin action, one Final Four spot remained available. Draci Brno, the champion of Czechia, faced the Oosterhout Twins from the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse.
After the Twins scored first, Draci responded with four runs to take a 4-1 lead. Oosterhout later trimmed the deficit to 4-2 before Martin Pernička blasted a two-run homer in the fifth inning to help Draci regain control.
Leading 7-3 later in the game, Pernička struck again with his second home run of the afternoon to make it 9-3 and effectively put the game away.
Draci Brno closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth inning to clinch its place in the Baseball Champions League Europe Final Four this September.
No Czech club has ever won a European club competition featuring teams from Italy and the Netherlands. Draci Brno now sits two wins away from making history.
In the final game of round-robin play, Regensburg faced Parma despite already being eliminated. The Legionäre scored once in the top of the first inning, but Parma quickly responded with two runs in the bottom half and exploded for eight more in the second inning to build a commanding 10-1 lead. Noel González delivered the biggest blow with a grand slam.
Parma later added a three-run homer from Sebastiano Catellani and a solo shot from Manuel Geraldo during an 18-run unanswered stretch. Regensburg scored four runs in the seventh inning, but the deficit remained too large as the game ended after seven innings.
Former minor leaguer Naykel Cruz led Parma’s pitching staff with four innings of one-run baseball while the offense produced 19 hits in the victory. Regensburg surprisingly finished the tournament winless.
The next stage of the competition will be the Baseball Champions League Europe Final Four in September. Dutch powerhouse Curaçao Neptunus will face Czech champion Draci Brno on Sept. 26 with a berth in the championship game on the line. On the same day, Tenerife Marlins will face Parma in the other semifinal. The championship game is scheduled for Sept. 27, while the host site will be announced at a later date.
Photo: Curaçao Neptunus celebrating clinched berth in BCL Europe Final Four after being Heidenheim in front of home crowd. (Photo: WBSC)
