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Over the last 2 days the first ever Baseball5 European Cup was held in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The event began on July 25, with a packed day of 30 opening round matches, followed by the final stage on July 26, culminating in the Championship and Bronze Medal Game.
With 11 club teams representing nine different countries, the event gave fans two days of intense action, quick transitions, and explosive energy that proved the future of Baseball5 is in great hands across Europe.
Following the live group draw on June 17, the teams were been divided into two competitive groups:
Group A
Group B
The final stage unfolded yesterday, where the tournament transitioned into 14 best-of-three series, including quarterfinals, semifinals, and the two medal matches. The Championship Game took place between BK Vilnius from Lithuania and EGO SK from Turkey. BK one the first two sets to end the best of 3 round early. The first game saw BK Vilnius defeat EGO SK 12-0 with a big first inning bringing in 6 RBIs, the team was fired up and ready to take on the rest of the game. Another 6 RBIs came shortly after to end the first set. In the second EGO SK brought the game much closer only losing by 1 run. Nomeda Neverauskaite brought the winning run across the plate thanks to the teams third RBI.
In the Bronze medal game the Thiais Tigers from France beat CB Barcelona 2-0. In the first set the competition went back and forth with both games bringing energy and passion to the diamond. France scored first with 2RBIs from Alejandro José and Leonardo Yuque. Spain answered with 2 RBIs of their own from Abel Cuza and Nahya Nguyen-Armengaud. The game went in a run for run fashion as the Tigers only just clutched their win in the top of the sixth with an RBI single from Omar Diodene Pacheco. In the second set it was another cut throat game with the Tigers winning by only 1 run in a much closer 2-3 game. Léo Nontanovahn and Shirley Patin both had RBIs to start off the game for France. CB Barcelona brought in some runs of their own with a 2RBI single from Cailing Carolina Peña Serradas. However, France’s Leo struck again bringing in an RBI to win the bronze for Thiais Tigers.
The final standings from 1st to 11th place were determined by each team’s performance across both stages.
The final standings were as follows:
The creation of the Baseball5 European Cup is a direct result of WBSC Europe’s strategic development efforts to support new formats and increase participation at the grassroots and club level. Following the successful introduction of youth and national team competitions, this new event fills a key gap in the Baseball5 pathway — giving clubs the opportunity to compete internationally.
The event is organized by WBSC Europe, hosted locally by Akademiks Baseball Softball Club, with support from the Bulgarian Baseball and Softball Federation and Sofia – European Capital of Sport Foundation.
The game’s motto, #PlayEverywhere, came to life after the tournament was held outdoors, in the square in front of Sofia’s National Palace of Culture (NDK) — a vibrant urban backdrop fitting the spirit of the sport.
Where to follow
All the games were streamed live through Baseballeurope.tv, while the live play by play is always available through the WBSC Europe website. The full tournament pass for the live streaming is €19.99, while single game access is €5.99.
For more information, including the full schedule and live updates, visit the official WBSC Europe Event Page.
