The 2024 Baseball European Cup ended on Sunday, June 9 with the Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz beat the Olimpija Karlovac 11-1 in seven innings via the mercy rule in the gold medal game.
The Astros Valencia won the bronze medal, beating the Montpellier Barracudas 8-1 on Sunday afternoon.
The Deurne Spartans won 6-5 over the Diving Ducks in the Relegation Round in 11 innings on Sunday.
All the games at the 2024 BEC were played at Camp Municipal de Beisbol i Sofbol de València in Valencia, Spain from June 4-9.
The Astros Valencia of the Division de Honor operated from the Real Federación Española de Béisbol y Sófbol, the Deurne Spartans of Division I operated by the Koninklijke Belgische Base en Softball Federatie, the Montpellier Barracudas of Division I operated by the Fédération Française de Baseball & Softball, and the Vienna Metrostars of the Bundesliga operated from the Austrian Baseball and Softball Federation participated in Group A of the 2024 BEC.
The Olimpija Karlovac of the Croatian Baseball Association, the Diving Ducks of the Bundesliga operated from the Austrian Baseball and Softball Federation, the Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz of the Division de Honor operated from the Real Federación Española de Béisbol y Sófbol, and the Les Cougars Montigny of Division I operated by the Fédération Française de Baseball & Softball all played in Group B. The Croatian Baseball Association is also referred to as the Hrvatski Baseball Savez.
Gold Medal Game – Olimpija Karlovac (CRO) 1, Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz (ESP) 11 F/7
The Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz won the gold medal at the 2024 Baseball European Cup 11-1 over the Olimpija Karlovac in seven innings via the mercy rule.
Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz starting pitcher Elio Silva threw six innings, allowing five hits, one earned run, and six strikeouts.
The Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz offense slammed 15 hits against the Olimpija Karlovac pitching staff, and scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on Sunday.
Marlins shortstop Edison Valerio helped get the first run of the game with an RBI single to right field, scoring third baseman Leomartires Rodriguez.
Valerio had two hits, one RBI, one walk, and scored twice in his two at-bats on Sunday.
Olimpija Karlovac right fielder Kruno Gojkovic had the only run of the game with a solo home run in the top of the third inning and ended the day with two hits, one RBI, and scoring one run in his three at-bats.
Marlins first baseman Richard Montiel had one hit, one RBI, and scored once in his four at-bats.
Marlins catcher Joel Borges led the team with three hits on Sunday and had four RBI, one walk, and scored once in his three at-bats.
Marlins designated hitter Ricardo Mendoza rocked a solo home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the seventh inning to punctuate the final run of the game and conclude the mercy rule winning 11-1 in the gold medal game over the Olimpija Karlovac
Mendoza in his four at-bats had one hit, scored one run, one RBI, and two strikeouts on Sunday.
Marlins relief pitcher Jose Montilla retired the side in order 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh inning with three ground ball outs from Jorman Javier Alcala Quijije, Duje Papic, and Daniel Alexandro De Freitas Guanipa.
The Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz are in first place of the Division de Honor with a record of 19-1 and will play Sant Boi on June 15 at 9 a.m. EDT to resume the regular season.
The Olimpija Karlovac will play the Medvednica Zagreb on June 15 in their first game back in the 2024 Hrtvatski Baseball Savez regular season at 9 a.m. EST.
Bronze Medal Game – Montpellier Barracudas (FRA) 1, Astros Valencia (ESP) 8
The Astros Valencia won the Bronze Medal at the 2024 BEC on Sunday and beat the Montpellier Barracudas 8-1 behind starting pitcher Yosbany Torres, throwing nine innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, and eight strikeouts.
The Montpellier Barracudas pitching staff used six relief pitchers on Sunday outside of starting pitcher Corentin Deleau throwing one inning, allowing five hits, and three earned runs.
The Montpellier Barracudas relief pitchers threw seven innings, allowing four hits, three earned runs, eight walks, and five strikeouts.
Montpellier Barracudas center fielder Paolo Brossier had a solo home run in the top of the first inning over the right field wall and finished the day with one hit, one RBI, and scoring one run in his four at-bats.
Astros Valencia first baseman Tanner Donnels roped a two-run double to center field, scoring second baseman Emmanuel Febles and shortstop Edgar Rodriguez to capture a 2-1 lead.
Donnels had two hits, two RBI, one walk, and scored three runs in his three at-bats.
Astros Valencia right fielder Exicardo Cayones rocked an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, scoring Donnels to extend the lead to 3-1.
Cayones in his four at-bats had two hits, one RBI, one walk, and one strikeouts on Sunday.
Astros center fielder Roibert Decena launched an RBI double to left-center field, scoring Donnels in the bottom of the fourth inning. Decena had one hit, one RBI, two strikeouts, and scored one run in his four at-bats.
Febles had an RBI single to center field in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring third baseman Luis Galicia.
Febles in his four at-bats had two hits, one RBI, one walk, and scored one run on Sunday.
The Astros Valencia will play Barcelona on June 15 at 6 a.m. EDT in the Division de Honor regular season.
The Montpellier Barracudas will play La Rochelle on June 23 at 5 a.m. EDT in their first game back in the Division I regular season.
Relegation Round – Diving Ducks (AUT) 5, Deurne Spartans (BEL) 6 F/11
The Deurne Spartans won 6-5 in 11 innings on Sunday over the Diving Ducks with pinch hitter Mauro Van Mook reaching on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error from third baseman Clemens Raimann resulting in center fielder Daniel Bustamante coming in to score the winning run.
Deurne Spartans starting pitcher Anderson Denny Gerdel Nieto threw seven innings and allowed seven hits, two earned runs, and six strikeouts.
Deurne Spartans relief pitchers Viktor Vandervelden and Edgardo Jose Nieto Castillo each threw four innings and allowed two hits, one earned run, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Diving Ducks starting pitcher Vitus Gneist threw three innings, allowing two hits, and three strikeouts.
Deurne Spartans middle infielder Alexis Marquez in his five at-bats had two hits, two RBI, and one strikeout on Sunday, which included an RBI double to right-center field, scoring Frank Alejandro Prieto Burgos in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Deurne Spartans first baseman Brian Valdez Lazil had an RBI infield single to third base in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring Bustamante in the bottom of the sixth inning. Lazil in his five at-bats had one hit, one RBI, and two strikeouts on Sunday.
Diving Ducks infielder Clemens Raimann had a two-run double in the top of the 11th inning, scoring catcher Henry Leabourn and center fielder Felix Astner during his lone at-bat on Sunday.
The Deurne Spartans will resume their Division I regular season on June 15 against the Merchtem Cats at 6:30 a.m. EDT.
The Diving Ducks of the Bundelisga will play Schwechat on June 22 at 7 a.m. EDT, when they resume their regular season.
2024 BEC Pool Round Schedule
All Game Start Times Are Listed in Eastern Standard Time
LG – Loser Game
WG – Winner Game
Tuesday, June 4
Group B – Diving Ducks (AUT) 0, Les Cougars Montigny 4
Group A – Montpellier Barracudas (FRA) 14, Vienna Metrostars (AUT) 4 F/8
Group B – Olimpija Karlovac (CRO) 0, Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz (ESP) 11 F/7
Wednesday, June 5
Group A – (0-1) Deurne Spartans (BEL) 1, (2-0) Montpellier Barracudas 7 (FRA)
Group B – (2-0) Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz (ESP) 22, (0-2) Diving Ducks (AUT) 6 F/6
Group A – (0-2) Vienna Metrostars (AUT) 1, (1-0) Astros Valencia (ESP) 4
Thursday, June 6
Group B – (0-3) Diving Ducks (AUT) 4, (1-1) Olimpija Karlovac (CRO) 11
Group B – (3-0) Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz (ESP) 23, (1-1) Les Cougars Montigny (FRA) 2 F/5
Group A – (2-0) Astros Valencia (ESP) 19, (0-2) Deurne Spartans (BEL) 4 F/5
Friday, June 7
Group A – (0-3) Vienna Metrostars (AUT) 3, (1-2) Deurne Spartans (BEL) 13 F/7
Group B – (1-2) Les Cougars Montigny (FRA) 4, (2-1) Olimpija Karlovac (CRO) 5
Group A – (2-1) Montpellier Barracudas (FRA) 8, (3-0) Astros Valencia (ESP) 11
Saturday, June 8
Relegation Round – Vienna Metrostars (AUT) 14, Les Cougars Montigny (FRA) 3
Semifinal No. 1 – Montpellier Barracudas (FRA) 1, Tenerife Marlins Puerto Cruz (ESP) 17 F/6
Semifinal No. 2 – Olimpija Karlovac (CRO) 11, Astros Valencia (ESP) 6
