myworldofbaseball

Going to Europe and want to watch some baseball. Below is a list of adult tournaments in Europe you can check out to see the level of baseball played there. Hopefully I’ve identified the correct countries.

C.E.B Cup - Ostrava Czech Republic (June 5th - 9th)

Champions Cup - Rotterdam, Netherlands (June 6th - 10th)

Federations Cup - Brasschaat, Belgium (June 11-16)

Federations Cup Qualifier Pool 1 - Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria (June 12-17)

Federations Cup Qualifier Pool 2 - Rybnik, Poland (June 12-17)

Playoff European Championship A Pool - Wiener Neustadt, Austria (June 29th - July 1)

European Championship C Pool 1 - Ashbourne, Ireland (July 23-28)

European Championship C Pool 2 - Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine (July 23-28)

European Championship Qualifier u 23 - Bratislava, Slovakia (August 6 - 12)

Super 6 - Hoofddorp, Netherlands (September 18-23)

The six teams have been selected for Honkball. It will be played July 13-22 at Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem. Haarlem is one of those quiet, pleasant cities that have more bikes on the roads than automobiles. It also has canals, windmills, a town square and a baseball stadium. The stadium is just a couple miles from the town square. Myworld could not pick a better spot to relax in a tranquil setting and then spend your time at the ballpark.

The six teams participating in the tournament are:

Netherlands, Curacao, Italy, Taiwan, Cuba and Japan

After the last Honkball tournament there was some discussion to end the tournament. The crowds are loyal with fans waiting two hours inside the stadium waiting for the second game to be played. When you buy a ticket it is for the day, with the first game scheduled for 2 PM and the evening affair for 7 PM. There is a tented area and a stage for a band, so if the crowd is large enough a band could be made available to entertain those who wait the couple hours inside the stadium for the second game to start.

Despite the decent crowds the organizers were not able to collect enough revenue to continue the tournament. Lack of advertisers and sponsors are the large revenue generators for most tournaments. Another group has stepped in to hold the tournament. Hopefully they will be more successful in continuing the tournament every two years.

Elmer Reyes slugged a two run homer and Wilton Lopez quieted the Panamanian bats to give Nicaragua a 3-1 win in the Central American championships. The games were played at the newly built Dennis Martinez stadium.

El Salvador and Guatemala shared the bronze medal since rain prevented the bronze medal game from being played. Honduras finished fifth and Costa Rica was sixth.

The win by Nicaragua earns them a trip to Barranquilla, Colombia where they will play in the Central American and Caribbean championships in 2018. Teams competing in that event are Cuba, Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico and the host Colombians.

Japan beat Taiwan 6-1 to reclaim the Asia Baseball Championship, their 18th title. Korea secured the title in 2015. The third tiger Taiwan had to settle for a second place finish for the fourth consecutive tournament. Korea won the third place game over the Philippines 15-0.

With the wins Japan, Taiwan and Korea qualify for the Under 23 World Championships to be played in 2018. The Netherlands and Czech Republic are two other teams who have qualified. In late November the Pan American Confederation of Baseball Under 23 Championships will qualify five more countries. Those games will be played November 23 to December 3 in Panama City, Panama.

Taiwan had beaten Korea in pool play 3-2 while Japan cruised through their pool undefeated, beating Hong Kong 30-0 and Pakistan 13-1. China had to withdraw from the tournament dropping the number of teams in the pool to three.

Japan shutout out both Korea (3-0) and Taiwan (10-0) in the semi-final games but with only one loss Taiwan advanced to the championship while Korea, the defending champions had to settle for the third place game.

Mexico fought their way from the loser’s bracket but were done in by the brilliant pitching staff of Japan. The Southwest were able to overcome a brilliant pitching staff facing the Southeast and got a bit of revenge after an earlier loss.

Japan 5 Mexico 0

When Keitaro Miyahara led off the first inning for Japan with a homerun Mexico knew it would be tough to overcome. The Japan pitching staff had only given up one run in their first three games. When Japan tacked on three more in the inning the task became that much more difficult. Riku Goto was up to the task, pitching 5.2 innings of shutout ball, striking out 13 batters. The only event that drove him from the game was the pitch count. After the homerun by Miyahara Japan loaded the bases on a strikeout/wild pitch, an error and a walk. Yuya Nakajima drove in two runs with a single in the first inning and a double in the fifth.

For Japan and Kitasuna Little League this is their fifth Little League World Series Championship. They won the Little League World Series in 2001, 2012 and 2015 and finished second in 2007. They have also appeared in three of the last four Little League World Series, losing to Korea in the 2014 International championship. In 2015 Kitasuna Little League eliminated a team from Mexico to advance to the championship. They beat a team from the Mid-Atlantic to win the championship in 2015. They now appear again in the 2017 championship.

Southwest (Lufkin) 6 Southeast (North State) 5

The last time these two teams played Southeast won 2-1. One consolation for the Southwest is they had gotten the first hit and first run off the Southeast pitching staff in that game. On the mound for the Southeast was relative newcomer Carson Hardee, who had only pitched 1/3 of an inning. Matthew Matthijs and Chase Anderson were the primary pitchers for the Southeast, both combining in the back to back no hitters. Matthijs had reached his pitch limit for this game but was eligible for the championship. He had not allowed a hit in 9 innings and struck out 12 of the 13 Southwest hitters he faced in their 2-1 win. Chase Anderson had allowed just one hit in his 8.2 innings of work but was eligible to pitch in this game.

The Southeast jumped out to a 5-0 lead. JoeJoe Byrne and Bryce Jackson each drove in two runs. Carson Hardee held the Southwest to zero the first three innings. The chink in the armor began to be exposed in the fourth inning when Carson Wigley slugged a two run homer, following the two out single by Mark Requena. The fifth inning was filled with wild pitches and an error that saw two more runners cross the plate to make the score 5-4. Chase Anderson was called on in the fifth and was charged with one of the two runs in the inning.

The sixth saw Collin Ross lead off the inning with a hit by pitch. Mark Requena then shocked Williamsport with a two run homer to finish an amazing comeback win from a 5-0 deficit to give Lufkin a 6-5 lead. Facing the bottom of the Southeast order Chip Buchanan retired the side in order to secure the domestic championship.

For Lufkin this is their first appearance in the Little League World Series. They are not veterans of the event like Kitasuna. The championship match begins tomorrow. Japan has only given up one run in the four games they have played. Lufkin has seen that story before.

The Asian Baseball Championships will be held October 2 through 8 in New Taipei City, Taiwan. The teams competing in the event are Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. The tournament will serve as a qualifier for the Under 23 championships to be held in 2018.

Group A

Korea, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Taiwan

Group B

China, Hong Kong, Japan and Pakistan

All the teams that played today are 1-1. A loss means elimination. A win means one more day in Williamsport. The major leaguers have left for larger cities. The nosy nights of anticipation waiting to come fact to face with a major leaguer has been replaced by the intense desire to survive one more day to win the Little League World Series, which Todd Frazier is the only current major leaguer who can make claim to a championship.

Mexico 1 Asia Pacific (Korea) 0

This was an old fashioned pitchers duel. Jorge Garcia and Andre Garza combined to limit Korea to just one hit. Jorge Garcia went four innings, giving up the lone hit and walking three. Garza walked two but five of the six outs he recorded were by strikeouts. For Korea Ahn Ky-Um did not allow a hit but walked four in his 2.2 innings of work. In the third inning his two walks finished the day for him. Shin Jin-Won gave up the one hit, to Jorge Lambarria to plate the one run in the game to give Mexico the 1-0 victory and one more day of life.

Mid-Atlantic (Holbrook) 12 West (Santa Margarita) 9

Mid-Atlantic erupted for 9 runs in the third inning to take a 12-1 lead then hung on to complete the victory. R.J. Vashey went deep twice for Mid-Atlantic to drive in three runs. Charlie Meglio also went deep for Mid-Atlantic to drive in two. Drew Rutter drove in three runs with his two doubles in a losing cause for the West.

Latin America (Venezuela) 3 Caribbean (Dominican Republic) 2

The two countries with the most major leaguers outside the United States are always making claims that they have the best baseball talent. Venezuela proved to be the best on this day. Barely. They had to rally for two runs in the last inning to win the game. Omar Romero lined a one out walk off triple with two runners on base to win the game. The Dominicans could only manage one hit off the duo of Dario Cardozo and Jorge Daboin, but took advantage of the two passed balls to score both of their runs.

New England American (Fairfield) 14 Northwest (Walla Walla) 6

An 8 run fourth inning wiped out a 5-2 Northwest lead and was enough to give New England the victory. Michael Iannazzo was a perfect 3 for 3 with a homerun and three RBIs. Christian Smith also drove in three runs with his homerun. Matthew Vivona pitched a scoreless sixth inning to secure the victory for New England.

There was a combined perfect game on the second day of the Little League World Series. Japan appears to be the team to beat, based on what myworld sees from the results.

Japan 8 Australia 0

Japan cruised past the Aussies. Japan used four different pitchers to pitch the shutout, giving up only two hits. Combined the Japanese pitchers whiffed 10. The Japanese scored a run in all five innings they batted, with a four run fifth putting the game out of reach. Keitaro Miyahara led the offense with three hits. Five wild pitches and two errors resulted in four runs scoring for Japan.

West (Santa Margarita) 9 Northwest (Walla Walla Valley) 0

Bobby Gray was two outs away from pitching a complete game no hit shutout, but had to yield to Bryan Ramirez to get the last two outs after giving up a one out single. Joey Gray hit a grand slam in the first to give the West an early lead. He finished 2 for 2 with a walk and five RBIs. Drew Rutter crossed the plate three times.

Korea (Asia Pacific) 10 Dominican Republic (Caribbean) 1

Korea spanked the Dominicans, slugging four homeruns. Jin-Won Shin powered two homeruns, driving in four and scoring three times He also doubled. Ye-Joon Khym and Dong-Heon Kim also went deep. Khym went a perfect 3 for 3 and scored four runs.

South East (Greenville) 6 Midwest (Sioux Falls) 0

Three different pitchers, Chase Anderson, Matthew Matthijis and Carson Hardee combined for a perfect game no hitter. Anderson worked three innings, striking out four of the 10 whiffs on the day. Matthijis struck out five in his 2.2 innings of work. Drew Fields and Ashton Byars each drove in two runs to lead the Greenville offense.

The Little League World Series has completed their first day. Below are the results:

Latin America (Venezuela) 4 Mexico 1

Despite the chaos in Venezuela they were able to send a team to participate in the Little League World Series. Jonney Rosario pitched five innings, allowing just one run and striking out seven in the Venezuelan victory. Juan Faria contributed two RBI singles on a 2 for 3 day to contribute to the win. Andre Garza hit a solo homer for Mexico in the second inning to give them a brief 1-0 lead.

Canada 12 Europe/Africa (Italy) 2

Canada scored 7 in the third, a Chase Marshall grand slam the big hit of the inning. Chase finished the day with 5 RBIs after a solo shot. Robert Orr drove in three runs in a game that went only four innings. Ty Fluet had a perfect 3 for 3 day with three runs scored.

New England 7 Mid Atlantic 6

New England was able to withstand a four run sixth inning to hold off Mid-Atlantic. Tai Mann hit a two run homer in the sixth and Chris Cartnick made it back to back, but New England fell one run short. New England scored in every inning but the fifth, Matthew Vivona one of three players to drive in two runs for New England. He also scored twice.

Southwest 5 Great Lakes 1

Southwest went deep four times with Hunter Ditsworth driving in two with his blast. He also pitched a six inning, one run complete game, striking out eight to get the win. Collin Ross hit two solo shots and Clayton Wigley also added a solo shot. Ditsworth gave up two hits, one of them a solo shot from Will Pfaum in the final inning.

The Little League World Series is around the corner and most of the games have been played to determine the participants. Canada and some of the United States regions have championship games that will be played today to determine the Little League World Series representative.

International

The Asian Pacific Region was played in Korea. The two powers of that area Korea and Taiwan were placed in the same pool. South Korea blasted Taiwan 12-0 and eventually won the pool with Taiwan finishing second. Hong Kong was the winner of the other pool. In the playoffs the championship round found Taiwan playing Korea again. Korea wins 6-1 to advance to the Little League World Series.

Australia had 20 teams battle it out in four different pools. In the end Hills Little League played Swan Hills, two teams without a loss. Hills was the winner 8-4 and will represent Australia in the Little League World Series.

The finals for Canada will be played today between White Rock Little League in British Colombia and Diamond Baseball Little League in Quebec. White Rock is undefeated while Diamond Baseball has lost twice, to Port Arthur Little League in Ontario 9-4 and White Rock 6-5. Diamond Baseball got into the finals beating Port Arthur 8-5.

In the Caribbean tilt the Dominican Republic got upset by Aruba 6-2. That put them in second place in their pool where in the semi-final they had to play an undefeated Puerto Rican team. They downed Puerto Rico 5-4 and then got revenge by beating Aruba in the championship match 8-4 to advance to the Little League World Series.

In the European/Africa division there were no African teams represented in the series. Myworld has to wonder what happened to the feel good story of Uganda from a couple years ago. A number of European teams battled it out with Italy remaining the lone undefeated team with their 12-2 win over a United Kingdom team. The two teams had played earlier in pool play where Italy also won 11-2. A team of American military kids from Germany found the going tough finishing the series 1-2, failing to advance to the playoffs. The UK eliminated baseball powerhouses Netherlands, Spain and Czech Republic as they advanced to the finals. Since no African teams participated in this round the “European/Africa” name was a bit inaccurate.

Japan will be represented by Tokyo Kitasuna. They won the championship game 17-0 and breezed through their four opponents by scores of 53-6.

In the Latin American series it was Colombia Falcon versus Venezuela in the finals. Venezuela had beaten Colombia earlier in pool play 9-2. Colombia Falcon was able to upset a strong Panama team 4-3 to get to the finals. Panama had beaten Colombia Falcon earlier 3-0 and their only loss had been to Venezuela. Guatemala was a surprise to make the semifinals but Venezuela disposed of them 8-3 and then shutout Colombia Falcon 8-0 to make it to the Little League World Series.

Guadalupe Trevino rolled through their competition to represent Mexico in the Little League World Series. They beat a team from Matamoros 3-1 in the championship game.

United States

The Great Lakes will see Hinsdale Little League in Illinois play Gross Points Woods Shore Little League in Michigan. Michigan has a loss to Westside Little League in Ohio, which Illinois beat in the semi-finals to get to the championship. Michigan had to beat Ohio 11-3 to advance to the finals.

The Mid-Atlantic finds Thurmont Little League in Maryland playing Holbrook Little League in New Jersey in the championship game today. Maryland had to beat Upper Providence Little League in Pennsylvania, a team they had lost to earlier to make it to the finals. Their bats were smoking in their 14-4 semi-final win.

The Midwest has Sioux Falls Little League in South Dakota playing Webb City Little League in Missouri in the finals. South Dakota had beaten Missouri earlier 6-5.

New England will see Fairfield American Little League in Connecticut play South Portland American Little League in Maine in the finals. Connecticut beat Maine 8-0 early in the double elimination tournament but Maine pulled out three games in the loser’s bracket to make it to the championship.

The Northwest will see Walla Walla Valley Little League in Washington play La Grande Little League in Oregon in the championship. Oregon had beaten Washington earlier 8-4 to knock them into the loser’s bracket.

The Southeast will be represented by North State Little League in North Carolina who beat Peachtree City National Little League in Georgia 8-6 in the championship. Georgia had lost to Goodlettsville Little League in Tennessee earlier 12-3 but came back in the semifinals to beat them 4-1.

In the Southwest it was an all Texas final with Lufkin Little League representing Texas East beating McAllister Park National Little League representing Texas West 2-1 in the finals. The two had played each other earlier in the tournament with Texas East again beating Texas West 11-10 to knock them into the losers bracket early.

The West will see Santa Margarita Little League in Southern California play against Dixie Little League in Utah in the finals. Utah had been knocked into the loser’s bracket early 14-5 by Hilo Little League in Hawaii but was able to fight through the loser’s bracket and beat Hawaii 12-6 in the semifinal match.