Baseball Euros 2025 Day 7: Title No. 25 for Netherlands

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — The Oranje returned to a recipe that has worked so well over the last week, using a combination of loud line drives and dominant relief pitching to survive a very strong Italian squad and claim the 2025 European Baseball Championship title with a 6-5 victory before a sellout crowd. Earlier in the day, the Czech Republic earned its first-ever medal at the Baseball Euros and Israel and Germany finished their tournaments with victories.

Seemingly almost every ball hit off the bats of the Netherlands all tournament has been barrelled, and the title bout was no exception. In the bottom of the first, the hosts played two after Didi Gregorius led off the game with a loud double, scoring on a Hendrick Clementina single. After the catcher stole second, a line drive from Juremi Profar put the home side up by two.

On the first pitch of the next inning, Giaconino Lasaracina added a final exclamation point to his emergence as one of Europe’s top power threats, launching a bomb to left field that broke a light bulb in the electronic scoreboard. Two innings later, Italy tied up the game on base knocks by Alberto Mineo, Jhorjan Guevara, and Gabriele Angioi.

Scharlon Schoop would ensure that the Dutch would not concede momentum to their opponents in the bottom of the same inning, leading off the fourth with a full-count four-bagger that crested over the scoreboard in left field. After Juremi Profar and and Eugene Helder smacked one-base knocks, Jiandido Tromp mashed a double to the wall in left and the Netherlands held a 5-3 advantage.

After an unearned run for the Kingdom in the fifth, Mineo led off with a single in the top of the sixth, with Guevára following with a double into the right field corner. Both touched home after Lorenzo Morresi poked a ball through the left side. Angioi and Nathanael Batista kept the hits coming, with the latter plating Morresi for the third run of the inning. However, Wendell Florianus got the next two hitters out, and the Dutch retained a 6-5 advantage.

In the seventh, Italy loaded the bases with no out on a Lasaracina single and a pair of walks, but manager Evert-Jan ‘t Hoen went to the bed for the third time, and Eric Mendez induced a strikeout and two flyouts and the hosts were out of the jam.

From this point on, the two teams’ relievers took over, with Mattia Sireus and Gabriele Quattrini getting the last seven outs, with two on Ks, each allowing one hit. However, it was Jaydenn Estanista who truly slammed the door, punching out five Italians in the last two frames and permitting only a single baserunner.

With a crowd of 3,000 looking on and cheering actively throughout the game, the Netherlands poured onto the field to celebrate its 25th European title, including 18 in 27 attempts against the Azurri. Reliever Kevin Kelly, who tossed 8.1 scoreless innings of relief for the Dutch in the semifinal, adding 16 strikeouts, was named Best Pitcher, while Didi Gregorius was named MVP. Italians Renzo Martini and Lasaracina earned Best Hitter and Home Run Leader awards.

At the same post-game ceremony, the Czech Republic was presented with its first-ever trophy, having come only as close as fourth in 2014, in a tournament in which there was no third-place game. It has otherwise topped out at fifth in the remaining five of the past six championships.

Earlier in the day, Israel and Croatia battled to a 3-3 tie through the first five innings before the former pulled away, eventually taking seventh place with an 11-5 victory. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Philipp Kleehaupt entered with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth inning of Germany’s game against GB and completely shut down the Lions. He fired four scoreless frames, with four strikeouts, while young Cesar Aquino earned the save with two shutout, hitless innings. Darrion Richards, all of 20 years old, hit a booming triple in the win. Matteo Sollecito and Zachary Cameron each tossed two blanks for the Brits.

or more about the European Baseball Championship and our coverage of the tournament, see the following articles:
Overview [link].
Day 1 [link].
Day 2 [link].
Day 3 [link].
Day 6 [link].
Day 7 [link].

For box scores and the full schedule, see the WBSC tournament page [link].