GERMANY – The Dutch National Team will be the heavy favorites when the 2010 European Baseball Championship takes place next summer in three German cities. The competition, governed by the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB), is the main tournament between national baseball teams in Europe.

The Orange and Black, which have captured five consecutive European Championship titles, are in Group 1 with host Germany, France, Czech Republic, Belgium and Ukraine. The Dutch also boast a tournament-high 20 gold medals.

Italy and Spain headline the teams in Group 2. The Italians have won the tournament on eight occasions while the Spainards looked impressive at the 2009 IBAF Baseball World Cup. Other squads includes Great Britain, Sweden, Croatia and Greece.

The Dutch went undefeated in the 2007 tournament and beat Great Britain in the title game, 6-1. Former skipper Robert Eenhorn blasted the tournament organizers after the championship game was played in the morning while a meaningless game between host Spain and Sweden was held later in the day.

2010 European Championship Schedule:

July 23rd:
Czech Republic vs Netherlands
Ukraine vs Germany
France vs Belgium
Croatia vs Great Britain
Italy vs Spain
Sweden vs Greece

July 24th:
Netherlands vs France
Germany vs Czech Republic
Belgium vs Ukraine
Great Britain vs Sweden
Spain vs Croatia
Greece vs Italy

July 25th:
Netherlands vs Ukraine
Germany vs Belgium
France vs Czech Republic
Great Britain vs Italy
Spain vs Greece
Sweden vs Croatia

July 26th:
Netherlands vs Germany
France vs Ukraine
Czech Republic vs Belgium
Great Britain vs Spain
Sweden vs Italy
Croatia vs Greece

July 27th:
Germany vs France
Belgium vs Netherlands
Ukraine vs Czech Republic
Spain vs Sweden
Greece vs Great Britain
Italy vs Croatia

July 28th:
Classification Games

July 29th – July 31st:
Final Round

August 1st:
Championship Game

Photo courtesy of Ratti/FIBS

Tags: European Championship