Great Britain Baseball U23s Kick Off European Championships With Dominant Win Over Israel
Photo: Paul Stodart
The Great Britain Baseball U23s got off to a strong start at the 2025 WBSC U23 European Baseball Championships on Tuesday, 5 August, with a 7-0 win over Israel. Jackson Kraemer and Charlie Collins led the way offensively for GBR, with each driving in a pair of runs in the victory.
Zac Colletti (1-0) got the start on the mound for Great Britain and worked a scoreless pair of innings before running into trouble in the third. Israel’s first three runners of the inning all reached, loaded the bases with nobody out, but Colletti struck out Cole Englehard before inducing an inning-ending double play ball from Nadav Machlin to end the danger.
GBR’s offense found motivation from their defensive stand. Cole Leclair led off the bottom of the third with a bunt single, followed by a Jackson Wallis triple to score him and tally GBR’s first run. A Collins sac fly brought home Wallis for the second run on the inning’s second out. Tucker Stockman and Quinn Allen both singled before Jackson Kraemer drove them both in with a single of his own. GBR led 4-0 after three.
Colletti stranded another two runners aboard in the fourth before giving way to Andrew Campbell, who worked a perfect fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, GBR added a pair of runs, with Collins scoring before Jay Smith’s sacrifice fly scored Stockman and made the game 6-0 GBR.
Campbell worked around a pair of hits in the sixth and Great Britain added to their lead in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Collins tripled home Wallis for GBR’s seventh run to cap off Great Britain’s day at the plate.
In the seventh, Manager Jonathon Cramman called on Owen Bourgeois, who got the final three outs in a perfect inning of work to close out the win. Great Britain’s pitching staff registered 10 strikeouts on the day against just five hits allowed, while Wallis, Collins and Leclair each tallied triples in the victory.
Great Britain will play in their next game in Pool B in Třebíč Wednesday night, 6 August, against the hosts, Czechia. First pitch is scheduled for 19:30 CEST/18:30 BST.
The 2025 WBSC U23 European Baseball Championships can be watched on BaseballEurope.TV.
For the latest news and notes from GB Baseball at the 2025 U23 European Baseball Championships and more, make sure to follow Great Britain Baseball on Facebook, gb_baseball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, TikTok at @gbbaseball, and on the British Baseball Federation Website, britishbaseball.org.uk.
