The Greek national team recently completed its 9th all-time European Baseball Championship in Milan, Italy. Hellas finished tied for 13th place with Belgium after defeating Lithuania 2-0 in the relegation series. The blue and white went 2-2 overall with 2 wins vs. Lithuania while falling to Switzerland and Italy. Greece fell short of qualifying for the playoff round in Rotterdam.
The week started off with a stellar performance from Noah Zavolas who shut down Lithuania with 12 Ks in a 4-3 victory in game 1, while also facing former MLB pitcher Dovydas Neverauskas. Game 2 ended up being a shootout as Greece fell to Switzerland 12-8 after mounting a 7-1 come back to tie the game in the 7th inning. The last pool play game had everyone shocked as the Greeks stormed out to a 4-0 lead vs powerhouse Italy before squandering the lead in the 5th to fall 9-4. Greece needed this win to advance to the next round, but ultimately they secured their fate with a rematch vs Lithuania facing relegation. The blue and white took care of business in the finale sending Lithuania to 'B-Pool'.
Overall, a successful week as Greece qualifies for the 2027 European Championship which will be hosted in Regensburg, Germany where qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games will be on the line. Using reference, the 2019 European Championship was part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifying, where top 5 finishing teams advanced to the official Europe/Africa Olympic qualifier. So the 2027 Championship should follow a similar path.
The offensive player of the week for Greece was George Athanasiadis, while pitcher Noah Zavolas led the way on the mound. Dimitri Kourtis was also a key performer offensively and on the mound, including closing out the 2 wins in the 9th. Kourtis and Ari Sechopoulos each had 1 homerun to stay tied atop the national team career homerun list. Akili Carris led the power threat, leading the team with two homeruns.
Greece will continue to build its roster as they will now prepare for an event in Summer of 2026 with details to be announced. The national team continues it's fundraising efforts and partnerships that will help the team's preparation and success. Thank you to our 2025 sponsors All Star Sporting Goods, Aegean Airlines and SnapFX Graphics.
