Italy beat Great Britain to claim Women's Softball European title
Behind a three-hit shutout by Alice Nicolini, Italy defeated Great Britain, 4-0, and claimed the Women’s Softball European Championship 2024 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. With the shutout win, the Italians reclaimed the continental title after a three-year drought and won their 13th gold medal. Defending champions and hosts Netherlands defeated Czechia 8-2 in the bronze medal game and finished third.
Nicolini struck out two opponents in seven innings, giving up three hits and a walk to earn the win. She finished the tournament with a 0.49 ERA.
Federico Pizzolini mentioned after the final that it was a perfect game for his team. "Our performance throughout the entire tournament was superb, and Alice [Nicolini] was outstanding. No one expected her to pitch a complete game; in fact, we had our pitching rotation ready, but it wasn't necessary," he said.
Italy went undefeated in nine games, outscoring their opponents 58-6 and hitting 12 home runs in the competition. Lead-off hitter Isabella Dayton was named "Player of the Tournament" posting a .520 batting average, eight stolen bases, 13 runs, and two home runs.
"I can only be proud of this national team," commented Italy's captain Giulia Longhi, who represented her country at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. "We have shown everything we can do, all our potential on the field, both offensively and defensively. I think that if we play like this, no one can beat us, there are no opponents to fear."
With the national team, Longhi has already won the European titles in 2019 and 2021. This is her third continental title, but the first as captain. "For me it is a great emotion. I am happy because, yes, it is true, I am the captain, but I am surrounded by 16 leaders. For me it is just a great honour to be their captain," confessed Longhi. "There is no need to encourage these girls because they are all great leaders, great players, professionals. I am truly lucky."
The defending champions Netherlands finished in third place. The hosts lost back to back Super Round games against Italy and Great Britain to be eliminated from the championship game. For the bronze medal, they beat Czechia 8-2.
A total of 22 teams participated in the continental competition. You can see the final standings here.
