European Baseball Championships: Great Britain reach final for third time

GB finished sixth at the last European Championships but finished ninth for three tournaments in a row prior to that

Great Britain beat Germany 8-4 to reach the final of the European Baseball Championships for a third time.

GB have featured in two European finals, in 1967 and most recently in 2007, but have never won the title.

They are unbeaten in all five matches at this tournament in the Czech Republic but have had to fight back to win on all five occasions.

Sunday's final will see GB face either Spain or reigning champions the Netherlands.

Head coach Drew Spencer said: "It's exciting. It's a testament to the team and the staff, to all the hard work that's been done that we get to play for a championship for the third time in... history.

"These guys love each other. They understand what it means to play for Great Britain.

"They want to make sure that we seize this moment. I think it's that combination of what it means to wear that uniform and what it means to be a team that makes them so relentless."

In the first of two semi-finals on Friday, GB levelled after going 2-1 down but trailed 3-2 at the beginning of the seventh inning.

Spencer's side rallied, scoring six runs in the seventh to stretch their lead before Freddy Mosier struck out Germany's Alex Schmidt in the eighth to close out victory.

The European Baseball Championships have been won by just four different nations since their inception in 1954 - the Netherlands (24), Italy (10), Belgium (1), and Spain (1).

GB played in their debut World Baseball Classic earlier this year, finishing fourth in their group and qualifying for the next tournament in 2026.