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(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Ezio Ratti/World Baseball Softball Confederation) Italy shuts out Germany to also qualify for Premier12; loss for Spain Nederlands BARCELONA (Spain) - On Sunday-afternoon (October 11), Italy became the second team to qualify for the Final Round of the WBSC Premier12. The main-tournament of the global event will be held next year in Japan and Taiwan (and maybe other locations), with playing sites and dates to be announced later. Italy shut out Germany 5-0 in its final game of the WBSC Premier12 Qualifier in Barcelona to secure its spot. On Saturday-evening, Spain had outscored Italy 5-2 to become the first team to qualify for the Premier12. On Sunday-evening, Colombia defeated Spain 8-3 in the closing game to record its first win in the WBSC Premier12 2027 Barcelona Qualifier presented by RAXUS, which is the official name of the tournament. For Spain, it will mark the first time that the team will participate in the tournament. Italy will return to the event for the first time in twelve years, as it only participated in the inaugural edition of the Premier12 in 2015. Back then, Italy finished in twelfth (and last) place. Qualifying for the WBSC Premier12 is another success for Italy under the guidance of (Venezuelan) Manager Francisco Cervelli. In 2025, Italy finished second in the European Championship, after losing only 6-5 to the Netherlands. In March of this year, Italy finished in fourth place in the World Baseball Classic and in July, Italy won the Baseball Week Haarlem after winning 4-3 against the Netherlands. Japan has been the site for the Super Round and Finals in all three editions so far and also hosted games in the pool-stage in 2015 and 2024. Taiwan also has been a host-country in all three previous tournaments, as pool-games were played there. In 2015, the Quarter Finals were also played in Taiwan. In 2019 and 2024, group-games were also played in Mexico. And in 2019, South Korea was the host of a group in the preliminary round. Spain (ranked 26) and Italy (14) join the countries that already secured their participation in the group stage of the Premier12 in 2027. That are the twelve highest-ranked National Teams, based on the WBSC World Rankings, as of 31 December 2025. Those countries are Australia (11th on World Ranking), Chinese Taipei (2), Cuba (10), the Dominican Republic (12), Japan (1), Mexico (6), the Netherlands (9), Panama (8), Puerto Rico (7), the USA (3), Venezuela (5) and South Korea (4). Of these countries, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, the USA, Venezuela and South Korea will have participated in all four editions. The three-day tournament in Barcelona was the first of two Premier12 Qualifiers. The second one will be held November 26-28 in Zhongshan (China) where host China (17 on world ranking), Czechia (15), Great Britain (19, wild card) and Nicaragua (16) will participate. The teams in first and second place of that tournaments will complete the field-of-participants of the 4th WBSC Premier12 in 2027, which will be expanded to 16 participating countries. In the first three editions (2015, 2019, 2024), twelve teams participated. (October 11)

...Giacomo Taschin was the starter for Italy... (© Photo: Ezio Ratti/World Baseball Softball Confederation) Italy vs. Germany On Sunday-afternoon, Italy shut out Germany 5-0 to become the second team to qualify for the Final Round of the WBSC Premier12 in 2027. In its final game of the WBSC Premier12 Qualifier in Barcelona, Italy outhit Germany 16-8. All nine starting players collected at least one basehit, with seven of them hitting two. Although Italy recorded a convincing victory, the team led only 2-0 after six innings. From the seventh inning on, three runs were added. Italy opened the score with two runs in the second inning off of starter Niklas Rimmel, who was the first of nine pitchers inserted in this game by German Manager Jendrick Speer. Italian lead-off hitter Renzo Martini reached on a throwing error and scored the first run on an one-out double by Venezuelan-born Jhorjan Guevara, who in 2021 and 2022 played in the Rookie League-team of Philadelphia Phillies. Since 2024, Guevara plays in the Italian Serie A. After having played for Modena in 2024 and 2025, Guevara this season played for San Marino. Guevara advanced to third base on a single by Ricardo Paolini and scored the second Italian run on a bunt-single by Gabriele Angioi. A following grounder by Andrea Sellaroli then not only led to Angioi being forced out at second base, but also led to a double play, as Paolini continued running and was eliminated at the plate. And that ended what could have been a productive rally. That could have been costly, as Germany came close to tying the score in the bottom of the second off of starter Giacomo Taschin. Simon Bäumer led off with a single and Eric Brenk doubled with one out. Taschin recovered quickly and followed with a strikeout and a grounder ended the German at bat. ...Italy celebrates the win and qualification... (© Photo: Ezio Ratti/World Baseball Softball Confederation) Taschin encountered no problems in the next two innings and added four more strikeouts. Overall, the 20-year-old lefthander struckout seven batters in his four innings and allowed only three hits. Taschin played for Italy in the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2022 in Florida (USA). In 2021, at age 15, the talented Taschin made his debut in the Serie A when he played in six games (one as pitcher) for Rovigo, for whom he also played in 2022-2025. This year, Taschin made his professional debut in the Toronto Blue Jays-organization. He began in the Rookie League and promoted in June to Single-A. In the third through sixth inning, Italy was kept scoreless by three pitchers. It took until the sixth inning for Italy to come into scoring-position again, but then stranded runners on second and third base. In the seventh inning, the Azzurri took more distance by adding two runs with two outs. New pitcher Noah Lindt gave up a lead-off single to Ricardo Paolini and an one-out infield-hit to Andrea Sellaroli. They moved on a wild pitch. Hereafter, Paolini was eliminated at the plate on a grounder by Noel Gonzalez. The out-call by Venezuelan Home Plate Umpire César Quintana Hidalgo was challenged, but was confirmed via the video-review. Now with two outs, Lindt was relieved by Tim Fischer, but he got the bases loaded when he walked Giaconino Lasaracina. Next, he gave up a 2-run single to Alberto Mineo. After Germany had left a runner on third in the bottom of the seventh, Italy scored another run in the eighth, again with two outs. Off of Titus Von Kapff, the eighth German pitcher, Jhorjan Guevara (with one out) and Gabriele Angioi (with two outs) singled, which led to runners at the corners. After Angioi had stolen second base, Andrea Sellaroli also delivered a single. Guevara scored, but Angioi became the third Italian runner to be eliminated at the plate, which ended the at bat. Germany got another scoring-opportunity in the bottom of the eighth off of new pitcher Alex Bassani when it got the bases loaded with two outs. But a flyout ended the at bat. In the ninth, Germany left two more runners behind.

Spain vs. Colombia ...Jesus Adalberto Marriaga Montalvo homered for Colombiay... (© Photo: Ezio Ratti/World Baseball Softball Confederation) On Sunday-evening, Colombia defeated Spain 8-3 to record its first win, which came the day after Spain had outscored Italy to become the first team to qualify for the Premier12. For Spain, this was its first loss. Colombia opened the score with two runs in the fourth inning off of starter Pablo Guillén. Diego Alejandro Contreras Reales then singled and Jesus Adalberto Marriaga Montalvo followed with a homerun. Colombia added a run in the fifth. With one out, Dayan de Jesus Frias Serrano doubled, advanced on a passed ball and was awarded home plate on a balk. That decision led to a 2-minute argument by Guillén and Spanish Manager Marvin Benard with either (German) Home Plate Umpire Tim Meyer, (Puerto Rican) 2B Umpire Delfin Fernando Colon or (Venezuelan) 3B Umpire César Quintana Hidalgo. Colon umpired in 46 Major League-games in 2008 and 2009 and was an umpire in the World Baseball Classic in 2023 and this year. Colombia left two runners behind in the sixth, but then rallied for five more runs in the eighth with two outs. New Spanish pitcher Marc Civit began with a strikeout, then walked the next batter and was relieved by Ernesto Manuel Garavito Miguel. A bunt-single and force play-grounder followed. With two outs, Paulo Asprilla Garcia hit a 2-run double. Next, Garavito got the bases loaded via an error and a walk. Carlos Andres Arroyo Padilla then delivered a baseclearing, 3-run double, which increased Colombia's lead to 8-0. Spain was held scoreless in eight innings by three pitchers, including the first five by (winner) Julio Cesar Vivas Colmenarez. The team left two runners behind in the first, fifth and seventh inning, before finally being able to score in the ninth. New Colombian pitcher Jose Gabriel Garces Villa gave up a lead-off double to Rusber Manuel Estrada Luis and walked Leopoldo Correa. After the latter was forced out, a run was scored on a single by Andrés Angulo, which led to a pitching-change. Ezequiel Antonio Zabaleta Vasquez took over, began with a strikeout, but then gave up a 2-run single to Frank Hernandez. A grounder then ended the game.

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