Spain Rallies Past Germany 3-2 Despite Two Solo Homers

Spain erased a two-run deficit and beat Germany 3-2 in 10 innings on Friday, October 9, opening the WBSC Premier12 Barcelona Qualifier with a dramatic victory in Barcelona.

Germany built its lead on solo home runs by Yannic Walther and Finn Bergmann, but Spain tied the game in the eighth before scoring the winning run in the first extra inning at Camp Municipal de Béisbol Carlos Pérez de Rozas.

Walther and Bergmann put Germany ahead

Walther gave Germany an immediate advantage when the Milwaukee Brewers catching prospect homered off Spanish starter Elián Leyva in the first inning.

The pitchers controlled the middle innings. Germany starter Markus Solbach kept Spain scoreless while Leyva limited the damage after Walther’s early swing. Bergmann then doubled the lead with another solo homer in the seventh.

Spain answered in the eighth. Omar Hernández delivered a two-out, two-run single to bring the hosts level at 2-2 after Germany turned to Duke von Schamann.

Spain wins in the 10th

Germany had an opportunity to reclaim the lead with the bases loaded in the top of the 10th but failed to score. Spain capitalized in the bottom half, with Luis Guillorme crossing the plate for the winning run while Gabriel Lino was batting.

Noah Lindt took the loss for Germany, while Junior Bonilla earned the win for Spain.

The result left Spain and Italy at 1-0 after the opening day. Italy rallied past Colombia 4-3 in the tournament’s first game.

The four teams are playing a single round robin from October 9-11, with the top two qualifying for the expanded 16-team WBSC Premier12 in 2027. Germany faced Colombia on Saturday, while Spain met Italy later that day.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported Germany as a 2-0 winner. Spain won 3-2 in 10 innings. The headline, score, game account and SEO metadata have been corrected.