One week. Five games. One last dance.
Norway traveled to Wrocław for the European Championship B-Pool with a squad stretching from 16-year-olds to veterans who have carried Norwegian baseball for over a decade. Against Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Ireland, and Ukraine — nations with pro leagues and hundreds of registered senior players — the week ended one win, four losses. The numbers tell you about the gap in levels. They don't tell the whole story.
This is the story of the week in Poland: the win over Lithuania, the families in the stands holding NORGE signs — and the final games of Emil Fjellvang, the best Norwegian-born pitcher in the history of Norwegian baseball.
# | Team | W–L | RS | RA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇸🇰Slovakia | 5–0 | 57 | 16 |
| 2 | 🇵🇱Poland | 4–1 | 69 | 24 |
| 3 | 🇮🇪Ireland | 3–2 | 36 | 33 |
| 4 | 🇺🇦Ukraine | 1–4 | 25 | 42 |
| 5 | 🇱🇹Lithuania | 1–4 | 24 | 56 |
| 6 | 🇳🇴Norway | 1–4 | 18 | 58 |
Slovakia walked off Poland 9–8 in ten innings in the final and promotes to the A-Pool for the 2027 European Championship in Regensburg.
July 27
The opener put Norway straight up against the hosts in front of a home crowd in Wrocław. Norway hung around early, but Poland's bats pulled away for an 11–3 result — a hard welcome to a tournament where the hosts would go on to reach the final.
July 28
A quick turnaround for the Tuesday afternoon game against Ukraine, and the same story: Norway put runs on the board but couldn't slow the opposition down, falling 11–3 for the second day in a row.
July 29
The 10:30 morning game was the one where it all clicked. Norway traded blows with Lithuania and came out on top of a 10–8 slugfest — the win of the week, and proof this group belongs at this level.
July 30
Ireland, the eventual bronze medalists, proved a class apart on Thursday. The game ended 12–2 after seven innings.
July 31
The finale came against Slovakia — undefeated, and two days later crowned champions with promotion to the A-Pool. The 16–0 scoreline stings, but Norway closed its tournament having faced the very best of the field.
The last dance
Wrocław was the final chapter for Emil Fjellvang in the national team jersey. After the 2022 European Championship Qualifier, the Nordic championships, the 2024 B-Pool in Ireland, and the home Nordic tournament in 2025, the best Norwegian-born pitcher in the history of Norwegian baseball hung up his national-team glove after the tournament in Poland — wearing number 21 one last time.
Year | Tournament | G | IP | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Baseball European Championship B-Pool | 1 | 5.1 | 3 |
| 2025 | Nordic Baseball Championship | 1 | 6.1 | 5 |
| 2024 | European Championship B-Pool | 1 | 6.2 | 5 |
| 2023 | Nordic Baseball Tournament | 1 | 6.2 | 11 |
| 2022 | European Baseball Championship Qualifier | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Career | 5.81 ERA | 5 | 31 | 30 |
Ten of the sixteen players in the squad were born in 2000 or later — the youngest, Magnus Johnson, in 2009. The week in Wrocław was hard-earned experience for a generation that will carry this national team for years. And in the stands, with flags and hand-painted NORGE signs, were the families who make it all possible.
All photos: Anders Brødsjø — see the full archive on Flickr.