International News: 12U Team Israel Gets Big Upset & Silver Medal at International Tourney in Italy

A group of young softball players made history last month when they fielded the first-ever 12U Israeli national team at one of the biggest international stages for youth softball: the European Massimo Romero Youth Tournament (EMRYT) held in Italy in early September.

The tourney is part of the World Baseball Softball Confederation Europe (WBSC Europe) schedule of baseball and softball games across the globe with the EMRYT scheduled to be in Italy through 2025.

Team Israel included two players from Israel and 10 players with Jewish or Israeli heritage from all over the United States, including Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Portland, New York and Florida.

Going up against teams from Croatia, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Spain, and local powerhouse Italy, the underdog team was awarded the Silver medal and managed to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

The odds were against the team heading into competition:

• The squad was pulled together only a few months before the tournament.
• The girls practiced together for the first, and only time, during the week of the tournament and this being after multiple Zoom calls to help bond the team.
• The players are mostly 10-11 years old, while most of the players on the other teams were 12-13.
• For most of the young players, this was their first-ever international competition.

Despite this, Team Israel managed to secure a 5-3 victory in their first game of the tournament against hometown leader, Team Italy.

In fact, Italy had won the tournament in seven of eight years since its inception, and this would prove to be Italy’s only loss of the entire tournament and the first time that Israel beat Italy in softball in any age group or tournament.

Though the Israeli team fell short of their ultimate goal of winning the Gold medal, which was captured by Team Italy, the team and their families were thrilled to have had the opportunity to compete in such a prestigious tournament for the first time, and look forward to returning again next year.

The tournament proved to be a memorable experience for the girls, most of whom had never competed in an international tournament before.

They developed friendships with other players from around the United States, as well as those from other countries. They learned the Israeli national anthem, enjoyed many of the local Italian attractions including the Colosseum and Leaning Tower of Pisa, and experienced their first opening and closing ceremonies.

Two of the team’s members are sisters, Julia and Mia Siegel, who attend the 7^th grade at the LA Center for Enriched Studies and play for the West Los Angeles Bruins (Calif.) travel ball team. They loved everything about the experience in Europe, from the softball to the amazing cultural experiences.

“Being able to meet other girls from all over the country and the world that have a common heritage and also share a passion and love for softball was special,” they commented.

“We made friends that we will have for the rest of their lives. It was amazing for us to see Italian cities like Rome, Pisa and Parma just a few months after studying the Roman empire in school!”

And seeing the sport played abroad was definitely a highlight too.

“Experiencing international play for the first time and seeing was awesome,” the siblings continued. “Getting to see how other countries play the game—both the similarities and differences—was really fun to see. The comradery of all the girls from Europe was super warm and friendly.”

Pitcher Izzy Zober, age 11 from Pennsylvania who closed out the big upset win over Team Italy, says it was an experience she’ll never forget, but hopes to continue over the next few years.

“It was an amazing experience to compete internationally for the first time on behalf of Israel, and I’m very proud of how we performed together as a team. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m so happy I was able to share it with my teammates and our families. I can’t wait to return next year and bring home the Gold medal for Team Israel!”

— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball

Thanks to Marissa Luznar, David Siegel and Yarone Zober who each contributed to the article.