Most, Czech Republic: 16 July – It was a tough day on Wednesday for the GB Junior Men’s Fastpitch Team, as they lost by mercy rule to Israel and then the Czech Republic, and were no-hit by Czech pitcher Michal Preclik over a short three-inning game.
The game against Israel, which GB lost 12-5 in five innings, could have different had it not been for one bad inning in which the Israelis scored six runs; other than that inning, the game was a fairly even contest.
Against the powerful Czech Republic, however, it was a different story, as the Czechs scored six runs in the first inning, three in the second and nine runs in the third, all on only eight hits, to run out 18-0 winners. The Czechs were the beneficiaries of seven walks, four hit batters and five GB errors, while the only baserunner GB could manage was Damon Brown, who reached base on a Czech error in the first inning.
GB v Israel
Israel scored one run in the top of the first inning, three runs in the second inning and one more in the third, all without the benefit of a hit; in fact, GB out-hit the Israelis by 7-2 over the course of the game. In the first inning, Israel’s run came on a hit-by-pitch and an error; in the second inning, three runs scored on walks and hit batters; and in the third inning Israel manufactured a run on a walk, a stolen base, a sacrifice and a sacrifice fly.
GB’s lone response came in the top of the second inning when Dylan Stewart singled to left field, stole second, advanced to third on Jack Nielan’s infield single and scored on a wild pitch.
So the score after three innings was 6-1 for the Israelis, but GB cut that lead to 6-3 in the top of the fourth. Amit Aswani singled to left field to get things started and Dylan Stewart reached base when Israel failed to get an out on his infield grounder. Jack Nielan then singled to right to drive in Amit and Dylan scored on a bad throw back to the infield.
But if GB thought they were getting back in the game, six Israeli runs in the bottom of the fourth inning put paid to that idea. There were two Israeli hits – their first of the game – plus two errors, three walks, a wild pitch and stolen bases. But had GB executed on some early opportunities to get outs, the inning could have been very different.
To their credit, GB never gave up, and they scored two more runs in the top of the fifth inning, bringing the score back to 11-5 and giving themselves the possibility of extending the game by avoiding the “seven after five” mercy rule.
Damon Brown reached second base on an error, Josh Saunders put down a bunt and Damon scored when the Israeli catcher threw wildly in an attempt to get an out. Josh Saunders then advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
But in the bottom of the fifth inning, Israel scored the one run they needed to bring the mercy rule into effect on a walk, a passed ball, a wild pitch and an infield out.
Josh Saunders and Damon Brown gave their all for GB as pitchers, but only seven of the 12 Israeli runs were earned, and scoring 12 runs on only two hits is unusual.
Offensively, GB were the better team, and GB only committed one more error than Israel -- but pitching with control is the key to winning games in fastpitch softball.
GB v Czech Republic
Josh Saunders started for GB against the Czech Republic, and the game did not begin well. The opening sequence before GB recorded an out in the top of the first inning was single, error, wild pitch, hit-by-pitch, triple, wild pitch.
The Czechs went on to score six runs in the first inning on two hits and followed this with three runs in the second inning on two hits but no GB errors. However, the Czechs piled on the pressure in the third inning, and there were four GB errors to go with four Czech hits off relief pitcher Damon Brown, and the end result was nine runs that brought the mercy rule swiftly into effect.
The GB Under-19 Men are learning things from every game they play in this competition, but the Czechs, as the leading men’s fastpitch nation in Europe, were simply too powerful.
What next?
Today (Thursday), GB will play their final group game against Croatia at 3.30 pm Czech time.
They are then liable to have an off day tomorrow before playing in the fifth place game at 3.00 pm on Saturday, most probably against the loser of today’s game between Croatia and Poland.