By Bob Fromer
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Sant Boi, Spain: 05 August – The GB U-19 Women’s Team picked up their eighth straight win at the 2016 European Junior Championships this afternoon with an efficient and low-key 7-0 five-inning mercy rule victory over Belgium that completed GB’s third round pool games.
Thursday night’s win over Italy had already confirmed GB’s place as the top seed in tonight’s 1 v 2 Page Playoff game at the main stadium in Sant Boi, and the object of this morning’s exercise was to win as quickly and with as little expenditure of energy as possible.
Mission accomplished​
That objective was accomplished thanks mainly to Amie Hutchison, who pitched a two-hit shutout with no walks allowed while the team played errorless softball behind her, and right fielder Casey Moritz, who had two triples and drove in four of GB’s seven runs.
The problem for GB hitters was to adjust from the pitching they saw on Thursday night against Italy down to the slower pace of Belgian starter Rubin Roef and relievers Jana Wouters and Sara de Graeve, knowing that they will have to adjust back again for tonight’s Page Playoff game against the Czech Republic, who beat Italy this afternoon.
The adjustment took a while, but GB won the game with a three-run outburst in the second inning (a single by Olivia Lee, an error and a walk loaded the bases with one out and then Casey Moritz hit her first triple), and then four more runs without making an out in the fifth inning.
In that final inning, Amie Hutchison opened with a single to right field, Belgium failed to get a force play on Chelsie Robison’s ground ball, and then Sian Wigington and Casey Moritz hit back-to-back triples. Sian’s was a majestic drive that soared way over the head of Belgian left fielder Celine Janssens. That brought the score to 6-0, and Hannah Burge pushed a perfect bunt to the right side to score Casey Moritz with the walk-off run.
Now, for GB, the last and crucial phase of the tournament begins. The team is already assured of at least a bronze medal, but they will be looking for a first-ever European gold medal for the GB national fastpitch team programme (GB Slowpitch has 10 of them!).
The best route to the gold medal would be to win tonight and guarantee a place in Saturday evening’s Grand Final, letting the Czechs and, probably, the Italians fight it out earlier on Saturday for the right to be their opposition.
A loss tonight would mean GB would have to get to the final the hard way.
Farewell
At the end of the GB/Belgium game, Belgian Under-19 Head Coach Andre Prins received an ovation from both teams and the spectators, as this was Belgium’s last game in the tournament and Andre is retiring as a coach.
Andre has spent his life in softball, is in the ISF Hall of Fame as an umpire, and has coached national teams in over half a dozen European countries. Irascible, stubborn, demanding, generous, a bane of umpires and some of his players, but a man with a vast knowledge of and love for the game, Andre will be missed.
Ironically, in his last game as a national team coach, he lost to a pitcher he has helped to train, because Amie Hutchison spent time last year with Andre’s Dutch club Birds, and he worked with her on her pitching.
Results
Here are all the played third round results from Thursday and Friday:
Czech Republic 3, Belgium 0
Italy 8, Germany 1 (5 inns)
GB 8 Russia 4
Germany 5, Belgium 0
Czech Republic 3, Russia 2
GB 7, Italy 1
Germany 8, Russia 6
GB 7, Belgium 0 (5 inns)
Czech Republic 8, Italy 5
Later today, Spain and Lithuania will play to determine seventh and eighth place.
Standings
Here are the final standings among the teams that contested Round Three:
Great Britain (5-0)
Czech Republic (4-1)
Italy (3-2)
Germany (2-3)
Belgium (1-4)
Russia (0-5)
Belgium will finish fifth in the tournament, and Russia sixth. Italy and Germany will play the 3 v 4 Page Playoff game late this afternoon; the loser will finish fourth and the winner will play the loser of tonight’s 1 v 2 game between GB and the Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, the standings in the group playing to determine places 9-12 is as follows, with one game left to play between Denmark and Serbia.
Croatia (3-0)
Denmark (1-1)
Serbia (1-1)
Israel (0-3)
Photos by John Corrick