The GB Men's Fastpitch Team arrived in the Czech Republic on Friday 11 July to get ready for the European Men's Fastpitch Championships, which will begin on Monday in Havlickuv Brod and Pardubice, and will serve as a qualifier for next year's Men's World Championships in Canada.
GB Men's Team Manager Steve Fullan reported: "The plan was to have a small training session on arrival but Mother Nature did not agree, as it poured down with rain, so the team had a few meetings and a team dinner to get re-acquainted with each other.
"On Saturday morning the team took to the field for a two-hour training session," Steve continued, "so that Head Coach Norman Ames could work the team through some infield/outfield drills, plus batting sessions in the cage and on the diamond."
Friendly match
That same evening, Team GB was hosted for a friendly match by the local club Havlickuv Brod Hippos, who are currently sitting in first place in the Czech league. Even though Havlickuv Brod had a handful of starters missing on duty with the Czech National Team, they still presented strong opposition, including guest pitcher Jiri Brabec of Tempo Prague, considered one of the best pitchers in the Czech Republic.
For GB, the game was about getting the cobwebs out and letting Norman Ames see everyone in game situations. It was also a good chance to see newly-recruited pitcher Kyle Linton in action.
The plan was to split the GB Team into two evenly-balanced squads and make full substitutions half way through.
The game
Team GB started the top of the first inning with Ryan Martin getting hit by a pitch, and he advanced to third on a throwing error following a Darrin Newson single. Darrin advanced to second on a past ball and Luke Peters followed with a single to score Ryan. Meanwhile, Darrin advanced to third and eventually scored on a passed ball with Robbie Robison at bat.
In the bottom half of the first inning, Kyle Linton proceeded to send the Hippos down in order with one strikeout, and he struck out all three Czech batters in the second.
GB stretched their lead to 4-0 in the top of the third inning when Darrin Newson singled and Luke Peters drove a home run off the foul pole in left field.
Czech comeback
GB contributed to a Czech comeback that began in the bottom of the third. A walk and two infield errors on the same play gave the Hippos runners at first and third. A hit batter and a single by Jiri Brabec gave the Czechs their first two runs, and a double to left field that popped out of the glove of a diving Gareth Jooste led to three more and a 5-4 lead for the hosts.
In the fourth inning, Coach Norman made wholesale changes to the squad, including GB's #1 James Darby coming into pitch. Neither team could score any runs and so the score remained 5-4 for the Hippos.
GB tied the game in the top of the fifth, when Ben Easdown, who played on the GB Under-19 Men's Team last year, walked and eventually scored on an error.
But the Hippos led off the bottom half of the fifth with a double against James Darby, and a wild pitch followed by a single scored the runner from third and put the Czechs back into the lead. Two more walks, a fielder's choice and a wild pitch gave the Czech a second run and a 7-5 edge.
Neither team scored in the sixth inning and it was up to Team GB to stage a comeback in the top of the seventh. But the rally fell short despite a lead-off walk to Ben Easdown, and the final score was 7-5 to the host club Havlickuv Brod Hippos.
Kyle Linton finished with seven strikeouts and James Darby with five. Offensively, the GB Team was led by Luke Peters with two hits and three RBIs while Darrin Newson had two hits.
Looking forward
Despite the result, Norman Ames was pleased with what he saw. "This pre-tournament friendly was not about the result but more about how the team and certain players could handle game situations," Norman said. "At previous European Championships, Team GB has never had the opportunity to play warm-up games and usually goes into tough matches at the Euros cold."
Sunday was a rest day for the GB players and there was the usual Technical Meeting for the tournament on Sunday night.
The GB Men will play their first game at 4.00 pm local time on Monday 14 July against Croatia, and you can find reports on this and all GB games during the week on this website.
With many players back from the team that finished ninth in the World Championships last year, plus some new talent, GB will be looking for the medal place that will take them to the next World Championships in 2015.