By Bob Fromer
Plant City, Florida: 24 January – Day 2 at the ISF Slowpitch World Cup began for the GB Slowpitch Team with another easy win, this time over a Bulgarian national team that needed a bunch of US pick-up players to ensure they could get a team on the field.
The final score was 24-8 and the game was called on time (and the mercy rule) after six innings of play in the cavernous main stadium at the ISF complex here, formerly the spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds. From the stadium, which can hold over 10,000 people (but held about 20 on this occasion), you can look out over the rest of the complex, and a pond that houses alligators and herons.
The result ran GB's record in the tournament to 4-1, and when they play their final round-robin game tomorrow morning against the Turks & Caicos Islands, they can anticipate another easy win.
But in between – at 6.00 pm this evening – GB will play the the USA Ink Daddyz, a local team from the Plant City area and one of two American teams in the competition. Win, and GB will finish in second place in the round-robin standings and be set up nicely for the double Page Playoff that will begin on Saturday afternoon. Lose, and GB will finish third in the round-robin standings and will have a harder playoff path to follow.
GB's only loss in the competition so far came on Thursday evening at the hands of the other US team and the unofficial tournament favourites, Fort Walton Beach, by a score of 12-7. GB had chances to win the game, and the Ink Daddyz don't look quite as difficult a proposition. But a relatively inexperienced GB Team will have to play well and keep mistakes to a minimum.
GB v Bulgaria
There were a few GB mistakes in the game against Bulgaria, but such was the mismatch between the two teams that it didn't really matter. GB may have committed four errors in the game, but Bulgaria racked up 11 errors and gave GB 11 unearned runs in the process.
Once again, GB batted first and put six runs on the board on six hits before the Bulgarians had their first at-bat. Only three of those runs were earned, but there was a barrage of base hits off Bulgarian starter Youri Alkalay by Kirstie Leach, Chris Yoxall, David Lee, Chloe Llewellyn, Adam Haywood and Claudine Snape.
Bulgaria replied with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning to halve the deficit, but GB came in and scored nine runs on eight hits in the top of the second, ending the game as a contest. David Lee had a key two-run single to left field in the middle of the inning and there were single RBIs for Chris Yoxall, Adam Haywood, Ruth Macintosh in a pinch-hitting role, Michael Williams and Kirstie Leach. Two more Bulgarian errors didn't help their cause.
After that, the scoring on both sides was fitful. GB double plays in the fourth and sixth innings helped to keep the Bulgarian score down despite 15 hits of the pitching of David Lee. Meanwhile, GB totalled 21 hits and added two runs in the third inning, four in the fourth and a final three in the top of the sixth, based around a sharply hit double by David Lee, who finished with four RBIs.
David, Adam Haywood and Claudine Snape had three hits each, and Lucy Binding went two-for-two with two RBIs after coming on to play third base in the fourth inning. She also started a beautiful 5-4-3 double play.
Previous games
Reports on GB's previous games in the ISF Slowpitch World Cup can be found here (http://www.britishsoftball.org/news/view/gb-slowpitch-opens-world-cup-with-win-over-canada) and here (http://www.britishsoftball.org/news/view/gb-slowpitch-looks-towards-playoff-run).
Tournament Notes
GB is probably the best kitted-out team in the competition, but the danger of putting names on the back of shirts has been revealed here. With many new players in the team and many veterans missing, the names on the back of a large number of GB shirts bear no connection to the players wearing them!
If there was a prize for the loudest team in the tournament, it would go to AS Brevannes, the club team representing France. They sing and chant incessantly during games, and whether this is an admirable demonstration of team spirit or merely annoying is a matter of personal taste. Or maybe it's both.
The team from Curacao is still seeking their first win after four games, but their captain said last night that “We didn't know the standard of the competition, so we decided to send a fairly low-level team that would come and have some fun. If we wanted, we could send a really strong team that could probably win the tournament.” Maybe next time....
There was no overnight frost last night, as there was on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but temperatures today are around 12 degrees with a wind chill that can sometimes make it feel colder. But the weekend is meant to be warmer. All the teams here are hoping the forecasters have got it right.