by Bob Fromer
Rosmalen, Netherlands – This morning, the GB Under-19 Women's Fastpitch Team hung on for a hard-fought and gritty victory over Germany, but this evening it was an easier task to complete an 8-1 mercy-rule win from Monday's suspended game against Belgium.
As a result, GB has finished on top of their first-stage round-robin group at the European Junior Championships here in Holland with a perfect 3-0 record – the first time a GB Junior Team has accomplished this feat.
It also means that GB has drawn at least notionally easier opponents in the second round, and will play Lithuania, Russia and the Czech Republic over the next day and a half instead of Holland, Italy and France, which would have been GB's fate had they finished second in the group. This is now the task facing Belgium instead, who finished second behind GB in Pool C.
GB's win over Germany this morning, coupled with Belgium's rain-shortened victory over Germany on Monday, has eliminated the Germans, who were beaten finalists in this competition in both 2010 and 2012, from playoff contention.
Question marks
The full story of GB's backs-to-the-wall win over Germany can be read below.
Having got that all-important victory under their belts, GB came back to Rosmalen this afternoon in a confident mood – and with good reason. When the game with Belgium was stopped on Monday afternoon because of persistent rain in the top of the third inning, GB had a 4-0 lead behind starting pitcher Georgina Corrick.
On the other hand, the Belgians did have runners on first and third in the top of the third inning with only one out. And Georgina Corrick had had to be scratched from the Germany game, where she would have played third base, with soreness in her knee – so would she be available to complete the game against the Belgians?
The answer to that question was yes, as Georgina, along with second base player Sian Wigington, who also sat out the Germany game with a slight quad strain, both resumed their place in the line-up.
Perfect play
When the game restarted, after a series of protests and interventions from Belgian Coach Andre Prins (including an attempt to pretend that the score was only 3-0 in GB's favour), Belgium quickly cashed that runner on third base when Emma Ballardini bunted a ball that hugged the third base line and was finally touched by GB third base player Chloe Wigington in fair territory but too late to throw anyone out.
Andre Prins's next attempt to unsettle the GB defense was a double steal with runners on first and third. But the ploy backfired as the GB defense executed perfectly. Catcher Kirsten Mack fired down to shortstop Keeli Waugh, who took the throw in front of the bag and returned it in time for Kirsten to tag Belgian lead-off hitter Kate Geldof trying to score. That broke the back of the Belgian rally, and pretty much ended Belgian resistance on the day.
Finishing up
Andre Prins's final ploy was to send out a pitcher that GB hadn't seen on Monday, Lisa van Raemdonck, who hoped to keep the GB hitters off balance with deliveries that were slower than they were generally used to.
This kind of worked, because GB didn't overwhelm her, and some batters got themselves out over-swinging.
But on the other hand, GB added runs steadily – one in the bottom of the third, two more in the fourth and then a final run in the bottom of the sixth that ended the game on the mercy rule with GB ahead 8-1.
The run in the bottom of the third came when Georgina Corrick reached base on a fielder's choice, moved up on a bunt single by Chloe Wigington and a misplayed bunt by Emma Bridge, then scored on a slashing single to left by Amy Trask.
In the fourth inning, the Belgians bore the brunt of some British power, Shortstop Keeli Waugh led off with a single up the middle, tagged up on a long fly ball out off the bat of Lauren Evans and moved to third when Kirsten Mack smashed a shot down the third base line that felled the Belgian third base player, who had to be helped off the pitch. Georgina Corrick then singled in one run and the second scored on a passed ball.
Meanwhile, Georgina had settled into a groove in the circle, setting nine Belgians down in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, with two strikeouts and nothing hit out of the infield.
The winning run
With the score at 7-1 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, GB batters were probably trying a bit too hard to end the game, and Lisa van Raemdonck had her easiest inning, retiring the side on two pop-ups and an infield grounder, sandwiched around a single up the middle by Hayley D'Avilar.
But GB did put the game away in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases with one out on yet another long double by Lauren Evans, a sacrifice bunt and two walks. The walk to Kirsten Mack was intentional after the vicious line shot she had hit off the Belgian third base player in her previous at-bat. With the game decided, Andre Prins wanted to protect his players.
As Emma Bridge came to the plate, Andre moved all his outfielders in so they had a chance to throw out Lauren Evans at the plate on a short fly ball. “If she hits it over your head, forget it,” Andre yelled.
Emma, after one failed bunt attempt, promptly drove the ball over the head of the Belgian left fielder, who didn't bother to chase it.
And that was the ball game.
GB Head Coach Rachael Watkeys said: "These were two great wins today, which put us in a fantastic position within the competition, avoiding the Netherlands and Italy, It was a fantastic team performance in both games. Different players stepped up in each game and did their job, and they didn't panic, especially when we were behind. But now we have two important games tomorrow."
Tomorrow
The first playoff stage begins tomorrow (Wednesday), with the eight teams that advanced from the initial round-robin groups divided into two new groups of four, each containing two first-place and two second-place teams. The groups are:
Group 1
Russia
Great Britain
Lithuania
Czech Republic
Group 2
Netherlands
Italy
France
Belgium
GB will play Lithuania at 9.00 am Wednesday, Russia at 3.45 pm Wednesday afternoon and the Czech Republic at 9.00 am on Thursday. Two of the eight teams will be eliminated in this round and two more in the next round to get down to four teams that will contest the final Page Playoff on Friday afternoon and Saturday.
And GB hopes to be among them.
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GB v Germany
This morning, the GB Under-19s -- and especially pitcher Emma Bridge -- battled, scratched and clawed their way to a pressure-filled 5-3 win over Germany.
The Germans will look back on a world of missed opportunities in this game and will wonder quite how they failed to win it. With two GB players – Georgina Corrick and Sian Wigington – scratched from the starting line-up through injury just before the game began, GB got off on the back foot and the Germans applied pressure pretty much from the beginning to the end of the contest.
GB bent but never broke, thanks to the ability of starter Emma Bridge to remain unfazed by what was sometimes chaos around her. Emma threw the full seven innings, as did German starter Christiana Gable, and Emma gave up six hits, four walks (one intentional) and struck out five.
But the last two strikeouts were called third strikes against the last two German batters in the game, and they killed off a final attempt by Germany to haul themselves back from a two-run deficit. The strikeouts couldn't have come at a sweeter time.
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Stats can lie
Consider these statistics. Apart from the two innings in which they scored – three runs in the third inning to overtake a 2-0 German lead, and then two more runs in the sixth to provide a vital cushion – GB went up and down in order in every other inning.
But the Germans went up and down in order only once. In every other inning, they had runners on base – loads of runners on base. Germany left 12 runners stranded and GB only left one. The Germans left the bases loaded twice. The GB defense helped them out with seven errors, four in the second inning alone when Germany took a 2-0 lead, and two more in the sixth when Germany scored their other run.
In the end, it was a great, if brutal, defensive play that probably saved the game for GB in the sixth inning, when one German baserunner had scored, German left fielder Christin Poon was tearing for home – but only after a fatal hesitation -- and a throw from shortstop after a force out at second base had gotten away from GB catcher Kirsten Mack. The ball rolled behind home plate, Kirsten retrieved it, looked at the runner, looked at pitcher Emma Bridge coming in to cover, and then made a despairing head-first dive, tagging Christin Poon hard in the face with ball and glove just before the German reached home plate.
It took Kristin Poon a long time to get to her feet – fortunately, she was ok. But for GB, it was the third out in yet another chaotic inning, and it preserved Britain's lead at 5-3, which is how the game ended.
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German runs
After GB went out quickly in the top of the first inning, Germany served notice of intent right away. German pitcher Christiana Gable led off by driving a triple over the head of Amy Trask in right field. Christin Poon bounced to Chloe Wigington at third, but Chloe took too long to look back Gable, and her throw to first was too late to get the speedy Poon. The Germans had runners on first and third with no outs, and soon it was second and third as Poon advanced on a grounder back to the pitcher by Julia Konigs. But Emma Bridge bore down. Clean-up hitter Fiona Brosch was out when GB first base player Lauren Evans made a fine play on her bunt, with the runners having to hold, and then Emma Bridge struck out Lennea Hayo to end the inning and keep the Germans off the scoreboard.
However, the German breakthrough – amply assisted by GB misplays – came in the bottom of the second inning. The first two German batters reached on errors at third base, and one scored when Athina Zuber drove a change-up for a single to left centre field. A walk loaded the bases, GB got an out on a force play at home, but when Emma Bridge failed to handle a bouncer back to her by Julia Konigs, a second run came home. The bases were still loaded, and the game could have lurched out of control, but Emma induced Fiona Brosch to hit her a little pop-up for the third out.
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GB runs
Suddenly, in the top of the third inning, the GB offense came to life and GB took the lead.
Chloe Wigington led off with a single to deep short, and with one out, second base player Amie Hutchison blooped a single that fell in short right centre field when a German infielder and outfielder collided. Chloe and Amie advanced to third and second on a passed ball, and then centre fielder Hayley D'Avilar singled cleanly up the middle to drive in both runs. Hayley took third on the throw to home and scored when German shortstop Hannah Link failed to handle Keeli Waugh's grounder.
Germany, in truth, had dominated the game – but GB had the lead.
And so things stayed through the fourth and fifth innings, when GB went up and down 1-2-3 while the Germans left the bases loaded again in the fourth (once again, Fiona Brosch made the third out with a grounder to Lauren Evans at first base) and left another runner stranded in the sixth.
Padding the lead
It seemed inconceivable to the nervous GB supporters in the stands – a fine turnout of parents, other relatives and friends of GB players – that the Germans wouldn't break through at some point. So it was a huge relief when GB scored two insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Hayley D'Avilar led off and reached on an error, and then GB power, missing to this point, turned up at the right time. Lauren Evans crushed a double to the fence in left centre field, scoring Hayley from first, and then Kirsten Mack lined a single to left, scoring Lauren.
That gave GB a 5-2 lead, but in this game, no lead looked safe. And when the Germans batted in the bottom of the sixth, nightmare scenarios danced once again in GB heads.
Athina Zuber, who had three hits on the day, reached on a ground ball heading for centre field that Keeli Waugh knocked down but couldn't make a play on, and Christiana Gable walked. Christin Poon bounced to third, where Chloe Wigington flipped to Keeli Waugh covering third for the force out. But Amie Hutchison couldn't handle a ground ball to second by Julia Konigs and the bases were loaded with one out.
And that set up Kirsten Mack's game-saving play. The unfortunate Fiona Brosch hit a grounder to second. Amie Hutchison flipped to Keeli Waugh for the force out as Christiana Gable scored. And that's when Christin Poon hesitated, fatally, and then broke for home. Keeli's throw rolled away from catcher Kirsten Mack, but Kirsten recovered the ball and stretched her full 5'11” frame into that game-saving dive and tag.
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The end
After all that had gone before, the German seventh inning was almost tame. Klara Neumann led off with a bloop single that landed just in front of Amy Trask. But then Emma Bridge summoned up her last reserves of strength and closed out the game. Jacqueline Kusterer bounced back to Emma for a force play at second, and Alisha Theissen and pinch-hitter Hara Lagler both looked at called third strikes on the outside corner.
Somehow, GB had hung on for a very previous win.
“This is the kind of game that builds character,” said one GB fan after the game, and it probably does. This is a GB team that won't give up easily, even in adversity.
But the Germans will have nightmares about this game for a long time to come.
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Round-robin results
Games rained out yesterday were made up today, and full results from the first round robin are:
Group A
Lithuania 7, Ukraine 0 (forfeit)*
Lithuania 7, Croatia 6
Netherlands 11, Lithuania 0 (4 innings)
Netherlands 7, Ukraine 0 (forfeit)*
Croatia 7, Ukraine 0 (forfeit)*
Netherlands 17, Croatia 0 (3 innings)
* Ukraine has withdrawn from the tournament.
Group B
Russia 4, Spain 2
Russia 12, France 6
France 14, Spain 6
Group C
GB 15, Serbia 0 (3 innings)
Belgium 3, Germany 1
Belgium 6, Serbia 2
GB 5, Germany 3
GB 8, Belgium 1 (6 innings)
Germany 11, Serbia 0 (4 innings)
Group D
Denmark 16, Israel 4 (4 innings)
Italy 30, Denmark 0 (3 innings)
Italy 15, Israel 0 (3 innings)
Czech Republic 9, Israel 1 (5 innings)
Italy 11, Czech Republic 4 (5 innings)
Czech Republic 11, Denmark 0 (4 innings)
Group standings
First round standings, with the top two teams going through to the Championship playoff rounds from each group, were:
Group A
Netherlands (3-0)
Lithuania (2-1)
Croatia (1-2)
Ukraine (0-3) (all forfeits)
Group B
Russia (2-0)
France (1-1)
Spain (0-2)
Group C
Great Britain (3-0)
Belgium (2-1)
Germany (1-2)
Serbia (0-3)
Group D
Italy (3-0)
Czech Republic (2-1)
Denmark (1-2)
Israel (0-3)