A mixed fastpitch team of GB Under-19 men and women got a great weekend of experience at the Tournoi de Fleur in Paris on 4-5 October. The team finished with a 2-3 record, but the exposure to international competition and the chance for the players to bond made the trip more than worthwhile.
The tournament is now held annually as a memorial to former GB Women's Team player Fleur Edgerton, who lived much of her adult life in Paris and was a player, coach and leader at the French club Bat Paris before sadly dying from cancer in 2012.
The GB Team consisted of nine current or former players from the GB Under-19 Men's Team and six players from the GB Under-19 Women's Team, under the direction of Stan Doney as Head Coach, Lee Grafton as Assistant Coach and Ian Tomlin as Team Manager.
Lee Grafton said: “It was an excellent weekend and definitely worth doing for the young players. The spirit that was generated between the boys and girls was great to see and I think they all benefited from getting more international exposure.”
Stan Doney said: “Everyone had even game time except for the pitchers and catchers, who obviously had extra, and a great weekend had by all. The team bonding was very evident. I hadn't realised that a lot of our Under-19 girls and boys didn't really know each other before, but they do now after this trip. It was very worthwhile.”
The team
The players who made the trip to Paris were:
Amit Aswani
George Blaskett
Damon Brown
Iuean Gale
Sam Grafton
Rob Mosley
Josh Peat
Josh Saunders
Matt Tomlin
Lucy Hall
Amie Hutchison
Chelsea Robison
Immy Thomas
Chloe Wigington
Sian Wigington
The games
The team faced a long trip by car and Eurotunnel before arriving in Paris on Saturday, 4 October. A feature of the trip was how quickly the squad bonded, and this bonding was to be the making of a great weekend. However, the travel must have taken its toll, as Game One didn’t go to plan.
Game 1:
Limiel 6, GB Under-19s 2
The first three innings were dominated by the pitchers, with Josh Peat setting down the first nine Limiel batters. However, the Limiel pitcher was just as successful, with GB only getting one hit over that span, a single by Chelsie Robison.
In the fourth inning, some aggressive baserunning by Limiel, assisted by some poor decision-making and throwing by GB, saw the French team take a 3.0 lead.
GB responded immediately with a single and two stolen bases by Matt Tomlin followed by an RBI double from Lucy hall and an RBI single RBI by Amie Hutchison, which brought the score back to 3-2 going into the fifth.
In the fifth inning, however, two walks, a single and more aggressive baserunning gave Limiel three more runs, with GB unable to respond.
Game 2:
GB Under-19s 7, Entente Belge 1
The squad got into their stride in the second game and the defense held the opposition to one run with some great plays in the in field.
Matt Tomlin, Lucy hall and George Blaskett opened the scoring in the first inning and a long solo home run by Amit Aswani gave GB a 4-1 lead after the second inning.
Lucy Hall, Chloe Wigington and Damon Brown completed the scoring as GB won by 7-1.
Game 3:
GB Under-19s 5, Bat Paris 1
The final game of Day One pitted GB against the host team, Bat Paris. Again, the defense worked well behind some excellent pitching by Amie Hutchison.
A single by Josh Peat, a double from Damon Brown and three consecutive RBI singles from Chelsie Robison, Iuean Gale and Immy Thomas set up a 3-1 lead, and GB made the win secure in the fourth inning with hits by Josh Saunders and Lucy Hall.
Game 4: Semi-Final
Carnivores 7, GB Under-19s 3
The GB Team advanced to the semi-final and faced a strong Belgian side on Day Two, whose pitcher was the difference between the teams.
The Belgian team dominated the first three innings, scoring three, one and then four runs to take a 7-0 lead.
GB mounted a fightback in the fourth inning with singles by Chloe Wigington and Ieuan Gale, followed by walks to Amie Hutchison, Rob Mosley and Lucy Hall. This brought in three runs and made the score more respectable, but the GB Team was always second best to an accomplished side.
Game 5: Third Place Playoff
Limiel 5, GB Under-19s 3
The final game of the weekend was a game that should have been won.
A single from Josh Peat, followed by an RBI single from Ieuan Gale, gave GB a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but this was followed by an infield nightmare in the bottom of the inning. One error followed another and when it was over GB found themselves 3-1 down.
GB clawed back a run in the top of the second inning on a walk to Sian Wigington and a single by George Blaskett, but Limiel then took control of the game, scoring two more runs in the bottom of the frame.
The GB defense then settled down and shut out Limiel for the next three innings, with some good work at shortstop by Josh Saunders and good catches in the outfield by Immy Thomas and Rob Mosley.
However, Limiel’s pitcher was to have the greatest say in how this game played out, striking out six GB batters in the third and fourth innings. GB tried to rally in the top of the fifth, with base hits from Matt Tomlin and Chelsie Robison followed by an RBI single from Damon Brown, but in the effort fell short and GB had to settle for fourth place.
Experimentation
Stan Doney added: “We mixed things up over the weekend, and I asked the players what positions they would like to try out that they don't ordinarily get to play. I did this regardless of game situations, and we might have won more games if I just stayed with our best line-up. But that wasn't the purpose of the trip.”
Many thanks go to Michaela Wigington and Jan Grafton for their assistance in organising the transport and accommodation.
Game experience in competitions like this one is what GB teams – especially youth teams – definitely need to get more often, and the GB Management Committee is planning to organise more such trips in the spring of 2015.
Thanks to Ian Tomlin for game reports.