by Bob Fromer
Haarlem, Netherlands – The GB Women's Fastpitch Team played their best game yet at the 14th ISF World Championships on Wednesday evening, and gave the Netherlands a very tough battle before finally going down by a score of 9-3.
GB played errorless softball for the first time in the tournament (the Dutch committed two errors and gave GB two unearned runs), and made a number of fine plays in the field. Catcher Amy Moore threw out two would-be Dutch base-stealers. And the GB offense chased Netherlands starter Lindsey Meadows in the third inning as they threatened what at the time was a 3-2 Dutch lead.
GB starter Kori Waugh pitched all seven innings (with a brief break in the fifth inning when Carling Hare came in but couldn't retire any of the four hitters she faced), and Kori pitched a courageous game against a very strong offensive team.
But as has been the pattern in this tournament, Kori was constantly pitching with runners on base, the result of giving up 11 hits and nine walks plus one hit batter. In the end, that kind of largesse is unsustainable against some of the best softball teams in the world. It gives them too many chances to score.
Early runs
Both teams scored two runs in the first inning.
For the Dutch, the first two hitters, Britt Vonk and Chantal Versluis, reached on walks, and that always means trouble. Right fielder Jessie van Aalst then hit a little bloop double to right centre field, scoring Vonk, and later in the inning Areke Spel drove in Versluis with a sacrifice fly.
But GB, playing with obvious determination, wasn't daunted. With two out, Chiya Louie singled between third and short, and Alicja Wolny, playing despite dislocating her knee on Monday evening and suffering from a severe throat infection, singled sharply to left. Then GB caught the kind of break they haven't had very often in the tournament. The next batter, Kori Waugh, hit what looked like a routine ground ball to second base. But the ball went through the legs of Chantal Versluis and kept rolling, all the way to the fence, as Chiya and Alicja scored. Having to push it from first to home, however, clearly didn't do Alicja Wolny's knee any good at all.
The Dutch take the lead
Both teams managed only a single baserunner and no runs in the second inning, though the Dutch committed their second error of the game when shortstop Britt Vonk rushed a throw to first on Karlene Headley-Cooper's ground ball.
The Dutch took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning when Jessie van Aalst led off with her second double, this time a long drive to left centre field, and eventually scored on a single by Eva Voortman. But it could have been worse as the Netherlands left the bases loaded.
GB were back on the attack against Lindsey Meadows in the bottom of the third inning as Laura Thompson led off with a line drive single over shortstop and one out later, Alicja Wolny, essentially playing on one leg, drove a single to right centre field and was replaced by Keeli Waugh. In a gallant effort, Alicja had given GB everything she could.
That was enough for Dutch Head Coach Craig Montvidas, who replaced Meadows with Femke Dusschoten, and she brought the threat to a quick end by striking out Kori Waugh and Steph Pearce.
Resistance
The rest of the game was a case of GB resistance against the odds, as the Dutch continued to get baserunners, and some of them were bound to score.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Netherlands scored two runs, one of them on an illegal pitch with a runner on third base, and again left the bases loaded.
In the top of the fifth, the game moved out of GB's reach as the Dutch scored three more. After Britt Vonk hit a hard one-out single up the middle, Carling Hare came in to pitch, but gave up two singles and two walks to the four batters she faced, with Vonk, Chantal Versluis and Jessie van Aalst all crossing the plate. Not wanting the game to get out of hand, GB Head Coach Hayley Scott brought Kori Waugh back, and she quickly got the last two outs, with Sarah Craig making two good plays at third base.
The final Dutch run came in the top of the sixth inning after they loaded the bases with no one out on two singles and a hit batter. But Kori Waugh and the GB defense minimised the damage and refused to allow a second run that would have brought up a mercy rule scoreline.
In the top of the seventh inning, Amy Moore quelled the last Dutch threat when she threw out Areke Spel trying to steal second base.
Meanwhile, on offense, GB were less successful against Femke Dusschoten than they had been against the Dutch starter Lindsey Meadows. But GB did score a run in the fourth inning that at the time closed the margin to 5-3. Karlene Headley-Cooper walked with two out, and Amy Moore drove a double into the left field corner, with Karlene scoring easily.
In the sixth inning, Tahli Moore, who had replaced Steph Pearce in left field, led off the inning with a bunt single. But Femke Dusschoten ended the inning on two strikeouts, and GB went up and down in order in the bottom of the seventh.
But the last play of the game illustrated how things have tended to go for the GB team this week.
Back in the fourth inning, when the Dutch scored two runs, Dutch clean-up hitter Saskia Kosterink smashed a ball back at pitcher Kori Waugh. The ball hit Kori in the shin and glanced away into short left field as Dutch baserunners advanced. In the bottom of the seventh, GB shortstop Chiya Louie hit an even harder shot back at Femke van Dusschoten. The ball hit her but then looped straight up in the air to second base player Chantal Versluis, who took the catch.
Looking ahead
GB have one last chance to get a round-robin win on Thursday when they play Chinese Taipei at 4.30 pm Dutch time.
The Consolation Playoffs for the bottom four teams in each round-robin group will begin on Friday, when GB will almost certainly face Russia, weather permitting, at 11.00 am. To keep playing, GB will have to win.
The weather continues to be a huge issue at the tournament, with heavy rain again causing games to stop for several hours on Wednesday. All games were finally completed, but the GB/Netherlands game didn't finish until close to midnight.
Apart from causing chaos to the schedule, the weather has made the tournament a bit of an ordeal, with low temperatures and high winds making it tough for players and spectators alike. It's felt more like late October than late August, and that's something no one would have foreseen.
Who will make the playoffs?
With just one day of round-robin play left, it's clear who will come first and second in the two pools, but much less clear who will claim the final two playoff places in each group, as can be seen by a look at the standings below.
Cuba, China and the Czech Republic in Pool A all have a shot, at least in theory, at the magic number of four wins that generally guarantees a playoff place.
And in Pool B, four teams – the Dominican Republic, Italy, Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands all sit on three wins, and will be looking for a fourth win on Thursday.
So who is likely to get them?
In Pool A, Cuba will play Canada and are unlikely to win. China should win against Russia. The Czech Republic have almost no chance against Japan. So China is likely to claim third place. And if New Zealand (2-4) beats winless Puerto Rico, that could leave the final place to a question of runs conceded among Cuba, the Czech Republic and New Zealand, who will all have a 3-4 record.
In Pool B, the Dominican Republic is unlikely to get that fourth win against Australia and Italy faces an equally unlikely task against the United States. Chinese Taipei will assume they can beat GB (but who knows?) and the Netherlands will count on beating Botswana. If that happens, Chinese Taipei, who beat the Netherlands in an 11-inning thriller last Saturday, will be third and the Dutch fourth.
Pool Standings after Day 6
Pool A
Japan (6-0)
Canada (5-1)
Cuba (3-3)
China (3-3)
Czech Republic (3-3)
New Zealand (2-4)
Russia (2-4)
Puerto Rico (0-6)
Pool B
USA (6-0)
Australia (5-1)
Dominican Republic (3-3)
Italy (3-3)
Chinese Taipei (3-3)
Netherlands (3-3)
Botswana (1-5)
GB (0-6)
Results
Scores so far in the tournament are:
Pool A
Day 1
Japan 4, China 0
Canada 3, Puerto Rico 2
Czech Republic 6, Cuba 3
New Zealand 5, Russia
Day 2
China 1, Puerto Rico 0
Japan 5, Russia 0
Cuba 1, New Zealand 0
Canada 8, Czech Republic 1
Day 3
Cuba 5, Russia 3
Japan 9, Puerto Rico 2
Czech Republic 2, China 0
Canada 8, New Zealand 1 (5 innings)
Day 4
Russia 3, Czech Republic 0
Japan 9, New Zealand 0 (5 innings)
Day 5
Canada 2, China 0 (postponed from Monday)
Cuba 3, Puerto Rico 1 (postponed from Monday)
New Zealand 7, Czech Republic 3
China 2, Cuba 0
Russia 2, Puerto Rico 1
Japan 4, Canada 0
Day 6
China 7, New Zealand 0
Czech Republic 1, Puerto Rico 3
Canada 11, Russia 0 (5 innings)
Japan 9, Cuba 0
Pool B
Day 1
Australia 2, Chinese Taipei 1
Italy 3, Dominican Republic 2
Botswana 5, GB 3
USA 10, Netherlands 0 (5 innings)
Day 2
USA 7, Botswana 0 (5 innings)
Chinese Taipei 5, Netherlands 4 (11 innings)
Dominican Republic 14, GB 6 (5 innings)
Australia 10, Italy 0 (4 innings)
Day 3
Dominican Republic 11, Botswana 1 (4 innings)
Australia 9, GB 0 (5 innings)
Netherlands 8, Italy 0 (5 innings)
USA 5, Chinese Taipei 1
Day 4
Italy 6, Botswana 0
USA 11, GB 0 (4 innings)
Australia 4, Netherlands 0
Day 5
Dominican Republic 7, Chinese Taipei 0 (6 innings) (postponed from Monday)
Italy 9, GB 0
Chinese Taipei 9, Botswana 0 (5 innings)
USA 4, Australia 2
Netherlands 14, Dominican Republic 1
Day 6
Chinese Taipei 1, Italy 0
Australia 17, Botswana 0 (4 innings)
USA 10, Dominican Republic 0 (4 innings)
Netherlands 9, GB 3
Photos by Lynda Medwell