By David Morris
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Weiner Neustadt, Austria: 6 August – Play resumed in today in Austria at the European Slowpitch Super Cup after a rainout on Friday, with the remaining playoff games and the Grand Final, which turned into an epic showdown between the two British teams at the tournament.
H2O and London Chromies had worked hard all week to get to this showdown, and it was Chromies who struck the first blow today, defeating H2O in the 1 v 2 Page Playoff game and forcing H2O to get past the defending champion UCE Travellers to get to the final.
But H2O had the last word, and will bring the winner’s trophy back to the UK after a sensational Grand Final.
London Chromies 20, H2O 12
In the 1 v 2 Page Playoff game on Saturday morning, postponed from Friday evening, Chromies hit back at H2O in an intense contest in gusty, bright conditions.
Chromies were noisily confident throughout, buoyed by a first inning lead, while H2O looked tired as they tried to find a way into the game. Chromies continued to punish their lethargy, with Eric Kelly hitting two pivotal home runs as H2O could not catch a break. H2O Captain Roger Grooms was understandably aggrieved not to get the correct call on a clear interference which stopped Andraz Skabar turning a double play in the second inning.
Both teams were taking the opposing pitchers deep, but just as H2O had the table set, Chris Yoxall gambled on David Lee's curveball and struck out, leaving two runners stranded.
Danny Gunn then slashed the ball over the fence for two more runs for the Chromies.
Stewart Butcher kept things alive for H2O with a three-run home run in the fourth inning, but the Chromies remained in good spirits, taking a 9-5 lead into the fifth. Moera Flett then beat Katherine Golik for the second time down the left field line, and a Chris Yoxall error allowed the Chromies to increase their lead.
But H2O got themselves together at bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, with Mike MacDowell homering, Chris Yoxall making amends with a double that shot past David Lee and Andraz Skabar homering to right field.
However, back-to-back home runs by Danny Gunn and Moera Flett put another four runs on the board for the Chromies, who ended the sixth inning 20-12 up.
No runs were scored in the seventh inning, leaving Chromies to take the honours and H2O needing to fight for their lives against the UCE Travellers from Germany later in the day.
Chromies Manager Doug Clouston said, "We had some good rest after finishing yesterday early, but I could tell the team were pumped up for this game at breakfast. I have a bench full of players who all want to play, so I have to decide who can do it for us in the final."
H2O 16, UCE Travellers (Germany) 12
The second game of the day for H2O was for the right to play Chromies in the final. The loser would have to settle for the third place trophy.
H2O, clearly hurting from their earlier defeat, went all out to stop the UCE Travellers and took a 4-1 lead in the first inning.
Having watched a Wolfgang Walther home run sail over the fence, Roger Grooms sent knuckleballs dancing over the plate to strike out two batters in the first two innings. Chris Yoxall was still not quite tuned in at bat in the early stages, but soon got back to normal with a blistering three-run home run in the second inning. H2O went into the third inning 8-3 up and looking comfortable.
Travellers kept Neil Selvester busy in left field, and Andraz Skabar prowled expertly at second base, slapping a tag on Adam Haywood before throwing out Miriam Meyer.
Roger Grooms then led off in the bottom of the third inning and poked the ball into right field for a triple as Travellers started to lose their grip in the field. Tjasa Skabar's routine fly ball was dropped, allowing another run. Mike MacDowell somehow managed to bounce his hit off the top of the right field fence for a two-run homer and Chris Yoxall had arguably his biggest hit of the week, fully clearing the trees in left field to put H2O 16-9 ahead.
In the seventh inning, Travellers worked themselves around with base hits to get the score to 16-12, but Barbara Herzgen could only gape as Roger Grooms floated another knuckleball in for a strikeout to end the game, putting H2O into the Grand Final and their third face-off of the tournament against the Chromies.
GRAND FINAL: H2O 19, London Chromies 18
The two British teams gathered for the final game at the European Slowpitch Super Cup and plate umpire Don Farr congratulated both captains before getting things under way. Spectators lined both sides of the field and filled the bleachers behind home plate as David Lee prepared to throw the first pitch.
Andraz Skabar calmly set the tone in the top of the first inning with a three-run blast to score Chris Yoxall and Kristie Leach before Roger Grooms shut out the Chromies in the bottom of the inning.
Chromies’ pitcher David Lee had trouble finding the strike zone in the second inning, but kept his nerve and kept H2O from further scoring. But the Chromies could not respond at bat, despite loading the bases for Danny Gunn, who lined out to Kim Miller. So the second inning ended with H2O still 3-0 ahead.
Chromies could not score in the third inning either, thanks to a fabulous catch by Mike MacDowell, skidding on his knees to snag Michael O'Sullivan's right field effort.
H2O piled on seven runs in the fourth inning with a home run from Neil Selvester and a bag full of singles and doubles which knocked the wind out of the Chromies. The crowd, sensing a runaway victory, got behind the Chromies, helping them put on four runs and distracting H2O enough to encourage a few wild throws in the infield.
David Lee struggled through the top of the fifth inning but his experience saw him out, shrugging off a walk to Tjasa Skabar. Danny Gunn ended the inning by picking a grounder from the grass, running through second base and somehow twisting to throw to Marketa Sulcova at first for a dazzling double play.
H2O were now 15-4 ahead and pitcher Roger Grooms was in full control of the diamond. When Chiya Louie drilled the ball straight back at him with Michael O'Sullivan on first base, Grooms plucked the ball from the air and spun to throw out O'Sullivan diving back to first for a double play. But David Lee stepped up to crush the ball over the fence and pull back a run.
Pat Hoey came in to pitch the sixth inning for Chromies, but Katherine Golik, pinch-hitting for Claude Snape, placed a right field hit just inside the line and raced to third base. Neil Selvester's sacrifice fly scored Golik -- just -- as Enmanuell Estevez very nearly caught her at the plate with an incredible throw.
Going into the seventh inning, however, H2O were 17-7 ahead and looked sure to win the game.
Mike MacDowell and Andraz Skabar added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to 19-7, but Chromies refused to accept the inevitable and a remarkable bottom of the seventh followed which had the crowd captivated to the end.
The bleachers erupted as the Chromies prepared their rally caps in the dugout, Eric Kelly hit a three-run bomb and H2O panicked. A routine fly ball was dropped in the glaring sunshine by Mike MacDowell, but as Chromies batted around the order he recovered to grab Moe Flett's right field shot.
Eventually, Chromies got David Lee, the tying run, to the plate with two runners on. Lee scored both of them with a double as the crowd became near-hysterical. But H2O held their nerve.
Roger Grooms forced Michaela Sulcova to dink the ball in the air to right field, where Mike MacDowell called off his fellow outfielders to make the easy catch and make H2O the 2016 European Super Cup champions.
Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony was a happy affair, with both British teams hugging and applauding each other with good humour and sportsmanship.
UCE Travellers, Chromies and H2O were awarded their medals and trophies in order from third to first, with both the Austrian and British national anthems played. Then live music and a party kept the players, officials and spectators entertained into the evening as a wholly successful tournament came to a close.
Chris Moon
Earlier in the afternoon, a gathering on Field Two marked British umpire Chris Moon's retirement from European softball. After completing his last game, Akademics Sofia (Bulgaria) v Linz (Austria), Chris walked under a parade of bats held high by ballplayers from home plate towards second base, where he placed his cap down and left the field to sustained applause.
Final Standings
Final standings at the 2016 European Slowpitch Super Cup were:
1 -- H20 (GBR)
2 -- London Chromies (GBR)
3 -- UCE Travellers (GER)
4 -- DNAce (CZE)
5 -- Mannheim (GER)
6 -- Sparks Mlade Buky (CZE)
7 -- Triple Play (GER)
8 -- Linz (AUT)
9 -- Weiner Neustadt Chucks (AUT)
10 -- TNT (IRL)
11 -- Oddsox (IRL)
12 -- Akademics Sofia (BUL)
13 -- Afterburners (BEL)
14 -- Titans BSC (BEL)
Photos by David Morris