Dupnitsa, Bulgaria: August 25 – It was the most dramatic of tournament finals. From the beginning of the game, there were massed clouds and lightning in the background. And then, after the London Angels scored twice to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and fell behind by one in the top of the eighth, the rains came, the lightning flashed overhead and the field flooded.
At one point, the coaches met to discuss who would be the winner if the game couldn't continue. But no one wanted it to end that way, and when the rain finally stopped after a 45-minute downpour, a small battalion came out to make the field playable once again.
And then, finally, the Angels batted in the bottom of the eighth inning, had a runner thrown out at the plate, still managed to tie the score and then won the game when Eagles' pitcher Lauren Molina walked Kylie Kylie Marshall on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded.
And so the London Angels had won their first-ever European Championship by holding their nerve and never giving up in a couple of tense and nerve-shredding Page Playoff games.
Route to the final
Having finished first in the round-robin pool, the Angels got to the final in a single game. But that game required them to come from behind with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge out the tough Spanish team Bizkorrak by 2-1 on Friday evening.
Earlier, the Eagles, the only team to beat the Angels in pool play, had defeated Les Comanches from France by a score of 7-3.
On Saturday morning, the Eagles defeated Bizkorrak 6-1 as the Spanish team's pitcher, Ane Barandiaran, could not match her performance on Friday and gave up a bunch of early runs.
And so, at 4.30 on Saturday afternoon, it was the Eagles against the Angels.
Pitchers' duel
Eagles' pitcher Lauren Molina, who had thrown the morning game against Bizkorrak, now served up a selection of off-speed pitches that kept the Angels' hitters off balance for most of the game. Megan Brown was throwing harder but with equal effectiveness for the Angels and the first four innings were scoreless. The Angels left more runners on base and had the better scoring chances, but both pitchers were able to get outs when they really needed them.
The Angels broke the deadlock with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, thanks to two errors by the Eagles that eventually allowed Milena Borisova to score.
But suddenly the roof fell in for the Angels in the top of the sixth inning as the Eagles scored three runs.
An infield single and a botched force play put the first two Eagles' batters on base. Jennifer Roessler struck out, but another fielder's choice on which the Angels failed to get an out loaded the bases. The second out came on a force play at home and the Angels could see light at the end of the tunnel. But then Flavia Crameri drove a double into the gap in left centre field and all three runners scored.
Comeback
A comeback was needed and there wasn't much time. Megan Brown led off the bottom of the sixth for the Angels with a double but was stranded as Joelle Whitley lined out to third, Rachael Horne grounded out to short and Simone Zurschmitten struck out swinging.
The Eagles put two runners on base in the top of the seventh but couldn't push any insurance runs across the plate. And so the Angels came up in the bottom of the seventh inning needing two runs to stay in the game.
Milena Borisova hit a ground ball through the left side for a single to lead off the inning and Vasilka Georgieva came in to pinch-run. Simona Cellar reached on a bunt single and the Angels had runners on first and second. A moment later they were on second and third after Nadya Pavlova's sacrifice bunt. But when Kylie Marshall popped out to short for the second out, the Angels were down to their last chance, in the form of catcher Lisanne van den Berg.
And Lisanne came through, with a single to left field that scored both runners, and Lisanne went all the way around to third on a wild throw to the plate. Suddenly, the Angels had a chance to win the game then and there. But the Eagles intentionally walked Megan Brown and Joelle Whitley grounded out.
Tiebreak
So to the eighth inning and the tiebreak, with rain clearly imminent. Jennifer Roessler was the tie-break runner on second for the Eagles and Julia Gloukoff sacrificed her to third. Lauren Molina was walked intentionally and Flavia Crameri struck out looking. The Angels were one out away from getting out of the inning. But an infield hit by Irene Ulrich brought in the run that put the Eagles back in the lead.
Sarah Winkler was thrown out on a bunt attempt to end the inning, and then the rains came. An hour and twenty minutes later, the game resumed and the Angels had yet another comeback to mount if they were going to win the title.
Catherine Kirby was the tie-break runner on second base to start the bottom of the eighth inning, pinch-running for Joelle Whitley, and she was sacrificed to third by Rachael Horne. But the Angels' hopes were suddenly hanging by a thread when Kirby broke for home on a ground ball by Simone Zurschmitten and was thrown out at the plate by Eagles' shortstop Jennifer Roessler. Now there were two out and just a runner on first base.
The Angels needed a break – and they got it. Milena Borisova's ground ball to third could have ended the game, but Flavia Crameri at third base threw it away, and now the Angels had runners at second and third.
The Eagles chose to walk Simona Cellar intentionally to load the bases, bringing up Nadya Pavlova.
With the large Bulgarian crowd cheering her on, Nadya hit a ground ball up the middle. Corina Casparis at second dove and came up with the ball, but couldn't get it to second in time to beat the speedy Simona Cellar and meanwhile, Simone Zurschmitten scored to tie the game.
Now it was up to Kylie Marshall, with the bases still loaded and the tension mounting. Kylie was patient and the count went to 3-and-2. Everyone held their breath for the next pitch.
It was ball four, and the London Angels were European B Pool Cup Champions, the first women's European Cup title in British softball history.
Semi-final
The Spanish team Bizkorrak, who fell to a last-inning rally by the Angels on Friday evening in the Page Playoff 1 v 2 game, met the Swiss team Eagles in Saturday morning's semi-final to see who would go through to meet the Angels in the final.
The Eagles scored early and often and built up a 6-0 lead after the top of the fourth inning. Bizkorrak scored a lone consolation run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but that was all they could muster off Eagles' pitcher Lauren Molina, who pitched a complete game, giving up five scattered hits and two walks.
Bizkorrak started Spanish National Team pitcher Ane Barandiaran, who had pitched seven tough innings against the Angels the evening before, and this time Barandiaran wasn't nearly so effective, giving up all six Eagles' runs, all earned, before Rosa Blanes came in to pitch the final three innings.
So the Angels knew that to win the title, they would have to beat the only team they had lost to during the tournament so far. And somehow, they found a way to do just that.
Final standings
The final order of places in the 2013 European Women's B Pool Cup is:
1 – London Angels (GB)
2 – Eagles (Switzerland)
3 – Bizkorrak (Spain)
4 – Les Comanches (France)
5 - Princ (Croatia)
6 - Akademiks (Bulgaria)
7 - Szostka Brzeg (Poland)
8 - Faros (Greece)
9 - Angels (Romania)