by Bob Fromer
Pardubice, Czech Republic: 31 July -- Last year, the 
​Chromies stuttered in some of their early games at the European Slowpitch Cup and survived some scares in later games before coming through at the end to win the title.
This year, Chromies have started as if they plan to blast any and all opponents into submission here in Pardubice. This morning, the Chromies pounded out a 17-2 five-inning win over DNAce, one of two Czech representatives in the competition and winners of the Czech Slowpitch League. That was followed this afternoon by a 22-7 demolition of the German team UCE Travellers, again in five innings. In this game, against a team that figures to be one of their strongest opponents, the Chromies spotted the Germans a 5-2 lead after the top of the third inning, then scored 20 runs in the bottom of the third, fourth and fifth on 19 hits to blow UCE out of the game.
But there should be a slight word of caution. 
DNAce reportedly have some stronger players still to join their squad, and the Germans played a deliberately weakened team against the Chromies, preferring to save their strongest hand for later on in the competition. Lisicke, the Slovenian team, will also pose a challenge, though they split a pair of games today, as did the always dangerous Irish team, Dodder Dynamoes.
So while Chromies will be delighted with the two wins, and with their batting over the two games, it may not always be this easy later in the week.
Hitting stars
While Chromies' collective batting average over the two games today will be pretty scary reading for the seven other teams in the 2012 European Slowpitch Cup, no one was more consistent over the two games than leadoff hitter and second baseman Michael O'Sullivan, who went six-for-six with a walk, two triples, a double and five RBIs.
Brett Gibbens had two doubles and a single in three at-bats against DNAce, made a couple of outs in his first two at-bats against the Germans, and then, in typical fashion, broke the game open with a monster grand slam home run that disappeared deep into the trees behind the fence in left field in the fourth inning.
Misha and Marketa Sulcova combined for nine hits between them over the two games. Danny Gunn had a home run, two triples, a single and five RBIs in Game 2. Moe Flett, patience personified, drew four walks over the two games to keep rallies going. And so it went on, with Chromies pounding out 28 hits altogether, 13 for extra bases.
If Chromies can hit like this throughout the tournament -- and European teams have still to produce really expert slowpitch pitchers -- then it will be tough to stop them.
Chromies v DNAce
This game followed a familiar pattern when British teams play slowpitch against European opposition. The Czech team struggled to put hits together, finally scored an unearned run in the third inning and an earned run in the fifth, and that was their total offensive output. The Czechs managed only two hits against David Lee, who pitched the first four innings for the Chromies, and though they did get three singles and a walk off Senan Dormer, who pitched the fifth, it only amounted to that single run, thanks in part to a fine throw from Eric Kelly to Danny Gunn to Jenny Ball that nailed Czech catcher Ivana Malkova at third base in the middle of the Czech rally.
Meanwhile, Chromies came straight out of the blocks in the first two innings, scoring six runs on five hits and two Czech errors in the bottom of the first and again in the bottom of the second. Brett Gibbens doubled at the heart of each inning, Michael O'Sullivan, Jenny Ball and Marketa Sulcova had two singles each and the game was pretty much over after that.
Just for good measure, Chromies tacked on three more runs in the third inning when the Czechs changed pitchers and new pitcher Tomas Mertlik walked Eric Kelly, Moe Flett and Lee Rowe in quick succession before DNAce brought back starter Martin Cespiva.
The game ended in the bottom of the fifth after Eric Kelly reached on an error, went to third on adouble to left by Moe Flett and scored on Lee Rowe's single to make the score 17-2 -- a 15-run margin after five innings.
​Chromies v UCE Travellers
The Chromies' early game against DNAce was played at the competition's second field, about a mile west of the city limits. For the game against UCE Travellers, who had scored a 12-5 win over host team Pasos Pardubice in the morning, the teams came back to the main field at the Arena Krtkova, the "Arena of the Moles".
Instead of putting out the team that had won easily over Pasos Pardubice with a fine display of base-hitting, the Germans, who had scouted the Chromies extensively during their morning game, chose to keep their two male power hitters and middle infielders and their best female hitter on the bench, plua using a different pitcher and playing a number of other players out of position.
Even so, the game was close for the first three innings.
UCE Travellers scored a run in the top of the first inning on a misplay by Danny Gunn on a throw from the outfield, but Chromies countered with two in the bottom of the inning. Michael O'Sullivan led off with a sliced double to left centre, Misha Sulcova singled with two out, and Danny Gunn drove in both with a triple to deep right centre.
Neither team scored in the second, and then the Germans put four on the board in the top of the third to take a 5-2 lead. Three singles were sandwiched around two walks given up by Chromies starter Senan Dormer, and suddenly the London team had a challenge.
Three runs in the bottom of the third tied the game for the Chromies, with a two-run inside-the-park home run by Danny Gunn the main blow. But the Germans scored again in the top of the fourth off relief pitcher David Lee to take the lead for the last time at 6-5. It might have been more, but Chromies third base player Jenny Ball made a diving stop of Nina Linnert's hard-hit ball in the hole, then flipped while still on the ground to Danny Gunn covering third for a key force play.
But things began to go badly wrong for the Germans -- and very right for the Chromies -- in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was a bad time for German pitcher Jens Hilgers to lose the strike zone, as he walked three of the first six hitters he faced in the inning. Two runs were already in when Hilgers walked Milada Zolobova to load the bases in front of Brett Gibbens -- a particularly bad mistake. Brett, frustrated with his 0-for-2 so far in the game, cranked the first pitch he saw on a majestic arc into the tall trees behind the fence in left field and the rout was on .
Eight Chromies scored in the fourth, and nine more had scored in the fifth without a single out being recorded when the slaughter came to an end at the mercy rule scoreline of 22-7. At one point in the fifth inning, the Chromies recorded seven consecutive hits by Michael O'Sullivan, Milada Zolobova, Brett Gibbens, Misha Sulcova, Danny Gunn, Marketa Sulcova and Eric Kelly.
First day results
With one game left to play on this opening day of the competition, following the Opening Ceremony, Chromies lead the early round-robin table with their two wins. Here are the results so far, and the standings:
RESULTS
Chromies (GB) 17, DNAce (CZ) 2
Lisicke (SLO) 6, Dodder Dynamoes (IRE) 6
Dodder Dynamoes 13, Sunville Tigers (BEL) 2
UCE Travellers (GER) 12, Pasos Pardubice (CZ) 5
DNAce 20, Sunville Tigers 4
Askoe Linz Bandits (AUS) 5, Lisicke 3
Chromies 22, UCE Travellers 7
STANDINGS
Chromies (2-0)
Askoe Linz Bandits (1-0)
Dodder Dynamoes (1-1)
DNAce (1-1)
UCE Travellers (1-1)
Lisicke (1-1)
Pasos Pardubice (0-1)
Sunville Tigers (0-2)