by Bob Fromer
Pardubice, Czech Republic: August 2 -- The Chromies
are sailing serenely onwards in the round-robin phase at the 2012 European Slowpitch Cup. Two more wins today -- a crisp 8-3 victory over the host Czech team Pasos Pardubice in the morning and a routine 25-5 demolition of the tournament whipping boys, the Sunville Tiger from Belgium, this afternoon, have given the Chromies a 6-0 record and undisputed possession of first place in the standings.
But behind the Chromies and the Slovenian
team Lisicke, who will finish in the top two places, a tense and exciting scramble is going on to fill the other two places in the Page Playoff that begins tomorrow afternoon, with five teams still in with a chance at those places.
Dodder Dynamoes from Ireland and the host team Pasos Pardubice are the teams least likely to get to the playoff spots, but it's still a possibility, as a number of teams could finish on 3-4 and it could come down to runs conceded.
"I think the European Slowpitch Cup has finally come of age," said Britain's Mike Jennings, who is the Tournament Control at this event on behalf of the ESF. Looking at the eight-team field -- the largest ever -- and with only one of those teams not really competitive, it's hard to disagree. The teams here are loving having good competition, and different teams to play, day after day, and there have been some wonderfully exciting games and some superb defensive plays -- even if there have also been a few too many errors. But only the games involving the Chromies and the Sunville Tigers have been predictable: every other game has been up for grabs.
Witness, for example, the final game last night between the two Czech teams, where DNAce held a 10-0 lead over Pasos Pardubice in the fifth inning, only for Pardubice to come back for a 14-13 win.
Chromies v Pasos Pardubice
So Pasos Pardubice came out to play the Chromies this morning on the heels of that extraordinary triumph, and what followed was largely a game of pitching and defense. This was one of the few games in the competition where both teams only scored in single figures, and the fact that each team committed just two errors probably had a lot to do with that.
So did the pitching of David Lee for the Chromies, who threw three strikes for every ball in an impressive display of accuracy -- especially as very few of those strikes were down the middle.
Neither team scored in the first two innings, during which Chromies third base player Jenny Ball made the first of what were to be several excellent plays during the game.
The Czech team broke the ice in the top of the third inning with two runs on four singles, despite Chromies turning a pretty 4-6-3 double play. Chromies cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning when Senan Dormer blooped a single to left field and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Vicky McKendrick.
But, as always, it was just a matter of time before the Chromies' offense got going, and when Jenny Ball reached on an error to open the bottom of the fourth inning, the onslaught began. Brett Gibbens doubled to deep left centre field, Michaela Sulcova sliced a triple into the same gap, David Lee singled up the middle and Milada Zolobova singled to right. Two outs later, Senan Dormer cracked another double to left-centre and the Chromies had a 5-2 lead.
A three-run lead in slowpitch softball is never really safe, even in a low-scoring game like this one, but Chromies have the ultimate weapon in Brett Gibbens. Brett came up with two on and two out in the bottom of the fifth, and put the first pitch he saw into the trees behind the left centre field fence. That made the score 8-2 and the game was as good as over.
Pasos Pardubice scored one last run in the top of the sixth inning, but Chromies cut down one runner at the plate on a fine throw from second baseman Eric Kelly to Vicky McKendrick, and then threw out another runner at third on a continuation of the same play.
In the top of the seventh inning, two fine plays on grounders to her left by Jenny Ball closed out the game.
Chromies v Sunville Tigers
This was a game that could be described as lethargic, or perhaps even dreary. It started at 4.15 pm, the weather was hot, and the result was a foregone conclusion, so neither team could muster much enthusiasm.
But the Chromies kept hitting the ball in the gaps and the Sunville Tiger outfielders struggled with balls hit over their heads or slicing away from them in the alleys. So although the Chromies were more or less on autopilot, they scored eight runs in the first inning, four in the second, six in the third, five in the fourth and a final two in the fifth for a total of 25.
The Sunville Tigers in reply, scored three runs in the first because Chromies' starter Senan Dormer walked four batters, and two more in the third on three hits and an error. That gave them a total of five, and a five-inning mercy rule win for the Chromies.
The details don't need to be rehearsed in a game utterly without tension, but Michael O'Sullivan and Eric Kelly both went five-for-five and drove in 10 runs between them, while Moe Flett had an inside-the-park home run (and Eric Kelly hit one out).
Both sides were happy when the Tiger went down in order in the bottom of the fifth and the game came to an end.
Where things stand
Just one more round of games will be played tomorrow (Friday) morning before the Page Playoffs start tomorrow afternoon.
Chromies will play the Slovenian team Lisicke in the morning with Chromies at 6-0 and Lisicke at 5-1, and a Slovenian victory would mean that they would pip the Chromies to finish in first place. But it doesn't really matter, since either way, these two teams will meet in the 1 v 2 Page Playoff game.
The teams that will meet in the 3 v 4 Page Playoff game, however, are still very much to be decided.
Here are the standings after Day 3:
Chromies/GB (6-0)
Lisicke/SLO (5-1)
Askoe Linz Bandits/AUS (3-3)
DNAce/CZ (3-3)
UCE Travellers/GER (3-3)
Pasos Pardubice/CZ (2-4)
Dodder Dynamoes/IRE (2-4)
Sunville Tigers/BEL (0-6)
Today's results were:
DNAce 7, Askoe Linz Bandits 4
Dodder Dynamoes 11, UCE Travellers 1
Chromies 8, Pasos Pardubice 3
Lisicke 20, Sunville Tigers 5
DNAce 6, Dodder Dynamoes 1
UCE Travellers 18, Askoe Linz Bandits 3
Chromies 25, Sunville Tiger 5
Lisicke 15, Pasos Pardubice 7
Tomorrow morning's games will be:
Chromies v Lisicke
Sunville Tigers v Pasos Pardubice
Dodders Dynamoes v Askoe Linz Bandits
DNAce v UCE Travellers
The winner of the DNAce v UCE Travellers game will almost certainly make the playoffs -- but who will take the final place?
In a new departure for the ESF, the four teams that don't make the playoffs will still have their own Page Playoff to decide places 5-8.