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by Bob Fromer

Antwerp, Belgium: August 10 -- With games changed and re-arranged at the 2011 European Cadette Championships because of rain during the first two days, the GB Cadettes found themselves with a back-to-back doubleheader this afternoon against France and Russia to complete their games in the tournament's first round-robin group.

Although GB's group is heavily unbalanced, containing three of the top four teams in the tournament (Russia, Italy and the Czech Republic), the fifth team in the group is France, and GB handled them with ease in the first game of today's doubleheader., winning 15-3 in four innings.

The second game started 30 minutes after the end of the first, and it was a different and somewhat embarrassing story. GB gave up 13 first inning runs to Russia and made eight errors in the process. After that, Russia cruised to aq 17-0 win in three innings.

The first round of games will finish this evening, and GB will be fourth out of  five teams in Group B. Only the top two teams advance to the playoffs, so GB will spend the next three days playing against the teams that finished third through  sixth in Group A.

The team's new goal, since GB can't win the tournament, will be to win the bottom half -- something the GB Junior (Under-19s) Women's Team accomplished last summer in Vienna after another tough draw eliminated them from the playoffs after the opening day.

Whether the GB Cadettes can do the same remains to be seen.

GB v France

The GB coaches had watched France play earlier in the tournament, and knew that the GB Cadettes had every reason to be confident.

But what really gives confidence a boost is scoring seven runs in the top of the first inning. GB did this on only one hit -- a leadoff single past third and down the left field line by Chloe Wigington -- but GB was helped by two French errors, three walks and two hit batters.

One of the hit batters -- Sian Wigington -- is on crutches this evening, though the injury to her shin appears to be only as very bad bruise.

When France came to bat in the bottom of the first inning, GB tried to return the French generosity. GB pitcher Ellie Pamenter walked the leadoff hitter, got an out on a sacrifice bunt and then gave up two singles in a row, one of them a lucky squib in the infield, and a wild pitch. All that resulted in three French runs and visions of one of those 20-19 games passed through some peoples' minds.

But then GB got a break. A hard bouncing ball hit by Andrea Muselet caromed off GB third base player Amy Trask, but Ellie Pamenter was able to pick the ball up and throw to first, where the umpire made a dubious call of out.

And that was really the last resistance from the French as Camille Rauffet hit a bouncer to Holly Strachan at second to end the inning.

A rather tense GB team relaxed after that first inning and scored two more in the top of the second on a French error, a long triple by Ellie Pamenter into left centre field and an RBI groundout by Gabry Sassoli.

Ellie Pamenter held the French scoreless in the second and third, striking out two in each inning and stranding French runners at second and third in the bottom of the third inning.

Then GB made the game absolutely safe in the top of the fourth with a six-run outburst that featured a singles by Holly Strachan, Ellie Pamenter and Gabry Sassoli and a long triple by Chloe Wigington, that drove in three runs, even if Chloe was thrown out at the plate trying to make it an inside-the-park home run.

Amie Hutchinson came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth inning for GB and set the French down in order to close out the game and GB's first win of the tournament by a score of 15-3.

GB v Russia

A win like that should have sent GB into the next game with Russia on a high, but instead the team rather resembled rabbits in headlights as the Russians almost batted twice around the order in the top of the first inning and scored 13 runs.

To be fair, the Russians did have six hits in the inning, all of them singles -- four off starter Ellie Pamenter and two more off Amie Hutchinson, who came in with no outs and the score 10-0 and proceeded to pitch the rest of the game and more or less restored order with her slow deliveries that the Russians had trouble timing.

But the real key to that first inning horror show was eight GB errors, and 13 over the course of the three-inning game. The first Russian batter reached on an error where there should have been an out, and that was followed by a hit batter, a stolen base, two errors on the next play, a walk, two singles, two more errors on one play, another hit batter, and so it went on.

At one point, the GB Team completely lost its composure and made four fruitless throws on one play -- and two more errors -- chasing Russian runners around the bases.

On offense, most of the GB batters made contact against Russian starter Daria Makhovikova, but the only base hit was a line drive single to left field in the second inning by Gabry Sassoli. Fran Meakin was the only other GB hitter to reach base, via a third inning walk.

The Russians are a better team than the GB Cadettes, with more depth, more experience etc, but they are not 17 runs better (Russia only beat France 6-0 whereas GB beat France 15-3). For GB, it was just one of those days.

Short straw

There is no doubt that the GB Cadettes drew the short straw in this tournament by winding up in Group B with the Czechs, Italians and Russians (the only really strong team in the six-team Pool A was the Netherlands).

But now that Group B is history, GB can look forward (weather permitting) to four more games at teams that should be more or less on their level. And that should enhance both the enjoyment and the opportunities for learning over the next three days.