The GB Coed Slowpitch team looked to continue their campaign to retain their European Championship title, after their excellent start this morning beating the Netherlands. With several changes to the lineup from this morning, both returning GB players and newer squad members stepped up to the challenge of facing Germany in game two.
GB Bats Stay Hot
Roger Grooms stepped to the plate to pitch game two, and whilst the first German batter made it on base, a smooth double play turned by Hazard and Leach cleared the bases, with Grooms himself fielding the final out to leave the German’s scoreless. GB looked to continue their hot streak of batting from the morning game, and this quickly came about, with Steve Hazard stepping up to hit a grand slam homerun to score the first runs of the game. The score sat at 4-0 to GB at the end of the first inning. As GB returned to defence, their experience in the field showed yet again, with outs coming from both the infield and outfield to leave Germany scoreless going into the bottom of the second inning. GB continued in strong scoring form in the second inning and scored four runs on a two-down rally. Both Leach and Reed-Thomas singled in their at-bats, and the RBIs came from MacDowell, Hazard and Grooms all demonstrating their experience in the box.
Middle Innings
In the third inning, Grooms continued to make life difficult for the German batters, with Krewitt flying out to Robison and Hayo grounding out to shortstop. Although Purrington then stepped up to hit a triple to deep centerfield, he was to be left stranded on base as the final batter grounded out to Grooms. The GB bats slowed down in the third inning, with a walk to Tomlin and a double from MacDowell generating their only RBI, however this still gave them a 10-0 lead over the Germans going into the fourth inning.
Taking Care of Business
The GB defence showed clinical precision in a “three up, three down” start to the top of the fourth inning, with outs coming from Brown, Tomlin fielding a ground out and a final fly out to Hazard. The offence stepped it up a gear as GB returned to bat again, and this innings would see strong hitting across the lineup. After Hazard and Reed-Thomas both find grass to set up the inning, Grooms hit in the first RBI, shortly followed by Yoxall and Brown scoring the second and third runs respectively. Matt Tomlin once again demonstrated his speed round the bases and from a solid drive to rightfield he scored his first homer of the tournament, bringing in three RBIs as a result. The final run scored of the fourth inning came from MacDowell who parked his second homer of the tournament, bringing the score to 17-0 and the pressure was on the Germans who needed to score at least two to keep their chances alive. However, once again GB showed their prowess and whilst there were three hits from the Germans, the outs were expertly handled. An excellent double play was turned to clear the bases initially and the final out was a pop up to Tomlin at second base.
An Excellent Day in the Office
Overall, it was an excellent start to the GB campaign, and it was exciting to see strong performances across the squad from both the experienced and newer squad members. Head Coach Dan Spinks said.
“This team is playing with a lot of grit and determination. They are being pushed to perform and dictate the game. Following up from a flawless pitching performance in Game 1, Roger stepped up and delivered a perfectly pitched game which set our bats up to flourish and set the tone for the week.”
Veteran player and newly appointed member of the coaching team, Jenny Ball added.
“We had an incredible defensive and pitching display all day, against 2 of the stronger sides in Europe. Was great to see so many runs scored with 2 down - the team is showing resilience under pressure.”
GB’s tournament continues tomorrow at 8am (17th July - BST) when they face Belgium in an early game, the livestream can be found here: Coed Slowpitch European Championship (softballeurope.tv)
