Twelve girls from the GB Under-16 and Under-19 programmes formed a GB Development Team to compete in a Little League Under-19 Europe and Africa Regional Tournament from 14-19 July in Breda, Holland..jpg)
The purpose was for GB players -- both those selected to competition squads this year and especially those who haven’t been -- to gain more tournament experience.
Players from a wide age range were up to 18 were represented on the team, adding to the growth and development opportunities for each player.
The team was coached by GB Under-19 Pitching Coach Greg Seeley, while GB Management Committee members Susie Balch and Holly Bell-Stevens acted as Team Managers.
The tournament
The team played five games -- two against the Czech Republic, two against Holland and one against Spain. While all five games were lost, the girls gave a great effort, learned a lot and did a fine job of supporting one another against tough competition.
The GB Team was routinely acknowledged for their fine sportsmanship, and a number of umpires stated that our girls set a standard for sportsmanship at the tournament.
GB was competitive in all the games except those against a dominant Dutch team that won the tournament decisively. In the two games against Czech Republic, the GB Team simply allowed too many unearned runs, although two of the three runs scored by GB were earned.
In the game against Spain, who finished second in the tournament, the GB team took a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning, but two errors contributed to Spain scoring the tying run. The team did a great job to re-group and get out of the inning with the score still tied, but the game was ultimately lost 4-3 in eight innings.
The GB programme can be proud of the effort and class demonstrated by the players and thankful for the support of parents who came up with the funds necessary to provide their daughters with a fun and valuable international softball experience.
Scores
The scores of the five games the GB Team played were:
Czech Republic 7, GB 2
Netherlands 15, GB 0
Spain 4, GB 3 (8 inns)
Netherlands 15, GB 0
Czech Republic 6, GB 1
Comment
Holly Bell-Stevens commented: “It was a great trip, and layering the ages will be a benefit to the programme in future, although it caused an abundance of unearned runs. But we need to get our players experience in this type of competition. There were many comments on how the girls brought the ‘good’ back into the game with camaraderie, team spirit, always smiling and being polite, and cheering the other teams’ successes. It was just a great group.
“The lack of wins doesn’t matter,” Holly added, “because we were a very young team up against the big girls. But the experience will mean a lot for these players in future.”
The players
The players who took part in the GB Development Team trip to Breda, and the positions they played during the tournament, were:
Rose Taylor Bhanji (RF/CF)
Saskia Davies (CF/3B)
Eliza Esiri (RF/LF)
Emma Harris (C)
Amie Hutchison (P/3B)
Theo Longboy (2B)
Isobel Mosley (LF/RF/3B/1B)
Isobel Quy (2B/P)
Chelsie Robison (SS)
Marlia van’t Sant (DH -- injured)
Michelle Shaw (3B /OF/SS)
Annecy Stevens (1B/3B)
