After a stunning performance against Serbia this morning, GB team spirits were high as they were set to face Austria in their second game of day three. The Austrians came into this game on a 1-4 record; however, they’d had close losses to Germany and the powerful Czech side.
Slowly Ticking Over
As the home team, GB took to the field and with Roger Grooms pitching, the team secured the first three outs in quick succession with two outfield catches from Tomlin and Studholme, then a pop up to Smith at second base. The offence got to work smoothly with Smith’s leadoff triple and whilst Reed-Thomas didn’t reach base, she scored the first RBI of the game. Steve Hazard parked his first homerun of the game to score the next GB run, and with two runners on base, Grooms showed his experience in the box to take a walk and score the final RBI of the innings. The defence held strong again and secured three outs from four batters with groundouts fielded by Hazard and Leach, and finally an outfield catch from Tomlin. The GB score ticked over again, and after Smith hit a double, Reed-Thomas stepped up hit an inside the park homerun to score two runs. Steve Hazard again kept the score moving with his second homerun parked over the fence for the game, however that was the final run of the innings, but GB had a 6-0 lead as they moved to the third inning. Whilst the Austrian’s failed to score again in the third inning with two outs from Grooms and one from Hazard, the GB bats slowed down and although Humphris and Smith hit well, no runs were scored. The GB defence still held in the fourth, and whilst two Austrians reached base from strong hits, the gloves did the work with catches from Robison and Reed-Thomas, and a ground out to Grooms. Though the fourth inning was also a quiet affair from GB, with hits from Jessop and Grooms, only Kirstie Leech could bring home an RBI to keep the score moving. At the end of the fourth inning the score sat at 7-0.
Bounce Back Batting
It was a trickier inning in the field as the game reached the fifth inning, and whilst the first out was a solid groundball fielded by Reed-Thomas, the Austrians began to string together their base hitting. Despite Studholme attempting to pick off one of the runners from an outfield catch, they continued to score. The innings ended with another catch from Studholme, however the score now sat at 7-6. The GB team rallied to answer back though, and after Reed-Thomas hit a double into right centre field, Hazard brought in the first run of the inning. He was shortly followed by Robbie Studholme hitting another homerun for the day, bringing in two RBIs. The GB bats weren’t done yet, and with a walk from Robison and Grantham reaching base, Leach singled to score the next GB run, and with two on base Mike MacDowell entered the game to park a homerun bringing in three RBIs. The defence continued to hold their composure, and whilst the first batter hit a single, the outs came quickly, and all were taken by Hazard showing his experience at shortstop. It was time to get the bats going once again, and GB continued to show their form from the previous inning, and with Russell reaching base and a single from Reed-Thomas, Hazard hit a triple to score two RBIs. Chelsie Robison showed composure to take a walk, and a single from Grantham scored the next RBI. Kirstie Leech then stepped up to hit a single and load the bases for Mike MacDowell who hit a walk-off grand slam to end the game. It was another mercy win for GB.
Keeping Calm
It was another great display from GB, despite it being the first time a team had scored that many against them, they showed their experience and resilience to bring the bats back firing when it was really needed. After the game Dan Spinks said.
The Austrian game offered the team a different proposition to the previous games during this tournament. Faced with the tightest scoreline during these championships in the 5th innings we utilised our bench players and responded in style. The team came under pressure in the 5th inning partly due to not converting our runners on base. Putting 7 runs on in both the 5th and 6th innings was the team’s response, showcasing the squad’s strength in depth.
A grand slam mercy rule walk-off by Mike MacDowell in bottom of the 6th inning ended it. Overall, a few take aways for the team to work on, another significant victory for the team which keeps our momentum going into the final games of the group stages which is important!
Jenny Ball added.
Austria brought the game to us, testing our defence and our discipline in the batter’s box. This demanded a response from Team GB. Who, with fire, focus and finesse, majorly stepped up a gear. A clear team effort, demonstrating the breadth and depth of talent within the squad.
GB return to the field tomorrow morning when they face Norway at 12:45pm (BST), as ever the game stream can be found below;
Coed Slowpitch European Championship (softballeurope.tv)
