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By Bob Fromer

Oklahoma City, USA: 14 August – The GB Junior Women’s Team was eliminated from the WBSC Junior World Championships on Thursday evening in Oklahoma City after a dramatic, gruelling, crazy and heart-breaking 12-inning 6-3 loss to Brazil.

This was a game that GB should have won, against a team that had gone 0-7 during the round-robin phase of the tournament.  Some costly errors by a British team that has played very well defensively this week were the immediate cause of the defeat, along with a battling performance by a Brazilian team determined not to go out of the Junior World Championships without a win. 

But the real problem was that the British were only able to score one run over the first seven innings against a team that had been conceding, on average, more than seven runs a game to everyone else.
 

Rising tension

It’s not unusual for softball games to be tied at the end of seven innings; that can easily happen if two teams are evenly matched.  But because of the tiebreak rule, where each team is given a runner on second base at the start of each extra inning, you don’t often see extra-inning games go as far as this one.  There are too many chances to score runs.

But this game was a glorious exception.  After Brazil scored an unearned run to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the seventh inning, neither team could score in the eighth, both teams scored once – but only once -- in the ninth and again in the tenth, neither team could score in the 11th, and then more GB errors helped Brazil score a decisive three runs in the top of the twelfth.

GB loaded the bases in the bottom of the twelfth inning to raise the hopes of their exhausted supporters one more time.  But none of those runners could make it home.

In truth, not that much had happened over the first seven innings of the game.  But as each extra inning went by, and the two teams contrived to keep matching the other, the tension continued to grow.  For the players, it could only have been adrenalin that kept exhaustion at bay.  It was one of those games that will be hard for everyone concerned – winners, losers and spectators – to forget.
 

By the numbers

For Great Britain, Georgina Corrick threw all 12 innings, facing 50 batters and throwing a massive 181 pitches while scattering 10 hits and a couple of walks, and she has thrown all but one of the 52 innings GB has played since the tournament began last Sunday. 

For Brazil, Caroline Kamidai threw the first three innings and left after facing one batter in the fourth, so the main workload fell on Fernanda Shiroma, who pitched the last nine innings and threw 115 pitches, but surrendered only four hits.

Georgina Corrick struck out 14 Brazilians and there were only seven British strikeouts, but that just continued a pattern we have seen all week.  British hitters have never been overmatched and have struck out relatively few times given the calibre of the tournament.  But there have not been many GB hits either.

In this game, GB had nine hits while Brazil had 10.

But the one statistic that really stands out from this game, and tells you why the British lost it, is that GB committed seven errors while Brazil had only two.

So GB is now out of the tournament, and will finish somewhere in the bottom quarter of the final standings, which their overall play, and especially the pitching of Georgina Corrick, does not deserve.  Softball can be a cruel and frustrating game.

But there are still a huge number of positives that the GB Team will take away from Oklahoma and that should bear fruit for the GB programme in the future as we move towards a potential Olympic Qualifier for Tokyo 2020.
 

Regulation time

The game began with something of a bang as the leadoff hitter for Brazil, Rebecca Landino, turned on a pitch and lashed a triple to the fence in right centre field.  But Georgina Corrick turned up the heat and struck out the next three batters to leave Landino stranded at third.

After that, the game began to move quickly.  Both teams had at least one baserunner in most innings, but neither team could cash them or mount a serious threat.

But GB did break through in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead.  Catcher Emmilee Blowers led off with a double to left centre field, and this is where the Brazilians replaced the soft-throwing Caroline Kamidai with the more orthodox Fernanda Shiroma.  Georgina Corrick’s sacrifice bunt (GB was very good at executing bunts in this game and throughout the tournament) moved Emmilee to third, and Ashleigh Carolan’s sharp ground ball single past second base brought in the run.

So three innings to go and GB had a precious lead.  But that’s when the Brazilians started to threaten, and GB eventually cracked.

In the top of the fifth inning, Brazil had a two-out double by Debora Ribiero and a walk to Rebecca Landino, but Georgina Corrick struck out Fernanda Narita to end the threat.

In the top of the sixth inning, with two out and no one on base for Brazil, the GB defense, which had been perfect up to that point, unaccountably started to slip.  Errors on successive ground balls plus a stolen base put Brazilian runners on first and third.  But Victoria Ribero hit a little pop fly back to the pitcher.

Then came the top of the seventh, and Mariana Pereira led off for Brazil with a double to left centre field.  Debora Ribiero flew out to Ashleigh Carolan in left, but Rebecca Landino hit a ground ball to second base that Sian Wigington couldn’t control.  Mariana Pereira moved to third and rounded the base, but the throw back across the diamond went astray and Pereira scored the tying run.

And just to rub salt in the wound, GB then pulled off two fine defensive plays to get out of the inning: a perfect throw to second base by Georgina Corrick on a bunt to get the lead runner, and then a running grab and a force out by shortstop Chelsea D’Avilar on a bouncing ball headed up the middle.

So it was going to be extra innings.  And a game that had generally felt to be in GB’s control now felt anything but.
 

The eighth

Brazil started the top of the eighth inning with the tie-break runner at second base and executed the obligatory sacrifice bunt to move her to third.  But that was it for Brazil, as Georgina Corrick struck out the next two batters.

So the momentum was immediately back with the British.  Home teams that keep their opponents from scoring in the top half of a tie-break inning usually go on to win, because scoring at least the tie-break runner is generally seen as the minimum you need to achieve.

And GB came very close to winning the game.  Alana Snow was the tie-break runner, and Chelsea D’Avilar sacrificed Alana to third.  Chelsie Robison then attempted to bunt the run home, but the bunt was too close to the pitcher and Alana had to hold on third as Chelsie was thrown out.  The next batter was Lauren Evans, GB’s best hitter, already with two hits in the game.  But Fernanda Shiroma worked carefully and eventually hit Lauren with a pitch, and Ella Henson then flied out to right field to end the inning.
 

The ninth

Brazil did score their tie-break runner, catcher Camila Yokota, in the top of the ninth.  Victoria Ribeiro bunted Yokota to third and Mariana Pereira hit a little fly ball to right field that Laura Hirai dived for but couldn’t catch.  Brazil had the lead.

But not for long.  The speedy Laura Hirai started as the tie-break runner for GB in the bottom of the ninth inning, and that, as it turned out, was a very good thing.  Emmilee Blowers put down the bunt just in front of the plate.  Brazil first base player Debora Ribeiro made a dive for it, but only pushed the ball into foul territory.  Laura Hirai never hesitated: she tore around third and headed for home, and only just made it with a brilliant slide inside the diamond to evade the tag as the ball was thrown back to home from near the GB dugout.

So the score was now 2-2, and Emilee Blowers had taken second on the play. And when the Brazilian pitcher’s throw to first on Georgina Corrick’s ground ball pulled her first base player off the bag, and then Ashleigh Carolan drew a walk, GB had the bases loaded with no one out.  Surely, they would now win the game.

But Fernanda Shiroma struck out both Sian Wigington and Alana Snow looking on great pitches on the outside corner and Chelsea D’Avilar lined out softly to second base.
 

The tenth

In the top of the tenth inning, Brazil cashed their tie-break runner again, as the Brazilians began to hit the ball harder against a tiring Georgina Corrick.  Rebecca Landino moved to third on a groundout and scored on a single to left field by Gabriela Santos.

An error and a stolen base moved Santos around to third with only one out, but Georgina Corrick reached back and struck out the next two hitters.

GB tied the game in the bottom of the tenth in equally straightforward fashion.  Chelsea D’Avilar was the tie-break runner, Chelsie Robison bunted her to third, and Lauren Evans ripped a double up the alley in left centre field.  Laura Hirai’s sacrifice bunt then moved Lauren to third to set up a chance for Emmilee Blowers to win the game, but Emmilee lined the ball back to the pitcher.
 

The eleventh

Gabriela Silva, pinch-running for the tie-break runner, Letitia Omori, stole third base on the first pitch of the top of the 11th inning, so the pressure was back on GB.  But Georgina Corrick once again pitched bravely, striking out the next two hitters, and a groundout to short by Debora Ribeiro eventually ended the inning with no run for Brazil.

Surely…. This time….

But no.  With Emmilee Blowers as the tie-break runner, Georgina Corrick failed to get the bunt down (the only time this happened in the game) and then popped out to the catcher.  Ashleigh Carolan then grounded out to second and Sian Wigington went down swinging.
 

The twelfth

Something had to give, and in the top of the twelfth inning, it was the British defense.  Debora Ribeiro was the tie-break runner and Rebecca Landino put down the bunt – but this one was just too good.  The throw went to first base, but Landino beat it out, and Ribeiro just kept running and scored the go-ahead run while Landino took second base.

Once again, Georgina Corrick almost got GB out of the inning with minimal damage, getting Fernanda Narita to pop out to first base and Gabriela Santos to pop out to short.  But the pitcher, Fernanda Shiroma, drove a single up the middle and Landino scored just ahead of a strong throw from centre fielder Alana Snow to give Brazil a 5-3 lead.

GB now began to panic.  Letitia Omori reached on an infield error, with Fernanda Shiroma taking second.  Then Shiroma attempted to steal third, the throw got away, and Shiroma scored to give the delighted Brazilians what seemed like a mountainous 6-3 lead.

To their credit, GB did not give up, and they had help from a tiring Fernanda Shiroma.

Sian Wigington was the tie-break runner and Alana Snow, probably trying for a bunt base hit, at least advanced Sian to third.  Chelsea D’Avilar popped up to short for the second out, but Chelsea Robison drew a four-pitch walk.  And that brought up Lauren Evans, probably the only GB hitter with a chance of hitting a game-tying home run.  But the Brazilians knew that too, and gave Lauren nothing good to hit, eventually walking her on five pitches to load the bases.

The next hitter, Laura Hirai, took a called third strike, and the game and the tournament were over for the GB Junior Women.
 

Playoff results

The Championship and Placing Playoffs both began on Thursday.  In the Championship Playoffs, the scores were:

Puerto Rico 2, China 0
New Zealand 2, Czech Republic 1
Japan 6, Mexico 0
USA 15, Canada 0
 

In the Placing Playoffs, the scores were:

Italy 4, Argentina 0
Chinese Taipei 10, Colombia 0
Brazil 6, GB 3

Argentina, Colombia and GB have been eliminated.  China and the Czech Republic now drop down to the Placing Playoffs and later today (Friday), China will play Chinese Taipei and the Czech Republic will play Italy.  Australia will then play the winner of Italy v the Czech Republic and Brazil will play the winner of Chinese Taipei v China.
 

Friday’s Championship Playoff games will be:

Puerto Rico v Mexico (the loser will be eliminated)
New Zealand v Canada (the loser will be eliminated)
The winner of Puerto Rico v Mexico against the winner of New Zealand v Canada
Japan v USA

Photos by Simon Mortimer

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