by Bob Fromer
Rosmalen, Holland: July 25 -- Here is the
situation that confronted the GB Junior (Under-19) Women's Fastpitch Team this morning at the 2012 European Junior Championships.
GB had reached the second round playoffs by virtue of finishing second in Group C during the initial round robin, after an easy 14-0 win over Israel and a 4-1 loss to the Czech Republic in which GB had numerous chances to take charge of the game, and failed to take any of them.
That left GB with a second round 
schedule that had them playing the Netherlands today, Germany on Thursday and Croatia on Friday. To get to the final Page Playoff round, and to have a chance of qualifying for the 2013 World Championships by finishing in one of the top three places, GB would have to win two of those three games. The Netherlands was perhaps the team GB was least likely to beat, and the concentration would certainly be on the Germany and Croatia games, when it was hoped that Carling Hare would be sufficiently recovered from an earache and ear infection to pitch.
Meanwhile, however, Ellie Pamenter, who pitched a fine game yesterday against the Czech Republic but didn't get the support she needed from her teammates, was sent out this afternoon to face the Dutch, who are one of the favourites to win the gold medal when the competition ends on Saturday.
This time, Ellie pitched equally well, and for the most part kept a powerful Dutch team in check. But she was the victim of a nightmare third inning in which the GB Team committed six errors, the Dutch scored 10 runs (most of them unearned) and the final result was a 10-1 Dutch win in five innings.
Black hole
Consider Ellie Pamenter's pitching line in this game. In the first, second and fourth innings, she gave up no runs, two hits, two walks, and though she left the bases loaded in the first inning, the second and fourth innings were uneventful.
But then there was the third inning, and GB will look back on this defensive collapse with a certain sense of disbelief. What Ellie Pamenter thought about it can be a subject for speculation.
Dutch leadoff hitter Kimberley Jones opened the third inning and lofted a high fly ball into right centre field. GB centre fielder Susie Hall drifted over and under it (Susie had taken an almost identical catch to end the Dutch first inning). But this time Susie dropped it and Jones wound up on second.
The next hitter, Cindy van der Zenden, singled to left. Kimberley Jones initially stopped at third, but then kept on going when Christine Findlay's throw into second base eluded the GB infield. Jones scored, van der Zenden went to second -- and then on to third when first base player Charlotte Wells threw wildly back across the diamond. And then Maxime van Dalen lifted a routine fly ball to left field, and Christine Findlay saw it bounce off her glove.
So here's what the situation should have been after the first three Dutch hitters had their at-bats in the bottom of the third inning: two outs and a runner on first.
Instead, the Dutch had two runs in, no outs, a runner on first, a flustered GB Team and a GB pitcher toiling away without reward in the early afternoon heat. The situation was already bad, but you could sense things were going to get worse, and they did.
We'll draw a veil over the rest of the inning, except to say that it took an eternity before it finally ended, there was a further dropped fly ball in centre field and a bad throw from third base, the Dutch piled in with six more hits including two perfectly placed bunts and the beleaguered Ellie Pamenter gave up two walks and a hit batter towards the end of the inning through a combination of exhaustion and frustration.
It was as ugly an inning as you would ever want to see, and it turned a close game against a top team into a rout.
GB run
The lone GB run came in the top of the fourth inning off Dutch relief pitcher Marit van Vulpen after starter Dominique Sprengers had pitched three no-hit innings, giving up just two walks. The run served only to prolong a four-inning mercy rule game to five innings.
Carling Hare, who has hitting but not pitching in this game, led off the GB fourth with a long fly ball triple down the left field line. Ellie Pamenter then walked and took second on a wild pitch, so GB had runners on second and third with no outs.
Even then, GB almost blew the scoring chance (as they had blown numerous chances yesterday against the Czech). Charlotte Wells bounced out to third base player Sophie Bugter with the runners having to hold, and Chloe Wigington hit a weak line drive to the same player.
But Susie Hall, on a 0-2 count, hit a sharp ground ball between third and short into left field, and Carling Hare came in to score.
These kinds of tallies are usually called "consolation runs", but it wasn't much consolation for the GB Team. All it did was force Ellie Pamenter to pitch another inning against the Dutch attack, but the Dutch went quietly apart from a single by Kimberley Jones.
Amy Wells singled with one out for GB in the top of the fifth, but that was as far any further resistance went.
GB are certainly not down or out in the competition, and the wins they need against Germany and Croatia are possible -- but only if the defense will support the GB pitchers, and only if the offense will start cashing their scoring chances.
Round-robin results
Fifteen teams are contesting the 2012 European Junior Championships, and the initial round-robin was played in three groups of four and one group of three, with the top two teams in each group making the playoffs. Here are the initial round-robin results:
GROUP A
Netherlands (3-0)
Russia (2-1)
Belgium (1-2)
Lithuania (0-3)
GROUP B
Italy (3-0)
Croatia (2-1)
France (1-2)
Denmark (0-3)
GROUP C
Czech Republic (2-0)
Great Britain (1-1)
Israel (0-2)
GROUP D
Germany (3-0)
Spain (2-1)
Ukraine (1-2)
Austria (0-3)