By Bob Fromer
Trnava, Slovakia: 25 July – The fate that befell the GB Under-19s in Italy last week could be happening to the GB Under-
22s at the European Under-22 Women’s Championship here in Slovakia after tough losses today to Italy and the Czech Republic.
The losses came in the first two games of the first Championship playoff round-robin, and though GB can still get through to the next round – the six-team X Pool – if they can beat Belgium tomorrow morning, they will carry those two losses forward. And that will make it almost impossible for the GB Team to reach the final and it will make it a struggle to make the bronze medal game.
This morning’s game against Italy was a crisp and high-quality game of softball, well-played by both teams, but Italy had a little more firepower and took the game by 4-1. However, GB had targeted tonight’s game against the Czech Republic as the one they wanted to win to put them into a good position in the X Pool. And it was a game that GB should have won.
Instead, it was a game they gave away with errors in the late innings, resulting in a 3-2 Czech win after the game went to the tie-breaker in the eighth inning, and nullifying a superb complete-game pitching performance by Hannah Edwards.
In Italy last week, the GB Under-19s lost heartbreaking extra-inning games to Italy and the Netherlands. Tonight, GB completed the cycle by losing in eight innings to the Czech Republic. It’s not a cycle they will want to go through again.
GB v Czech Republic
This game was a lot to do with 17-year-old Hannah Edwards – at least until the GB Under-22s gave her just too many obstacles to overcome.
Hannah gave up only four hits to the Czechs in eight innings, didn’t walk anyone and hit just one Czech batter with a pitch, striking out four and, together with catcher Olivia Lee, keeping a tough Czech line-up almost entirely under control.
Hannah drove in the first GB run in the top of the third inning with a long double over the head of Czech left fielder Adela Simunkova that brought in Katie Burge, who had walked, and Hannah then scored on Megan Parno’s single to give GB a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with the game tied at 2-2, and Czech tie-break runner Adela Simunkova on third with one out, Hannah fielded a squeeze bunt by Sabina Vitkova and managed to apply a lunging tag to Simunkova as she slid in with what would have been the winning run.
But just when it seemed like the crisis had been averted – the Czechs now had two out and just a runner on first base, and it looked like the game might go to the ninth inning – there was a final twist.
The next batter, Natalie Tvrznikova, who had looked like the Czechs’ most dangerous hitter all night, drove a one-strike pitch into the gap in left centre field and the ball rolled all the way to the fence. Vitkova came all the way around from first to score the winning run and a stunned GB Team trailed slowly off the field.
For the 11 players who had been with the GB Under-19s in Italy, it was, as Yogi Berra allegedly said, “déjà vu all over again”.
But in truth, it should never have come to that.
Mistakes
GB looked confident on defense during the first two innings, and then posted those two runs to take the lead in the top of the third against Czech starter Adela Linkova.
The first GB error came in the bottom of the third inning on a dropped pop fly, but two Czechs were already out and Hannah Edwards got the next hitter to fly out harmlessly to left field.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Czech shortstop Kristyna Mala reached on an infield error, but was quickly erased on a slick 6-4-3 double play started by Diana Nisbett and turned by Katie Burge.
But in the bottom of the fifth inning, the errors continued, and this time there was no escape as the Czechs scored two unearned runs to tie the game.
Natalie Tvrznikova opened the inning by pushing a single to left field for the Czechs’ first hit of the game. The obligatory bunt then followed, put down by Anna Bukakova, but the throw sailed past first base and Tvrznikova came all the way around to score. A well-played sacrifice bunt that moved Bukakova to third followed, and then Hannah Edwards struck out Denisa Hushkova for a vital second out.
But another infield error immediately followed, Bukakova scored, the game was tied, and momentum was definitely with the Czechs.
If the bottom of the fifth inning had been difficult, the top of the sixth was equally frustrating, as GB spurned a chance to take back the lead.
Megan Parno walked to open the inning (Chelsie Robison came in to pinch run), and Lauren King drove a single to left field (Saskia Davies pinch-ran). Olivia Lee’s job was to bunt the runners over, but she popped the bunt up to the catcher, and the catcher's throw to first picked off the runner coming back to the base. Rally aborted.
Tie-break
Neither team really threatened in the seventh inning, and now GB was back in the dreaded land of the tie-breaker. But it was their chance to score first.
Diana Nisbett was the tie-break runner and the first batter was Hannah Edwards. The almost universal first move in the tie-break is to bunt the runner to third to create the maximum chance of scoring at least one run. But Hannah Edwards is one of the team’s best hitters, and Head Coach Johanna Malisani took the bold decision to let her hit away, hoping that Hannah could move the runner even if she couldn’t drive her in. But Hannah hit a high pop-up to shortstop, and Diana Nisbett was still on second base.
The next hitter was Megan Parno, another of GB’s most reliable batters, and this time the call was for Megan to bunt the runner to third. The execution was impeccable.
Now there were two out and just one chance to drive in the run. Lauren King tried, but flew out to left field.
GB had failed to score in the tie-break situation, and now the way was open for the Czechs to win the game.
Hannah Edwards and the GB Team didn’t make it easy in the bottom of the eighth – but the Czechs eventually got the job done.
So near and yet so far for GB against another top team.
After the game, Johanna Malisani said, “It was a total team effort throughout the whole of the game, and we were just one timely hit away from breaking the game open. We had some timely defense to get us out of innings, like the 6-4-3 double play [in the bottom of the fourth inning] and a gritty performance by our battery, Hannah and Olivia.
“Tomorrow is a new day and we will take today’s learning into tomorrow’s games and continue to work to be even better tomorrow.”
GB v Italy
The GB Under-19s had had a dramatic extra-inning game against Italy at last week’s European Under-19 Championship, and both teams have come to this tournament with only about a third of their roster consisting of new and older players. So the cast of characters in this game was similar to the one played a week ago in Ronchi.
This game didn’t have the drama or angst of that encounter, perhaps because it took place in the early morning rather than at night under lights. But it was certainly better played.
Neither team made an error, and the GB defense in particular made a couple of stunning plays, including a full-length dive by Diana Nisbett to snag a line drive at shortstop, and a great 3-4-2 double play on a bunt with an Italian runner at third base that ended the bottom of the third inning and kept the Italians, at that point, off the scoreboard.
The key to the play was GB first base player Megan Parno getting to the bunt quickly, taking a look at third to freeze the runner, then firing a strike to Katie Burge covering first, who threw another back to Olivia Lee at home for the tag. It was a play of the highest calibre, perfectly executed.
The starting pitchers in the game were Alexia Lacatana, who GB had already faced last week in Italy, and Amie Hutchison for GB, who would have been new to the Italian hitters.
Both pitchers were on top of their game early, getting ahead of hitters and mostly putting them away. After three innings, neither team had scored, and the Italians had three hits to GB’s two.
But the deadlock was broken in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Amie Hutchison went through the heart of the Italian order for the second time. Four singles and a sacrifice bunt produced two runs with only one out, and Amie had to bear down to get out of the inning without further damage.
As they had last week, the Italians pushed the short game in this inning, and it brought results.
In the top of the fifth inning, the GB Under-22s had their best chance to get back in the game, or even win it.
With one out, Casey Moritz pushed a single to centre field. Alana Snow popped up to the catcher on an attempted bunt for the second out, but Katie Burge slapped a single up the middle, and that was the signal for the Italians to replace pitcher Alexia Lacatana with Laura Bigatton.
Diana Nesbitt had a fine at-bat against Bigatton to draw a walk, and Hannah Edwards then chopped a single into the hole between third and short, scoring Casey Moritz and leaving the bases loaded for Amie Hutchison.
Amie hit the ball hard, but right at Italian second base player Melany Sheldon, and the chance was gone.
After Amie Hutchison gave up a single to Italian lead-off hitter Susanna Soldi in the bottom of the fifth inning, Kyra Watson came in to relieve and the Italians parlayed a long triple to right field by Elisa Princic and a single by Melany Sheldon into two more runs and a 4-1 lead.
Although Kyra Watson pitched a fine 1-2-3 sixth inning, GB had only one baserunner over their last two at-bats against Laura Bigatton, a lead-off single in the top of the sixth inning by Megan Parno that was quickly erased on a 5-4-3 double play.
So the final score held at 4-1.
Scores
Here are scores from today’s Championship and consolation playoff games:
Championship Playoffs
Pool E
Italy 4, GB 1
Czech Republic 5, Belgium 1
Italy 7, Belgium 0
Czech Republic 3, GB 2 (8 innings)
Pool F
Russia 8, Poland 1
Netherlands 9, Ireland 0
Ireland 8, Poland 1
Netherlands 11, Russia 4
Consolation Playoffs
Pool G
Switzerland 12, Turkey 4
Israel 7, Lithuania 0 (forfeit)
Greece 7, Israel 0
Switzerland 7, Lithuania 0 (forfeit)
Pool H
Slovakia 9, Austria 2
Ukraine 17, Hungary 4
Ukraine 11, Austria 2
Webstreaming
Games on the main field in Trnava will continue to be webstreamed on www.baseballsoftball.tv, but GB’s first game tomorrow – against Belgium to complete the first Championship round-robin -- will be played on Field 3.
GB will then be back on the main field for their first game in the X Pool at 4.15 pm local time (3.15 pm in the UK), but their opponent is yet to be determined.
