The Great Britain U22 Women’s National Softball Team found themselves in a must-win situation entering the final day of Super Round play at the U22 European Softball Championship 2024, and win they did, defeating Israel 8-0 and Czechia 7-0, both in five innings, to advance to the bronze medal game. Great Britain will face Czechia in a rematch of the final Super Round game of the tournament at 1 PM on Saturday, 10 August, with the bronze medal at stake.
In their first game of the day against Israel, Great Britain would jump out to an early lead. Tia Warsop reached on an error to lead off the game and advanced all the way to third base, where Katie Burge's one-out ground-out brought her home for the first British run of the day. With the lead before their first defensive inning, GB handed the ball to Mackenzie Langan, who worked a 1-2-3 first, registering her first strikeout.
Both teams were scoreless in the second and third, with Burge turning an unassisted double play to end the third. In the fourth, Israeli starter Sydney Silverstein retired the first two batters before running into Mia Krueger, who deposited an 0-1 pitch deep over the fence in left centre for a solo home run. After Kaitlyn Parisi singled, Cara Edwards doubled, and Amy Hartle smashed a three-run shot to left that spelt the end of the day for Silverstein. Siona Halwani entered for Israel and retired Warsop to end the inning, but GB’s four-run fourth gave them a 5-0 advantage.
Langan stifled Israel in the fourth inning, working another 1-2-3 inning, and in the fifth, Great Britain extended their lead. Jessica Chan led off with a single, and Katie Burge walked before Morgan Salmon’s three-run home run made it 8-0. Langan worked around a two-out single to shut down Israel in their half of the fifth, ending the game via run rule.
Langan finished with seven strikeouts in a shutout performance, while GB’s offence was led by the home runs from Krueger, Salmon and Hartle.
Great Britain then faced Czechia in the final game of Super Round play, with the winner advancing to the Bronze medal game – thanks, in part, to France’s defeat at the hands of The Netherlands earlier in the day.
Great Britain and Czechia traded zeroes in the first, with Elena Clark-Wilson getting the start in the nightcap for GB. Jenna Thompson led off with a single in the second, and the onslaught started for GB. Krueger walked, and Parisi singled to load the bases, before Edwards’ SAC fly score Thompson. Hartle was then hit by a pitch from Czech starter Amalie Chaloupkova, followed by a Warsop ground out to score Krueger. That brought Jessica Chan to the plate, who entered the game with a tournament-leading four home runs, and she added to that tally, smashing a ball to deep centre for a three-run shot to give GB the 5-0 advantage.
Czechia responded in their half of the second with a pair of baserunners, but a strong defensive stand by GB kept them off the board, with Edwards making a nifty catch on a sharp liner to end the inning. In the third, Salmon led off with a sharp single to left off Czech reliever Klára Pospěchová, followed by a Thompson single to right to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly by Krueger added another run for GB, but Pospěchová, battled back to end the inning without further damage.
Krueger featured in the defensive half of the third as well. Czechia put runners at first and second for Magdaléna Kavanová, who singled sharply to centre field. Tia Warsop’s throw beat Michaela Čurillová to the plate, and Kreuger held fast at the plate to apply the tag for the inning’s second out. Despite a hit batter to loade the bases, Elena Clark-Wilson induced a soft grounder to first to end the threat and keep the Czechs off the board.
GB threatened in the fourth but couldn’t score, and Czechia went down in order, albeit unconventionally, in their half of the inning. In the fifth, Great Britain looked to put the game away, with Parisi scampering home on a double-steal following a two-out single. With GB up by seven, and the run rule looming, Clark-Wilson returned to the circle with a chance to close things out. Two quick flyouts ensued, but Czechia would then put runners on first and second before Clark-Wilson slammed the door shut by inducing a ground ball to end the game.
Jessica Chan leads all batters with five home runs, while Katie Burge is tied for the tournament lead with five doubles. Mackenzie Langan remains third in the tournament with 24 strikeouts, and is second in earned run average, with a 1.65 mark.
Great Britain will now play for Bronze at the U2 European Softball Championship 2024, facing Czechia tomorrow, 10 August, at 1 PM BST. The game can be viewed at softballeurope.tv. Great Britain’s last medal in European competition came in 2022, a silver for the Senior team, with the GB U22s winning the championship in 2016.
Follow the Great Britain U-22 Women’s Team on social media @GBWomenSoftball on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and on the British Softball Federation website, britishsoftball.org.