The GB Under-13 Girls’ National Fastpitch Team, otherwise known as the GB Cubs, recently returned from a 10-day European tour that included tournaments in Croatia and Italy and provided the players on our youngest national team with some wonderful softball experience.
The first leg of the tour was an invitational tournament in Zagreb, Croatia, from 11-13 August, where the Cubs won four out of five games against Croatian, Czech and Italian opponents and finished second.
This was followed by a coach trip from Zagreb to Collecchio, near Parma in Italy, where the Cubs played in the more competitive Sport Division at the annual European Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy (EMRYT) tournament from 16-19 August.
Team Manager Julie Spittle takes up the story.
Croatia
We played four teams in Croatia and the GB Cubs did well, despite having to adjust to playing with an 11-inch softie ball and going to soft toss by the coach after a pitcher had thrown four balls. We were also capped at four runs per inning, and we faced mixed teams of boys and girls until our last round-robin game against the Italian team T-Girls.
Our pitchers, Kora Douglass and Sydney Schmidt, recorded a good number of strikeouts and worked well with their catchers, Olivia Riddle and Grace Gaines.
Each player did their job on the field and the result was a win in each of our round-robin games. Our last game against the T-Girls was our hardest game, but we still managed a victory.
Our round-robin scores were:
GB Cubs 7, Lady Pirates 2
GB Cubs 11, Joudrs 0
GB Cubs 9, Panthers 2
GB Cubs 2, T-Girls 0
These results meant that we finished first in the group and played the Lady Pirates for the tournament title.
This was a much tighter game than the first time we played them, and this time the Lady Pirates prevailed in a 4-2 win.
However, the tournament in Croatia accomplished everything we were looking for: the team was able to bond, get used to playing together on the field, and gain confidence for the games to come at the EMRYT tournament in Italy.
Italy
We arrived in Italy very early on Monday morning, 14 August, and the team was given a day to relax, sort themselves out and rest after the overnight 
coach trip from Croatia. The rest day also allowed the coaches to get organised, with some flying in for the EMRYT tournament, and pick up the team rental car!
On Tuesday, we had a training session where the athletes could get used to playing with the hard 12-inch balls again, and we were able to take the team swimming to help them adjust to the hot weather.
We started the tournament on Wednesday, 16 August, in temperatures over 30 degrees.
Only four teams had entered the Sport Division – the GB Cubs, Team Israel, Joudrs Prague, and Italy – and our first game, against Joudrs Prague, turned out to be our closest game of the tournament, with a final score of 9-8 to the Czechs. Both teams scored once in the first inning, then they scored eight runs in the second inning and we scored seven runs in the third inning while holding them scoreless.
Our second game on the opening day was against Israel and we knew it would be tough. We had a couple of hits in this game, by Clara Fontana and Grace Gaines, but unfortunately couldn't convert them to runs and the final score was 9-0 to Israel.
We attended the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday evening before playing Israel again on Thursday morning.
This game was much closer. Israel took a 5-1 lead after the first inning, but the Cubs scored five runs in the top of the third inning to take a 6-5 lead. Unfortunately, Israel scored four in the bottom of the third inning to regain the lead, and the final score was 9-6 to the Israelis. Ella Heath and Kora Douglass had two hits each for the Cubs as the team showed their ability to adjust and improve from the first game against Israel to the second.
On Thursday evening, we took on Italy -- another tough game. Italy started as they meant to go on, hitting the ball hard, and put up 12 runs in the first inning, one in the second inning and seven more in the third.
However, we got runners on base every inning and scored in all but one of those innings. The five runs we scored saw our dugout erupt in shouts and chants of joy -- it was like we had just won! – even though the final score was 20- 5 Italy.
On Friday we played Italy and Joudrs for the second time. The final score against Italy was 12-2 – although we didn't score as many runs as in the previous game, neither did they.
Our second game against Joudrs was not as close as the first. We scored three runs in the first inning to their four, and we scored another run in the third inning. But Joudrs scored in the third, fourth and fifth innings and won the game 13-4.
We finished fourth in the round-robin group and this meant we would play Joudrs again in the bronze medal game on Saturday morning. This ended in a 5-1 scoreline to Joudrs.
Summing up
Head Coach Jodie Rushin said: “Whilst we didn't secure the bronze medal, our team’s journey was filled with growth and camaraderie. These young softball players learned valuable lessons on and off the field and formed bonds that will last a lifetime.
“Guiding these inspiring young athletes has been an absolute privilege,” Jodie added. “Their unwavering commitment and remarkable teamwork never ceased to impress, and from triumphs to learning experiences, our growth as a team has been remarkable. I look forward to watching these players’ softball journeys as they unfold.”
Victories come in many different forms, from a catch in left field to a diving play at shortstop to finding your stride at second base. It could be a relay from right field to first base to catcher, getting the out at the plate, or topping the table for the number of strikeouts in a tournament at 23.
Victories can lie in being disciplined at the plate to get a walk, stealing bases, laying down a bunt to move runners around, getting a clutch hit, scoring a run – or playing in your first major tournament.
To all of our players, coaches, parents, and supporters -- thank you!