Collechio, Italy – The GB Under-13 Team suffered two more losses on Thursday 14 August, the second day of the ESF's Massimo Romeo Cup in Collechio, Italy, but played well in both games against tough opposition.
GB v Moscovia FC
On Thursday, the GB Team, playing in the tournament as the London Cubs, played the first game in the morning and the last game of the day.
The morning game was against Moscovia SC, who scored five runs in the top of the first inning with Lily Ferragamo pitching for GB. The first out was made by Rosie Esiri in right field, who scooped up a ground ball and threw the batter out at first. Catcher Caitlin Frank made the second out when she picked up a dropped third strike and tagged the batter before she had a chance to move. The final out came on a ground ball to Natalie Vann at third.
But GB came right back in the bottom of the first inning as Michelle Shaw, Rosie Esiri and Lily Ferragamo hit, stole bases and moved round on more hits. At the end of the inning the score was 5-3 to the Moscovians.
Moscovia scored seven runs in the top of the second inning, mostly through cheeky baserunning following walks and a couple of hits. Finally, two strikeouts and a tag on a dropped third strike ended the Moscovians' run fest.
But GB added to their own score in the bottom of the second inning. Caitlin Frank walked, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a hit by Michelle Shaw. Michelle reached third on a passed ball and a steal, then scored on another passed ball. So the score was 12-5 to the Russians at the end of the second inning.
The GB fielding then got even better, as the Cubs held Moscovia scoreless in the third and fourth innings. So the final score was 12- 5 to Moscovia SC, but the score does not reflect how well the fledgling British team played in this game. Two shutout innings and five runs scored was a great way to start and put the team in good spirits for the tough game they faced against Italy 2 later that day.
GB v Italy 2
The game against Italy 2, at 7.30 pm, was played on the dirt field and was bound to be one of GB's toughest games.
The Cubs went down quickly in the top of the first inning, with Natalie Vann, Caitlin Nagy and Rosie Esiri all out on strikes to a fast Italian pitcher.
Then the Italians came up to bat and were hitting what Caitlin Nagy was throwing, scoring five runs before GB recorded an out on a tag at second base by Sonia Eckstein. The second out only came after another five runs were scored, though the third soon followed.
But GB got on the board in the top of the second inning when Betsy Holden walked, stole second, and scored on a hit by Jorgia Patteson, who later scored herself before Bella Mendes struck out for the third out.
The game ended at 15-5 for Italy 2. But in a game which GB entered with low expectations, the girls played extremely well and got some runs and some good hits. They were upbeat all the way through the game, cheering each other on and supporting each other all the way.
The coaching team was very pleased with the team's performance in two good games that the team can hopefully build on going forward.