by Bob Fromer
Whitehorse, Yukon. Canada: July 15 -- One of the oldest 
adages in softball and baseball is that if you can't hit, you can't win.
The GB Women's Fastpitch Team is amply demonstrating the truth of that adage at the ISF Women's World Championships in Whitehorse, in the not-so-frozen North. In three games so far in the competition, the GB Team has managed just nine base hits, all singles, and three of them by pitcher Stacie Townsend. But one player, however great her talent and willpower, can't carry a team on her own.
Stacie is certainly trying. When GB lost 4-0 to Italy on Friday to open the competition, none of the runs that Stacie gave up were earned (though she did commit an error that led to one of them). When GB beat Chinese Taipei 1-0 yesterday, Stacie pitched a no-hitter and drove in the winning run. Today, against a limited but committed New Zealand team, Stacie held the Kiwis to a single unearned run for six innings and had two of only three GB hits. But with no GB offense to back her up and no margin for error, Stacie finally allowed two earned runs on a walk, two hits and a wild pitch in the top of the seventh inning as GB surrendered to New Zealand 3-0.
The loss almost certainly puts
paid to GB's already slim hopes of making the playoff stage of the competition in a tough and unforgiving Group B. It's not mathematically impossible, but to do so GB will need to defeat at least two teams ranked in the world's top four -- take your pick of Canada, Japan or Australia -- over their final four games. And if GB can't score any runs against Italian or New Zealand pitching, it's hard to see an offensive avalanche against the Canadians, the Japanese or the Aussies.
Lead runner scores
There's another old adage in softball and baseball, fully backed up by statistics: if the first batter in an inning reaches base, she (or he) is going to score significantly more than 50% of the time. The GB Team is proving this one correct as well, at least for their opposition. In the game against Italy, the Italians got their first batter on base only in the first and sixth innings -- and they scored two runs in each frame.
Today, the Kiwis got their opening batter on base three times, in the fourth inning, the sixth inning and again in the seventh. And in two of those three innings, they scored.
However, GB also managed to get the leadoff hitter on base three times in the game, and came up empty on each occasion.
Crucial run
With New Zealand pitcher Michal Tangaroa clearly handling the GB hitters after surrendering a single to the first hitter she faced, Kristi Yoshizawa, and with Stacie Townsend keeping New Zealand in check over the first three innings, striking out five in the process, the first run of the game was clearly going to be important. And New Zealand grabbed it in the top of the fourth inning in a slightly fortunate manner.
Shortstop Ellie Cooper opened the inning by punching a single into short left field and stole second base. Stacie Townsend struck out Rebecca Bromhead, but clean-up hitter Lara Andrews hit a bouncer towards shortstop. Just as Amy Wells was about to field the grounder, Ellie Cooper crossed between Amy and the ball and gave her a slight nudge as she went by. The ball went under Amy's glove, and Cooper scored the opening and decisive run. Appeals to the umpires to give the interference call were in vain.
New Zealand threatened again in the sixth inning when the number nine hitter, Brooke McManus, unexpectedly drove a triple over Karlene Headley-Cooper in centre field. But Stacie Townsend dug deep to strike out Krysta Hoani, retire Ellie Cooper on a fly to short left field and get Rebecca Bromhead on a grounder back to the pitcher, leaving McManus stranded on third and the score still 1-0.
Stacie couldn't pull off another Houdini act in the top of the seventh, however, after walking Lara Andrews to open the frame. Taylor-Paige Stewart then singled to left and a ground ball off the bat of Te Reo Powhiri Mertlautia crept up the middle and into centre field, scoring Andrews. Stewart and Merlautia both moved up a base on the throw to the plate, and Stewart scored on the only wild pitch of the game.
Batting futility
Meanwhile, GB scoring threats can be summed up in a single word: none.
Kristi Yoshizawa was left stranded at first after 
opening the game with a single. Stacie Townsend singled with one out in the fourth, but was called out for leaving the base early on an attempted steal of second. Karlene Headley-Cooper reached base on an error to open the bottom of the sixth, but Ali Parkerson failed to sacrifice her to second. Kristi Yoshizawa did, but by then there were two outs and Amy Moore popped up to end the inning.
And when Stacie Townsend drove a line drive single to centre field to open the bottom of the seventh, she never advanced any further. Steph Pearce and Sarah Jones struck out -- Michal Tangeroa recorded 11 strikeouts -- and pinch-hitter Naomi Jones grounded out to third to end the game.
Tomorrow is another day
Tomorrow (Monday) night, GB will take on the host team Canada in front of a partisan crowd on the main field at the Pepsi Softball Centre. Canada did not play well at the Canadian Open Championships in Surrey earlier this month, and look the most vulnerable of the top-four teams that GB now have to face.
Will they be vulnerable enough...?