by Peter Evans
Mlade Buky, Czech Republic: August 5 -- Pioneers pulled away from the rest of the field on Day 3 at the European Slowpitch Championships, finishing the round-robin phase with a 10-2 record, three games ahead of Limerick and four ahead of the defending champion Chromies, who could only manage to finish 6-6.
But all three teams, plus the host club Sparks Mlade Buky, are still in with a chance of the trophy in tomorrow's Page Playoffs. The wooden spoon goes to the scratch Czech team Wayne's World, who will finish in fifth and last place.
Here is how Day 3 went.
Damp start
Broken sunshine and damp, sodden conditions greeted the teams in Mlady Buky this morning. The damp conditions mirrored the mood of Wayne's World, who slumped to a 7-0 defeat to fellow Czechs Sparks at Trutnov Field. This loss ensured that both Limerick and Pioneers had clinched Page Playoff berths.
The English and Irish resumed battle at 10.00 am, with Limerick needing a win over Pioneers to regain a tie for the top spot. In a low-scoring game, the Pioneers led 4-1 after four innings and both teams failed to convert any of the few chances they had in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Pioneers improved their record to 7-2, with the Irish two games back. One more win for the Pioneers would guarantee the Number 1 seed on Saturday.
Routine day
Thankfully, the weather held good throughout what turned out to be a fairly uneventful day. The Pioneers secured the top spot with closely-fought wins over the Chromies (9-8) and Sparks (11-10), before demolishing Wayne's World in the penultimate game of the day 18-3.
Limerick were inconsistent, with a 10-4 win over Sparks and a surprise 9-6 loss to Wayne's World. However, when they really needed a win to secure second place in the final table, the Irish comfortably defeated the disappointing Chromies. With a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning, Limerick broke the game open with a four-run outburst, giving them an 8-1 lead that Chromies never looked like overcoming.
Elsewhere, the Czechs made little headway, with Wayne's World eliminated on the back of seven losses in eight games and Sparks falling back to 4-7.
But in the final game of the day, Sparks faced the Chromies in what would be a dry run for the 3 v 4 Page Playoff game on Saturday morning. It proved to be the most entertaining game of the three days.
Great comeback
Sparks, who had consistently failed to engineer many runs in their first 10 games, were now scoring for fun on the back of 10 against the Pioneers in their 11-10 loss, and they quickly posted a 13-6 lead in this game going into the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Chromies were struggling to stay in touch and certainly wanted to build some momentum for the following day. They reduced the deficit by two in the fifth and then played excellent defense for the rest of the game. Michael Cameron led off in the bottom of the sixth and when he homered to centre field the Chromies team were off the bench cheering him home. The partisan home crowd sensed the sea change and the Chromies added two more runs when Danny Gunn tripled, driving home Milada Zolobova and Brett Barash. It was now just 13-11 entering the seventh inning.
With the Sparks bats now cold, it was up to the Chromies to see if they could complete their comeback. With two on and two out Milada Zolobova singled to load the bases and Brett Barash doubled to drive home two runners and tie the game at 13-13. Marketa Sulcova just failed to win the game as her line drive to centre field was brilliantly caught.
Into extra innings, and the Chromies were now rolling. Sparks went three-and-out, and Danny Gunn drove home Marketa Sukova for the come-from-behind win in the bottom of the eighth inning to seal a memorable comeback.
Day 3 Scores
Pioneers 4, Limerick 1
Sparks 7, Wayne's World 0
Limerick 10, Sparks 4
Chromies 7, Wayne's World 4
Wayne's World 9, Limerick 6
Pioneers 9, Chromies 8
Limerick 8, Chromies 3
Pioneers 11, Sparks 10
Chromies 14, Sparks 13 (8 innings)
Pioneers 18, Wayne's World 3
Final Round-Robin Standings
Pioneers (10-2)
Limerick (7-5)
Chromies (6-6)
Sparks Mlade Buky (4-8)
Wayne's World (3-9)
Day 4 Page Playoff Games
Game 1 -- 9.00: Pioneers v Limerick (1 v 2)
Game 2 -- 11.00: Chromies vs Sparks (3 v 4)
Game 3 -- 15.00: Loser Game 1 v Winner Game 2
Game 4 -- 17.00: Winner Game 1 v Winner Game 3 (Final)
Reports from previous days at the European Slowpitch Cup can be found both on the Home Page and in the News column on this website.