By Ben Taylor
Riccione, Italy: 3 August - Friday's games at the European Co-ed Slowpitch Super Cup went a long way to indicating which of the three British teams would have a chance of reaching Saturday's final.
Chromies had to win out to guarantee a place in the final, while Pioneers and H2O would need to see how other results went.
In the event, Pioneers went unbeaten, H2O split a pair of games and Chromies lost twice, producing the following table for the top eight teams going into the final day of the tournament:
Pioneers (5-1)
Bandits Witches Linz (4-2)
H2O (4-2)
UCE Travellers (4-2)
Chromies (3-3)
Mannheim Tornados (2-4)
TNT (2-4)
Sparks Mlade Buky (0-6)
Each team in this group has one more game to play on Saturday before the teams that will play the final and bronze medal game later on Saturday afternoon will be decided. And while Chromies will play TNT from Ireland, Pioneers will have a tough game against the UCE Travellers from Germany while H2O has to play Bandits Witches Linz from Austria.
There are lots of possible permutations here and Saturday should be a fascinating day.
Meanwhile, here is how Friday's games went for the British teams:
Pioneers v Sparks Mlade Buky
Pioneers had the early game to start the fifth day of the tournament, and they were playing the Czech team Sparks. Given Pioneers' late game on Thursday against Chromies, and how much that may have taken out of them mentally due to the importance of the game, it was vital they did not lose focus, as a loss would undo all of the hard work from their win the night before.
From the start, however, there seemed to be no danger of that, as Pioneers showed no signs of tiredness at all. In fact, they looked energised, relaxed and focused on the task at hand.
In the top of the first inning, they started where they had left off the night before, batting around the order and scoring 10 runs. Natasha Humphris had two at-bats in the inning, getting on twice with a single and a double and driving in two runs.
In the second inning, with two outs and the bases loaded, Dan Bello hit a line drive to right field which clipped off the fielder's glove and wound up as a grand slam. In the first two innings, Pioneers had scored 15 runs.
Sparks, on the other hand, could not find any consistency. They managed just one run In the bottom of the first inning, and in the second, despite starting well with two base hits, they couldn't keep the momentum going and the next three batters went down in order.
The third inning was much of the same, with Pioneers dominating the game. Jeff Swindell, now 3-for-3 with four RBIs, helped create another five runs in the top of the frame.
If this game was to avoid an early finish, Sparks had to start hitting and get some runs on the board. The bottom of the third inning did not start well, as they were quickly one out down after a good scoop by third base player Amy Rice, who made a strong throw to first for the out. The next two outs came just as quickly and the Sparks were unable to score, leaving Pioneers ahead by 20-3.
Pioneers added another four runs in the top of the fourth inning, with Jeff Swindell adding another hit and another two RBIs.
The game ended 24-4 on the mercy rule and it was just the start Pioneers were looking for.
H2O v UCE Travellers
There was no doubt about it: this was going to be a hard game for H2O. The German team, who had previously won the European Slowpitch Cup in 2014, can beat anyone on their day, although they had so far lacked consistency.
The first inning was a cagey affair, with neither team batting well. Travellers managed to do enough to score one run, whereas H2O sent five batters to the plate but could not get any of them across.
Travellers would have wanted to take advantage of that and start to put daylight between the teams. A fantastic drive up the middle by Felix Schwan was just the start they needed in the top of the second inning, but when Miriam Meyer hit a short fly ball to Solange Starrenburg in left centre field, she made a spectacular throw to home to cut down Jana Wagshall to end the inning.
H2O now looked to capitalise on that and started off by scoring three quick runs. But with the bases loaded and only one out, the Travellers' second base player, who had shifted to play third, made a nice grab on a line drive and H2O left all the runners on the bases.
The Travellers took full advantage of this and put on a very impressive team batting display in the top of the third inning, scoring 12 runs to take a commanding lead in the game. What was also impressive was their baserunning, as they never gambled by trying to get extra bases and trusted the next batter to keep the rally going.
H2O could only respond with a single run courtesy of a line drive home run from Kelvin Harrison.
This gave the Travellers their chance to put the game to bed, but they fluffed their lines. With the win in sight, they went up and down in order in the top of the fourth inning.
H2O needed no second invitation to get themselves back in the game and batted around the order, scoring six runs in the process. Kelvin Harrison came up clutch again, with a monster home run to left centre field with the bases loaded to haul his team back in to the contest. The score was now 14-10 to the Travellers.
Travellers appeared to be folding under the pressure as they went down in order again in the top of the fifth inning, but with H2O needing four runs to tie and five runs to win, they themselves went down 1, 2, 3 in the bottom of the inning and the game ended 14-10 to the Travellers.
With two losses against them, the game against Chromies this evening would be an absolute must-win for H2O.
Chromies v Mannheim Tornados
Chromies came into this game on the back of their first loss of the tournament but knowing that if they won the rest of their games they would be guaranteed a place in the final.
Tornados already had a British scalp under their belts though, having beaten H2O on Thursday, and they were keen to add another.
The first inning was evenly matched, with both teams scoring, although Chromies won the inning 2-1.
The second inning saw both teams start to open up their hips and their bats. Had it not been for Moe Flett's stunning catch on a line drive up the first base line, and Hannah Pittman's diving catch at catcher, Tornados would have scored more than the three runs they did.
The Chromies started to put daylight between themselves and the German team when they tacked on nine runs in the bottom of the second inning. Their hitters appeared to be seeing the ball really well, as most of the hits were hard line drives into the gaps.
Mannheim were not about to let themselves be left behind, however, as they put on a base-hitting display of their own in the top of the third inning, batting around the order and scoring seven runs.
Chromies could only add one run to their lead in the bottom of the third inning, as Eric Kelly led off by driving a ball over the fence for a solo home run. The next three batters could not follow his example, however, and went down in order.
The score was 13-11 to the Chromies as the fourth inning began and Tornados needed to close the gap. They started positively with a single by Karin Fischer, but a smart 6-4-3 double play started by George Bartlett and turned by Michael O'Sullivan kept the German team scoreless.
Chromies looked to be closing the door on the game when they added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, thanks to Mike MacDowell's second home run of the game.
However, the tide was about to change significantly. Tornados, who looked down and out as they started what would be the last inning with the first two batters getting out, produced a remarkable but fully-earned turnaround. After that, the team batted around the order and Marco Beuchert's three-run home run helped the Tornados score nine runs and take the lead, needing just three outs to complete the most unlikely of comebacks.
Manny Estevez started the bottom of the fifth inning for the Chromies with a ground ball to third base that looked likely to be the first out, but Manny produced a spectacular head-first slide to be judged safe at first. That would be the last hit of the game for the Chromies, however, and as the last ball landed in the Tornado left fielder's glove, the Tornados had given themselves a slim chance of getting to the final.
Pioneers v Bandits Witches Linz
Pioneers were entering this game in a much stronger position than they would have thought possible at the beginning of the day, given that both H2O and Chromies had lost their morning games. A win here would see them almost in the final.
Neither team started well offensively, but defensively they were showing off the skills that had seen them both record only one loss each. Both teams produced smart double plays in the first inning, but Pioneers managed one run on the board compared to the Austrian team, who went down in order.
Pioneers added three runs in the top of the second inning, and in the bottom of the inning, Steve Rice produced a fantastic catch, snaring a deep drive as he crashed through the fence.
Bandits now started to hit, but not consistently. They sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the third inning, but could only generate two runs.
Pioneers, on the other hand, had brought 10 batters to the plate in the top of third and had been far more efficient, scoring six runs. The score was now 10-4 Pioneers.
Pioneers added one to their total in the top of the fourth and would have been pleased they were scoring in every inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, it started to look as if Bandits had woken up, and with several base hits in a row, they added two runs. But just when they thought they had a rally going, Pioneers came up with another double play to end the inning.
Pioneers could not add anything more in the top of the fifth inning despite a second double from Ruth Macintosh.
However, time was running out for the Bandits to get back in the game and they needed a big inning. But they just couldn't get a rhythm going, again starting well but scoring only two runs.
The sixth inning would be the last, and with Pioneers looking for insurance runs, Sara Gamble came up with the goods.
With one down and runners on, Sara hit a double to left field that scored two runs. Bandits now had to find six runs to tie and seven to win, and they could not find any as they went up and down in order in the bottom of the sixth.
The game finished 13-7 to Pioneers, and a win in their last Pool C game on Saturday would guarantee a place in the final.
Chromies v H2O
This was unquestionably a key game, especially given that both teams had lost earlier in the day.
H2O showed their intention to put early pressure on the Chromies in the top of the first inning. Duncan Waugh led off with a single and Chris Yoxall brought two runs in with an opposite-field home run. They added to this with consistent base-hitting and a further three runs.
The Chromies could not get the string of hits they needed and only scored one in reply, so it was 5-1 to H2O in the bottom of the first inning.
H2O came out the gates flying in the top of the second inning, scoring another six runs. Player/Manager Roger Grooms showed his intention to continue the pressure by bringing in big hitter Brian Connolly as a pinch hitter with two runners on. Brian delivered with a triple, scoring two runs.
The Chromies were in real danger of this game getting completely out of their grasp, as the score was now 11-1. Michael O'Sullivan managed to get on base with one down in the bottom of the second inning, but a slick double play by H2O ended the frame.
H2O added two more runs in the top of the third inning, putting more pressure on Chromies. However, Chromies are one of the most experienced teams around and they were not about to start panicking.
Matt Tomlin led off the bottom of the third with a single and scored on Danny Gunn's single up the middle. Mike MacDowell then stepped up and did his job as the clean-up hitter, blasting a shot over the centre field fence.
Chromies scored five in the inning and cut H2O's lead to 13-6.
But generally, H2O were dominating the game. They put on yet another team base-hitting display in the top of the fourth inning, hitting gaps in both right and left field and scoring another seven runs.
Chromies failed to score in the bottom of the fourth and when H2O added a further two runs in the fifth, the game was all but over. A diving catch by Chris Yoxall was the icing on the cake for H2O as they rolled out 22-8 winners.
Scores and standings
All scores from the tournament can be found here and standings in the various tournament groups can be found here.