Prague, Czech Republic: 25 August – The Stags, Great Britain’s entry in the European Men’s Super Cup, lost their first game on Thursday in the second phase of the tournament, the double-elimination Softball Europe Cup, and are now just one loss away from exiting the competition.
The Softball Europe Cup is the competition being played out by the nine teams that finished in the bottom half of the tournament’s first round pools, while the eight teams that finished in the top half of those pools are also playing double-elimination, chasing European Super Cup medals.
At noon on Thursday Czech time, the Stags came up against Magos Tenerife from Spain and lost by 12-2 in four innings.
The Spanish team had a solo home run from their first batter of the game, Jesus Marrero-Ochoa, and went on to score four runs in the top of the first inning, five in the top of the second and three more in the top of the third against Stags’ starter Seth Ross. Kristof van Aarsen relieved Seth with two out in the third inning, got a pop-out to end the frame and then pitched a scoreless fourth inning.
But the damage had been done.
The Stags scored a run in the bottom of the first inning and another in the bottom of the fourth, but that wasn’t enough to stop the game being called on the mercy rule at the end of four innings.
Amit Aswani reached on an error in the bottom of the first inning and scored on a double by Kristof van Aarsen, who had two of the three hits the Stags could muster against Tenerife pitcher Roberto Ramos.
Kristof also accounted for the Stags’ second run when he led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a long home run over the fence in left field. Later in the inning, William Sinclair walked and Damon Brown singled, but the Stags couldn’t push across the run that would have taken the game into the fifth inning.
On Friday, the Stags will play at 10.00 am local time (9.00 am in the UK) against BSK Medvednica from Croatia. With both teams having already lost a game in the double elimination format, the loser will be out of the tournament. The winner will play again at 1.45 pm local time on Friday against the Vennep Flyers from the Netherlands, a team that the Stags already played in their first-round group.
Scores
From Thursday, the European Men’s Super Cup has become two different tournaments: a double-elimination Super Cup tournament for the top eight teams from the first round, and a double-elimination Softball Europe Cup for the remaining nine teams.
Scores from initial double-elimination games on Thursday were:
Super Cup
Stenlose Bulls 4, Czech Under-23s 0
Horsholm Hurricanes 7, Joudrs Prague 0 (5 inns)
Locos Breclav 7, Chomutov Beavers 0 (5 inns)
Oslo Alligators 10, Brasschaat Braves 5
The Stenlose Bulls, Horsholm Hurricanes, Locos Breclav and Oslo Alligators remain in the winner’s bracket for the Super Cup and can still afford a loss, while the Czech Under-23s, Joudrs Prague, Chomutov Beavers and Brasschaat Braves drop into the loser’s bracket, where one more loss on Friday will put them out of the tournament.
Softball Europe Cup
Chicaboos 5, Zraloci Ledenice 4
BSK Medvednica 11, Zagreb Giants 1 (4 inns)
Magos Tenerife 12, v Stags 2 (4 inns)
Vennep Flyers 7, Germany 0 (6 inns)
These results set up these further Softball Europe Cup games later on Thursday:
Montpellier Barracudas 10, BSK Medvednica 0 (5 inns)
Chicaboos 11, Vennep Flyers 1 (5 inns)
Montpellier Barracudas 3, Magos Tenerife 0
Chicaboos and Montpellier Barracudas remain in the winner’s bracket and can still afford a loss, while Zraloci Ledenice, the Zagreb Giants, the Stags, Germany, BSK Medvednica, Vennep Flyers and Magos Tenerife drop into the loser’s bracknet, where one more loss will put them out of the tournament.
Teams will start to be eliminated from the tournament on Friday when they lose for a second time.