Avigliana, Italy: 18 August – Having won both their games on Tuesday at the European Women’s Cup, the GBFL Women’s Division champions The Mix approached their single round-robin game on Wednesday against Princ Zagreb from Croatia with optimism. But the result turned out otherwise.
Instead, Princ Zagreb pitcher Paula Duvnjak held The Mix to just three hits while her teammates racked up 12 hits against Mix starter Anna-Be Bartels and took advantage of four British errors to create a 10-0 lead after five innings and a mercy rule win.
Paula Duvnjak was also the offensive star for Princ Zagreb, going 3-for-3 with a double, a triple and three RBIs.
The loss brought The Mix’s record in the tournament so far to 2-2 and means they will need to win the majority of their games on Thursday and Friday to play for a medal on Saturday.
The Mix had chances to score in the game, as they had three walks and a hit-by-pitch in addition to their three hits, but couldn’t cash in any of them.
In the bottom of the second inning, trailing 3-0, The Mix put runners on first and second with one out when Mary Murray was hit by a pitch and Gayle Khoenkhoen walked. But a strikeout and a groundout ended the threat.
In the bottom of the third inning, by now trailing 5-0, The Mix loaded the bases with two out on a double by Anna-Be Bartels and walks to Sian Wigington and Megan Beard. But another strikeout left all three runners stranded.
By the time The Mix came to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, they were 10 runs behind, with Princ Zagreb having scored five runs in the top of the inning on seven singles, a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly, and The Mix were fighting just to keep the game going.
One-out singles by Anna-Be Bartels and Sian Wigington gave them some hope – but once again, a strikeout and a groundout ended the inning and the game.
On Thursday, The Mix are playing a doubleheader against the team at the top of the table – Chicaboos from Belgium and the team at the bottom – Soder Softball from Sweden.
Round-robin games will conclude on Friday, when The Mix will take on the Odense Giants from Denmark and the Wroclaw Panthers from Poland.
Only the top four teams from the round-round table will get to play in the medal games on Saturday.
Scores and standings
Scores on the third day of the tournament on Wednesday were:
Avigliana Rebels 4, Vienna Wanderers 3
Princ Zagreb 5, Odense Giants 4
Wroclaw Panthers 6, Angels Dupnitsa 0 (5 inns)
Vienna Wanderers 13, Soders Softball 1 (4 inns)
Avigliana Rebels 11, Odense Giants 3 (6 inns)
Princ Zagreb 10, The Mix 0 (5 inns)
Chicaboos 19, Angels Dupnitsa 0 (4 inns)
Standings after Day 3 were:
Chicaboos (4-0)
Avigliana Rebels (5-1)
Wroclaw Panthers (3-1)
Vienna Wanderers (3-2)
The Mix (2-2)
Prince Zagreb (2-3)
Angels Dupnitsa (1-4)
Odense Giants (1-4)
Soders Softball (0-4)