Day One
Game One - GB U16 Men's Fastpitch make history with first-ever win over Israel
Great Britain's U16 Men's squad secured a landmark victory in the European Championship, defeating Israel 8-5 in a game played at Kunovice and ultimately called on time after five innings. The result marks GB's first ever win at this age group against Israel.
Inning 1 – GB 2, Israel 1
Magnus Thornton-Smith took the mound for GB but found the first inning a difficult one to settle into. A leadoff walk saw the runner steal second and advance to third on a passed ball, before a second walk and stolen base put another runner in scoring position. A dropped third strike then put a third Israeli batter on the board. The fourth batter found Ethan Hull at shortstop, who showed great composure to turn a sharp double play, tagging the runner heading to third before completing the out at first. A strikeout looking on a changeup brought the inning to a close, with Israel ahead 1-0.
GB responded immediately in their half. Jack Leslie led off with a hard-hit ball that was caught at third, and Oscar Ladd followed by being thrown out at first. Oliver Birkman kept the inning alive with a well placed bunt single, then stole both second and third in quick succession. Ethan Hull walked and stole second himself, before Birkman came home on a passed ball. Hull then showed real sharpness, spotting the opposing pitcher outside the circle and stealing home as a result. GB took the lead, 2-1.
Inning 2 – GB 6, Israel 1
Israel were retired in order to open the second. The first batter grounded out from Ladd to Leslie, the second swung at a changeup that was caught by pitcher Magnus, and the third went down swinging at a wide pitch, with catcher Barney Reynolds completing the strikeout by throwing to first.
GB then put together their best inning of the game. Magnus led off with a walk and moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Stanley O'Leary slapped a short hit to left field to bring him home and reached second himself in the process. Solly Burton put the ball in play, and a hesitant look from the shortstop was followed by an overthrow at first, allowing O'Leary to score and Burton to reach second; he then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jay Barwell struck out, but Jack Leslie kept the rally going with a left-handed slap that the first baseman couldn't convert into an out, scoring a run and reaching base himself. Leslie stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. Oscar Ladd then walked and was tagged out at second by the second baseman, though the play allowed Leslie to score. Oliver Birkman walked, and Ethan Hull's fielder's choice to short brought the inning to a close. GB had pulled clear, 6-1.
Inning 3 – GB 6, Israel 1
Israel's first batter walked to open the inning, and the second hit a fielder's choice through Hull to Ladd at second. The third batter was put out 4-3, before a sharp grounder got past Oliver at third for a base hit. An easy fly ball into Hull's glove ended the inning with no further damage done.
GB's half saw Hull open with a hit to left field, though he was caught out trying to stretch it into a double after an overthrow. Leo grounded out to second, and Magnus reached first on a bad bounce single hit the same way, but Stanley O'Leary was put out 5-3 to close the inning. The score remained 6-1 after three.
Inning 4 – GB 6, Israel 3
Israel began to find their footing in the fourth. A leadoff walk was followed by a fielder's choice through Hull that retired the lead runner at second; that runner then advanced to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. A strikeout followed, then a walk, with the runner moving up to second on another passed ball. An illegal pitch call against Magnus brought a run home, and a passed ball cleared the bases for further damage. Another walk followed before a ground out to Hull caught Ladd at second to end the inning, with Israel now trailing 6-3.
GB were unable to add to their lead in response. Burton was retired at first on a comebacker, Barwell went out 5-3, and although Leslie walked and Ladd's single moved him to third, Birkman’s fly ball was caught at first to end the inning.
Inning 5 – GB 8, Israel 5
Ethan Hull moved to pitch for the final inning, with Magnus shifting to first base, Jack Leslie taking over behind the plate, and Stanley moving to short. Israel's first two batters went down swinging, but a base hit to left field and an illegal pitch call moved a runner into scoring position, and a further base hit brought him home. A stolen base followed, and a dropped fly ball allowed another run to score while putting the batter in scoring position himself. Oliver finally ended the rally with a 5-3 putout, leaving Israel within two at 6-5.
GB responded in their half of the inning. Hull walked to lead off, and Leo Chapman beat out a bunt single. Magnus's sacrifice bunt advanced the runners but he was put out at first; Hull scored on a passed ball during the play. Stanley followed with a hard hit ball to second, out at first himself but driving in another run in the process. Reynolds struck out to close the inning, with GB now ahead 8-5.
Final inning
With Israel batting and time running out, Ethan Hull showed great composure on the mound, coming back from a 3-0 count to strike out the first batter looking with three straight strikes. The second batter also struck out looking, and after a walk, the final Israeli batter struck out to bring the game to a close.
Final score: GB 8 – Israel 5, sealing the U16 Men's squad's first ever victory over Israel at this level.
Game Two - GB U16 Men's Fastpitch fall to Czechia in second game of European Championships
Great Britain's U16 Men's squad came up against a strong Czech side in their second game of the European Championships, ultimately falling 12-0 in a contest called after four innings.
Inning 1 – Czechia 6, GB 0
Ethan Hull took the mound for GB and got off to a promising start, with the first batter flying out to right field, well taken by Owen Harboard. From there, though, Czechia began to build pressure. A walk and a batter hit by an inside pitch put two runners on, and the next batter found Owain Hughes at second, but a bad bounce took the ball away from him and let the Czechs open the scoring with runners at second and third. A grounder to shortstop Oscar Ladd brought the out at first but allowed another run home.
The Czechs then broke the game open, driving a three-base hit deep into right field to score again. A walk followed, with the runner stealing second on the first pitch, before a further three-base hit brought home two more. A wild pitch that catcher Jack Leslie couldn't hold allowed the runner on third to score as well. The inning finally ended when a grounder found Ethan Hull, who took the out himself with Magnus Thornton-Smith covering first.
GB's reply was brief. Jack Leslie led off attempting a push bunt but was caught by the pitcher, Oscar struck out swinging, and Magnus went down swinging after a lengthy battle at the plate. Czechia led 6-0 after one.
Inning 2 – Czechia 6, GB 0
GB's defence settled in the second, with a catch by Oscar followed by two more in center field from Oliver Birkman, the second a much tougher chance well taken.
At the plate, GB struggled to find an answer. Oliver narrowly failed with a bunt attempt before striking out, Stanley O'Leary also went down swinging, and Ethan Hull drove a ball well but was caught at second base. The score remained 6-0 after two.
Inning 3 – Czechia 6, GB 0
Czechia opened the third with a shallow two-base hit, and the next batter lined the ball hard back at Ethan, who took a sharp catch, though with nobody covering second a double play couldn't be completed. The runner advanced to third on a wild pitch before a ground ball to Ethan saw him hold the runner at third and take the out at first. Ethan then closed out the inning in style with a fastball strikeout.
GB's bottom half offered little in response. Theo Dormer led off and struck out swinging hard, Owain followed with a strikeout looking, and Owen fought off several pitches after swinging hard at the first before eventually going down swinging himself. The score stood at 6-0 after three.
Inning 4 – Czechia 12, GB 0
The fourth inning began with another fine catch in center field from Oliver, but Czechia's bats came alive from there. A single through the infield was followed by stolen bases at second and third, the latter coming after a throw from Jack Leslie at catcher went unstopped at short or second. A walk and a stolen base on the first pitch followed, before a ball driven to the fence narrowly evaded a diving Oliver; despite a strong recovery and throw back in, the runner was able to come all the way around to score. A ground ball back to Ethan just missed Magnus at first, allowing another runner to reach third. The next batter doubled over shortstop, and the one after that found the ground in front of Theo at third with no chance of a play. A further hit down the first base line couldn't be held by Magnus, loading the bases at first and third. An outstanding over-the-shoulder catch by Theo accounted for the next batter, before a drive to left field scored a run, though a strong stop by Stanley kept the remaining runners at first and second. A walk then loaded the bases once more, but a ground ball to Magnus at first saw him beat the runner to the bag for the third out.
GB's bottom of the fourth couldn't produce a response. Jack led off batting left-handed but struck out swinging, Oscar went the same way, and Magnus also struck out to bring the game to a close.
Final score: Czechia 12 – GB 0, the game ending after four innings. GB played well defensively throughout but were ultimately undone by the pace of the Czech pitching.
U16 Head Coach Natalie said:
“Day one finally here, two games to play and a squad of 15 players ready to play. With no preconceptions of the challenge ahead we took to the field with pride and determination.
Defensively we were consistent and effective with aggressive and sharp baserunning. Facing the high speed pitching this afternoon was tough but we made connection & put the ball in play, just couldn’t convert that into runs on the board.
Communication has improved tenfold over the past few months, and the lads have really formed a strong bond supporting each other at every stage.
We are really looking forward to tomorrow, and I know every single one of our 15 players will give 110% in both games”.