British Softball Federation are delighted to be hosting nine teams plus Great Britain at the WBSC Coed Slowpitch European Championships at Farnham Park this week.
President of the British Softball Federation, Lesley Morisetti, said:
'We're so excited to be hosting this event. Huge thanks to all the helpers who have helped get it underway, and it's wonderful to see it all come together. We've had so many high quality games of softball already and plenty more still to come!'
If you'd like to follow the action from home, you can stream all the games here (subscription needed), see the live scores here, or come down to Farnham Park and show your support in person!
Follow @britishsoftball and @softball_europe on Instagram or Facebook for more updates.
Day 1: Perfect Opening for Hosts
The opening day on Tuesday 14 July, saw the tournament’s single-group round-robin format get underway across two diamonds. Great Britain set the tone early in front of a home crowd, dispatching Norway with a convincing display of defensive discipline and consistent base-hitting.
Later in the afternoon, GB faced a highly anticipated match against Germany on Diamond 3. In a game characterized by relentless offensive momentum, Great Britain out-slugged the Germans to secure their second victory of the day, finishing Day 1 with a perfect 2-0 record.
Austria also finished the day with a perfect record and Germany emerged with a narrow win over Czechia nail biting 26-23 game.
Day 2: GB Digs Deep in Midweek Thrillers
Wednesday 15 July presented a much stiffer test for the host nation. After a convincing win against Poland to kick off the day, they faced a bigger challenge against a resilient Belgium side. The Belgians pushed GB to the limit, but the team came in clutch when it mattered most, navigating a tense ending to squeeze out a hard-fought 15-12 victory.
That momentum carried them into another nail biter to finish the day, rallying in the bottom of the 6th to come back and ultimately defeat Czechia in an exciting conclusion to the second day.
Day 3: High scores all around
Thursday proved to be an offensive masterclass for the British squad. GB opened their morning account against Lithuania, immediately putting the game out of reach with a barrage of extra-base hits to secure a comprehensive 26-6 victory. The offensive fireworks continued during the afternoon session against Austria. The GB bats could not be stopped, putting up a staggering 23 runs while completely shutting down the Austrian offense to complete a 23-0 shutout win.
The most tense game of the day was between close contenders, Belgium and Germany, with Belgium walked it off to take the win.
Day 4: Neighbourly competition dominates
Friday saw Great Britain face local rivals Guernsey and Ireland to wrap up the single-group round-robin phase. In the midday heat, GB handled business efficiently against Guernsey, pushing their unbeaten streak forward.
The grand finale of the opening round was later than planned so came under the evening sky against Ireland. In a spectacular showcase of power hitting, Great Britain put on a masterclass, routing the Irish side 34-5 to comfortably conclude the opening pool stage with 8 wins and 0 losses.
Czechia and Belgium also went head to head in a game that was looking to resolve a three way tie in the standings and determine the seeding for the final day, with Czechia pulling ahead with a win.
At the end of play, the standings were finalised, with GB in first, facing Germany in the final on Saturday, and Czechia and Belgium facing each other to determine third place.