Smart base stealing and a dominant relief outing by Ben Peters were the keys to GB notching their first win in the U18 European Championship in Ronchi. They beat Israel by a mercy rule 14-4 over six innings, helped by 13 stolen bases in the 32 degree heat of the northern Italian venue.
Head coach Matt Moran said he was extremely proud of the response from his players.
“Yesterday’s result was not an indication of how the team played and this result shows our strength.”
“The players & coaching staff worked hard to create a great atmosphere to perform in. We hope to continue this momentum across the rest of the week.”
Starting pitcher James Parmet struck out two in a dominant first inning before Luke Donaldson scored on a balk in the bottom half and George Evans launched a ball to deep right field and sped round the bases for an inside the park home run to plate another three.
The Israel team scored their first runs in the top of the third to bring it back to 4-3, but GB hit back with style, plating five of their own. Akshay Chopra led off with a walk and two stolen bases. Not to be outdone, Sam White also walked and stole second before Kyle Griebenow’s single through the right side plated both runners. A George Evans base hit kept the train moving and also ended Yosef Spilman’s outing on the mound for Israel. GB greeted new pitcher Yair Brous with a double steal before a wild pitch brought Griebenow home and Evans to third. Dylan Nelson walked and stole second before a Griff Franklin single resulted in two RBIs.
In the top of the fourth, Israel pulled a run back before Parmet was replaced by reliever Ben Peters with runners at the corners. The Herts lefty walked his first batter before ending the inning by inducing a fly ball caught by a retreating George Evans at shortstop.
In the bottom of the fourth, Akshay Chopra took advantage of a three base throwing error by the Israel third baseman, before Sam White’s sacrifice fly to centre brought him home.
In what would prove to be the final half inning, Christian McCarthy beat out a single before stealing second and scoring on Chopra’s single up the middle. Chopra himself scored on a stolen base and two errors. After Luke Donaldson was hit by a breaking ball and Sam White walked, Kyle Griebenow’s fly out to left field brought Donaldson home. Sam White stole two bases and was brought in by a balk for the winning run.
Ben Peters was named team MVP by Head Coach Matt Moran after four Ks over two and a third scoreless innings.
“The team really showed resilience today,” said Peters after the game. “With a loud opponent, our strengths were put to the test. We came together, threw strikes and hit the ball reversing the roles from getting mercied yesterday to mercying today, showing this team can succeed in all environments.”
Photo courtesy of WBSC