As the U.S. waits to see who they will face in the Baseball World Cup final, Great Britain’s players, coaches and supporters have had time to reflect on the nation’s own World Cup performance this week.  America are the reigning champions and anything less than an appearance in the final would have been considered a failure. 

In contrast, Great Britain had more modest targets heading into the tournament.  Stephan Rapaglia’s men achieved their main goal of getting to play ten games against good quality opposition and the event has to be seen as a success for the side.  Continue reading →

Great Britain’s 2009 Baseball World Cup ended in slightly disappointing circumstances yesterday.  The team was unable to get a win in the second round, finishing bottom of Pool F with an 0-7 record.  There was no shame in their performances.  Success for Team GB heading into the tournament was to qualify for the second round and they achieved that aim. 

The sense of disappointment is present because the team genuinely had chances to earn at least one victory in the second stage and they just came up short each time.  All British fans will feel the disappointment, not for themselves but for the players and coaches who deserved at least one win to celebrate for the way they performed.  Continue reading →

Great Britain are still searching for their first victory in the second round of the Baseball World Cup after they were shutout by the Netherlands in a 6-0 loss yesterday.  Team GB now have two more attempts to get that elusive win, beginning with a game today against Spain at midday British time.  Continue reading →

So near and yet so far: Great Britain lost their fourth straight game in the Baseball World Cup today, taking a 5-4 loss against Puerto Rico in Haarlem.  However, they once again performed with distinction against a leading baseball nation.  British fans dared to dream of a memorable victory when their team hit four runs in the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead. 

Those hopes were immediately dented when Puerto Rico levelled the score in the bottom half of the frame and Britain were unable to stage a second comeback after their opponents regained the lead in the following inning.  Continue reading →

Great Britain faced Nicaragua this evening for the second time in the 2009 Baseball World Cup and came up short once more.  Team GB ran them closer this time, losing 4-1 compared to the 10-0 drubbing in the first round, but they were flummoxed once again by the Nicaraguan pitcher whose name alone causes confusion. 

Diego Garcia Sandino gets listed in the official accounts as Diego Sandino, but the pitcher prefers to go by Diego Garcia.  The discrepancy had Eurosport2 commentator Paul Romanuk scratching his head at first, but it was the British hitters who ended the evening baffled by the pitcher. 

Continue reading →

Great Britain were defeated 15-5 by South Korea in Amsterdam today in what would initially appear to be a completely one-sided game.  However, Team GB had staged an excellent comeback in the top of the seventh inning to level the game at 5-5.  Hopes of producing a big upset against the Olympic champions were quickly dashed as the Korean batters blasted six runs in the bottom of the inning to regain control. 

A further four runs in the eighth gave them a ten-run lead that saw the game called one inning early, making for a very disappointing end considering the Brits had worked so hard to get back into the contest.

The loss means that Great Britain have slipped to an 0-2 record in the second round of the Baseball World Cup.  They now have a day off before taking on Nicaragua in Rotterdam on Wednesday evening (18.00 BST).  Continue reading →

After a creditable 6-0 loss to baseball giants Cuba yesterday, Great Britain’s second round of the Baseball World Cup continues today with a game against South Korea at the Sportpark Ookmeer in Amsterdam. 

The Koreans lost 4-2 to the Netherlands yesterday at the same venue in front of 3,500 fans, conceding three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to let an early 2-0 lead go to waste.  They managed only five hits against the Dutch and their 3-to-6 hitters went a combined 0-for-14 with one walk.  Continue reading →

Great Britain lost their opening game of the second round in Haarlem, Netherlands against Cuba this evening; however it was a creditable performance.  Losing 6-0 to the Cubans is no disgrace whatsoever.  In fact, with all due respect to the GB team, that’s probably a better scoreline than many British fans had predicted.

Very frustratingly, the GameTracker service on the official Baseball World Cup website was not working for this game so we were unable to follow the action.  The official box score and play-by-play account has not been published at time of writing, but it should be available soon.  No doubt there will also be a  full game report on the official GB Baseball Team website in due course as well.

Great Britain are back in action at midday British time tomorrow against South Korea, live on Eurosport2.

As we know Great Britain have qualified as the ‘4th 3rd place’ team, I’ve gone through the second round format and worked out our probable schedule.  This isn’t 100 per cent official, but it should be correct. All times are listed in BST (just add one hour for local time).

Sunday 13 – 19.00, Haarlem: CUBA
Monday 14 – 12.00, Amsterdam: SOUTH KOREA*
Tuesday 15 – Off day
Wednesday 16 – 18.00 Rotterdam: NICARAGUA
Thursday 17 – 12.00, Haarlem: PUERTO RICO*
Friday 18 – 18.00, Rotterdam: NETHERLANDS*
Saturday 19 – 12.00, Rotterdam: SPAIN
Sunday 20 – 12.00, Amsterdam: VENEZUELA

* = Listed as being broadcast on Eurosport2.  Should be noted that the TV schedule currently lists two games as being shown on Eurosport2 on Friday at 18.00 BST, so our game against the Netherlands might not be on after all.