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We have a mix of domestic and international news this week, as the usual British Baseball Federation action is joined by the start of a major international baseball tournament.<\/p>\nWe have a mix of domestic and international news this week, as the usual British Baseball Federation action is joined by the start of a major international baseball tournament.<\/p>\n
The Senior Great Britain National Team has enjoyed unprecedented success over the last three years: a silver medal finish in the 2007 European Championships and a Second Round appearance in the 2009 World Cup.\u00c2\u00a0 With those achievements behind them, Team GB head out on the tournament trail yet again this week for the 2010 European Championships in Germany, with the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first game scheduled for Friday.<\/p>\n
Great Britain face a significant challenge in repeating their 2007 success but guided by a new Manager, Pat Doyle, and General Manager, Jason Greenberg, you can be certain that the half-hearted, lamentable performance of England\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s football team this summer will not be repeated in the ballparks of Stuttgart, Heidenheim and Neuenberg.\u00c2\u00a0 The roster for this tournament contains a number of current or former BBF league players alongside British-eligible players intent on representing the country with pride.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The group stage consists of two groups of six teams, with each team playing a game against the other five teams in their respective group.\u00c2\u00a0 Great Britain are in Group B and the team’s schedule is as follows:\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:30 Croatia (Stuttgart)\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:30 Sweden (Stuttgart)\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:30 Italy (Stuttgart)\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:00 Spain (Heidenheim)\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
17:00\u00c2\u00a0 Greece (Neuenburg)<\/p>\n
Times are listed in Central European Time, so take one hour off to get the British Summer Time start (e.g. Friday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game is 9.30 BST).<\/p>\n
The top three teams from each group will go through to the next round.\u00c2\u00a0 Italy and Spain are ranked 12th and 17th respectively in the International Baseball Federation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world rankings<\/a> and are strong favourites to book two of those spots.\u00c2\u00a0 If so, that will leave Team GB battling with the remaining three teams for the final place.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n A winning start on Friday would really set Great Britain on their way and Pat Doyle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s men only need to look back to last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World Cup for inspiration.\u00c2\u00a0 Team GB faced Croatia in Zagreb in a do-or-die game<\/a>, knowing that a loss would send them home at the end of the first round.\u00c2\u00a0 The team played brilliantly under pressure, with Chris Berset launching a two-run homer and former London Met Brian Essery pitching five scoreless innings as Great Britain prevailed 4-1.\u00c2\u00a0 Essery is on the roster once again and Pat Doyle may be tempted to begin the EC campaign by sending him out there to pick up from where he left off last time.<\/p>\n All members of the playing squad and coaching staff are profiled on the Great Britain Baseball website<\/a>, where you will also be able to find post-game reports.\u00c2\u00a0 The only first round game being broadcast on Eurosport is the Italy-Spain encounter on Friday, although the Confederation of European Baseball<\/a> will almost certainly be providing a way to keep track of every game, most likely via a play-by-play account.<\/p>\n NBL: Pirates earn a split with the Mets<\/strong><\/p>\n Back on the domestic front, the London Mets (19-3) were on course to seal a top two spot after winning their opening game of a double-header 11-1 against Croydon Pirates (7-13) at the former\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Finsbury Park base last Sunday. However, the visiting team stunned the league-leaders with a 11-1 win of their own in the second game.\u00c2\u00a0 Richmond Flames (11-9) could only manage a split against the Herts Falcons (6-12), allowing Southampton Mustangs (12-10) to continue their impressive march up the NBL table into third place with a double-header sweep over Essex Arrows (3-17).\u00c2\u00a0 The Mustangs and Flames are scheduled to meet this Sunday for a double-header in Richmond, Bracknell Blazers travel to Herts to take on the Falcons, Croydon Pirates will be at RAF Feltwell to face Mildenhall Bulldogs and the London Mets look to finally book their National Baseball Championship place with a win or two away to Essex Arrows.<\/p>\n Further details and reaction from last Sunday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s games can be found in Simon Fitzjohn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s report<\/a>.<\/p>\n AAA: Trojans and Kings extend their leads<\/strong><\/p>\n Liverpool Trojans (15-5) extended their lead in the North to two games thanks to a pair of wins<\/a> against Manchester A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (12-8).\u00c2\u00a0 Pitcher Rob Vondy continued his excellent season for the Trojans by holding the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scoreless over the first five innings of the second game.\u00c2\u00a0 Liverpool are set to travel to Halton for a double-header against the Jaguars (5-15) this Sunday, Harrogate Tigers (10-4) are scheduled to host the Menwith Hill Patriots (13-7), while the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s travel to Glasgow (1-17) looking to bounce back from their two losses to Liverpool.<\/p>\n In the South, Oxford Kings (17-1) increased their commanding lead at the top of the table as Kent Mariners (0-18) forfeited their two games.\u00c2\u00a0 Bristol Badgers (5-9) and London Metros (4-12) split a double-header, with the Badgers winning the opener<\/a> on the back of a 10 strikeout outing by Gian Jimenez and the Metros walking off as 5-4 victors in the second game<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Herts Eagles (11-5) and Essex Redbacks (6-8) also took a win apiece in their double-header.\u00c2\u00a0 The second and third placed teams meet this Sunday as Bracknell Inferno (12-4) travel to Herts Eagles, while Oxford Kings host Essex Redbacks.<\/p>\n AA: Two wins each for the Bucks, Torrent and Bladerunners<\/strong><\/p>\n MK Bucks (7-7) moved to a .500 record in the Midlands by taking two wins against Leicester Blue Sox 2 (2-12) by a combined score of 43-6.\u00c2\u00a0 They are due to host Mildenhall Bulldogs 2 (1-8) this Sunday, although the Bulldogs have struggled to get a team together in recent weeks.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unlikely to be a shortage of players in Leicester as the Blue Sox (10-4) and Blue Sox 2 meet for an intra-club derby.\u00c2\u00a0 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sure to be a competitive and entertaining day of baseball, so get along to Western Park<\/a> if you are in the area.<\/p>\n