Virgin Islands’ Nateschon Thomas and his Great Britain team mates face a do or die match against Germany today, Sunday September 11, 2016. Photo: Provided

First up for Short Stop, Thomas and Team GB was a mauling at the hands of the host Nation, the Netherlands, with the GB Baseball Team coming out on the short end of an 11-1 mercy rule loss at the Hoofddorp Pioniers Stadium.

Thomas flied out to right field in his first at bat, in the third inning and then, in his only other visit to the plate, flied out to third base.

The Netherlands are the reigning European Champions and one of the higher-ranked teams in world baseball, but initially, GB made a game of it – and were a little unlucky to be trailing 3-1 after two innings.

The Dutch pulled away to a 6-1 lead in the third inning, and then were stopped almost in their tracks by two fine relief innings from Ben Pearson, as the GB coaching staff fulfilled their promise to pitch by committee and try to give the Dutch hitters different looks.  GB eventually used five pitchers over seven innings, and it was only late in the game that a powerful and hard-hitting Dutch team pulled away.

Czechs frustrate Team GB

The game between GB and the Czech Republic was played at the competition’s second venue, the Vennep Flyers Baseball and Softball Club in Nieuw Vennep, ten minutes south of the main facility at Hoofddorp

This was a frustrating game for the GB Baseball Team, who played on completely even terms with the Czech Republic on Saturday afternoon, September 10, 2016, matched the Czechs in most facets of the game – but still lost 4-1.

Thomas had four at bats, connecting with one. He struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch in GB’s third inning, grounded out on a bunt in the fifth, singled down the line in the seventh and grounded out to second base at the bottom of the ninth to end the match.

In the past, GB might not have played such a close game with the Czechs, and that’s a measure of the progress of the team, and the GB Baseball programme, are making under the philosophy and approach introduced by Head Coach Liam Carroll.

On the other hand, this was still a loss, GB’s second straight in the competition, and the mathematics are now pretty stark.

To finish as one of the top three teams in Pool A and get to the Championship playoff, GB has to win their next three games, against Germany on Sunday, Sweden on Monday and Russia on Tuesday.

 A total of two wins is likely to put GB into the seventh place playoff game next Wednesday.  That would guarantee their place in the European Championship, but would also mean that their tournament would be over with three days still to go.

One win, or none, would mean GB facing their third straight relegation playoff to stay in the Championship group, and that will involve games next Thursday and Friday.