European Championship , 2014
For the 12th time the best male fastpitch players in Europe will be competing for the European Championship from July 14th to July 19th in the Czech town of Havlickuv Brod. Besides the official championship, the tournament also doubles as a Word Championship qualifier, with the top 3 teams getting a ticket to Saskatoon in 2015.
As usual the top 4 favorite teams will be the host team and defending champions from Czech Republic, Great Britain, Holland and Denmark. Also Croatia, Belgium and Israel will be competing for the title.
Several well-known players can be seen at the tournament.ÂÂ
The British team typically relies on help from the commonwealth. Ace James Darby, Australia will team up with Canadian Kyle Linton pitching to Kiwi Kevin Stockford. The GB lineup will also figure Darrin Newsom (Can) and Luke Peters (NZ). GB played well at the last Worlds in New Zealand, finishing 9th. They will definitely be looking for another try in Saskatoon and looking to improve their bronze medal from 2012.
The Dutch team placed 14th at the last worlds, but won the silver at the last Europeans. They have had a bit of a roster change - most a lot of the Dutch players have Antillian background and always show excellent softball skills.  Pitching might not be their strongest department, but on the 30-man roster you can see familiar names: Poul Koert and Gerald Muizelaar. Also young Kiwi Zane Siolo has Dutch roots. Interesting to see who shows up! Holland will be shooting for Saskatoon as well - and to at least defend their silver medal from 2012.
The Danes didn’t qualify for the last Worlds, ending up in the disappointing 4th spot at the last Euros, but will be fighting hard to advance in the standings and reclaim their spot in Saskatoon. The team will be led by the Terkelsen brothers - both with lots of ISC experience. Several other players, including pitcher Kim Hansen, has tried Northamerican and Kiwi softball.  ÂÂ
The host team, from Czech Republic, are championship favorites. Backed by a large and fanatic crowd the Czechs have a strong batting lineup and solid defense with pitchers Ales Jetmar and Jonas Mach. The Czechs competed in ISC 2012 in midland (17th), and also came in 11th at the last Worlds. ÂÂ
Finally Croatia, Belgium and Israel will all be shooting for a spot in the top 4, but could see each other locked in a battle for 5th spot after round robin.
Most of the games will be played in Havlickuv Brod, a city of 25.000 about an hour drive east of Prague. The city has a very nice softball field where the local team Hippo’s from the top Czech league, play their home games. The fans turn out in large numbers, and support the players with drums and horns - soccer style. Diamond two is in the city of Pardubice - also a very nice softball complex with local support.
All games can be followed by live streaming via the official website: http://euro2014.softball.cz/eng/index.asp
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Regards
Jens T
