By British Softball Federation, www.britishsoftball.org
Teams have been coming from outside the UK to play in the annual Softball World Series tournament ever since it first began in 1999, but no non-British team has ever won it. That changed on the weekend of 12-13 September at the Imperial College Heston Venue in Cranford, when the UCE Travellers from Germany took the title.
The win was something of a vindication for the German team, who also won the European Slowpitch Super Cup played in the Czech Republic in 2014, beating H2O and the Chromies along the way, but with many regarding that win as a one-off, especially against a Chromies team weakened by injuries. The UCE Travellers have now proved that their European Super Cup title was no fluke and they have to be regarded right now as the top slowpitch club team in Europe.
UCE Travllers captain Wolfgang Walther said, “Coming into the tournament we didn’t expect anything and were just looking to play good softball against good teams! We certainly didn’t expect to finish first in our group, ahead of GB Development and USA. But after we did that, we felt very confident that we could make it all the way. The key for us on Sunday was that we were able to keep that confidence level.”
The result should give yet another boost for the continued development of slowpitch on the European continent, as evidence continues to accrue that the British and British-based teams are not invincible – except perhaps at national team level.
The heartening part for British slowpitch, however, was the fact that the Travellers’ defeated opponents in the Trophy Final, in a tight game that the Germans won by 16-13, was the GB Development Team, many of whose players are likely to be travelling to Plant City, Florida in November to compete for GB in the ISF Slowpitch World Cup.
This is the second time in three years that the GB Development Team has made the World Series Trophy Final, a testament to the strength of the GB Slowpitch player pool and coaching.
Final Standings:
Final Trophy Standings
1 – UCE Travellers (Germany)
2 – GB Development
3 – England
4 – GB Masters
5 — Ireland
6 – Anzacs
Final Plate Standings
7 – USA
8 – Team Murica
9 – Africa
10 – Canada
11 – Netherlands
12 – Wales
Final Cup Standings
13 – Orange Crush (Germany)
14 – Japan
15 – Craicers (Ireland)
16 – The Cage (Belgium)
17 – Latin America
18 – Orcas (Switzerland)