Group A: Great Britain – Sweden
Sweden 100 004 000 13 9 14 4 Great Britain 000 001 400 10 6 8 2
Sweden picked up their second win in four games at the European Championship with a thrilling 9-6 win over the still winless Great Britain in the Monday afternoon game in Nieuw Vennep. The Scandinavians built up a 5-0 lead, but saw Great Britain coming back to force extra innings. Both teams scored once in the 10th before Sweden put three runs on the board in the second extra frame to win the contest.
Sweden didn’t waste any time and took a quick 1-0 lead in the first when Adam Sorgi walked with the bases loaded. In the sixth Matt Merrifield hit a three-run triple during a four-run rally to extend the advantage to 5-0. Great Britain didn’t get on the board until a sac fly by Brett Rosen in the bottom of the sixth. This woke their offense as they scored four times in the seventh to tie the game. A bases loaded walk by Callum Murphy capped the big inning.
Neither team scored in the eighth nor the ninth and extra innings had to decide a game for the first time in the tournament. In the top of the 10th Sweden scored a run during a run down, where Tommy Lindell crossed the plate. However in the bottom half Conrad Cornell hit a RBI single to tie the game again. A double play sent the match into the 11th. An error on a sac bunt attempt by Merrifield loaded the bases quickly. Peter Johannessen got hit by a pitch to force a run in. A RBI single by Sorgi and another error led to two more runs to seal the deal for Sweden. Great Britain didn’t have another answer and took the loss.